Count the hidden cost
Manual reconciliation, duplicated information and specialist admin are part of the software bill.
04 / The real cost of the stack
How many subscriptions does it take to run your business?
The monthly licence is not always the expensive bit. Integration, duplicate entry, training, checking and workarounds all count too.
Consolidate what should be yours. Keep what genuinely deserves to be specialist.
Do not rebuild everything
Some tools are excellent at one thing. Let them keep doing it.
Own the connecting tissue
The valuable layer is often the experience that connects your customers, team and specialist systems.
HERE'S WHAT BETTER COULD LOOK LIKE
Own the operating layer. Keep the specialists.
The answer is rarely to rebuild everything. Keep the systems that are genuinely specialist and build a clear operating experience across the gaps between them.
CRMFormsAutomationPortalReportingProjectsAI
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CRMXeroStripeGoogleSpecialist tools
Keep the specialist tools that earn their place. Own the experience and connecting tissue that is specific to you.
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE
The invoice is only the visible cost.
Licences
The number everybody can see. Useful, but incomplete.
Integration
Middleware, consultants, API work and the time spent keeping connections alive.
Human glue
Exports, checking, re-keying and the person who knows why the numbers never quite match.
Opportunity cost
The things you stop asking for because everybody already knows the systems make them painful.
Draw every tool your team touches for one customer journey. Then draw every manual handoff between them. Which picture worries you more?
Keep the specialists. Simplify the experience.
Yarta is built around connected services such as email and calendar rather than replacing them. The product owns the useful experience while specialist systems continue doing what they are good at.
See the work →4 specific ways in.
Each chapter starts with a real situation rather than another abstract software claim.
WEEK 13
Your £40 app probably costs more than £40
The invoice is only one part of the software bill.
See the story →WEEK 14How many subscriptions does it take to run your business?
CRM. Forms. Automation. Portal. Reporting. Project management. AI. And glue.
See the story →WEEK 15Please don't rebuild Xero
Custom software should connect to excellent specialist tools, not imitate them.
See the story →WEEK 16Show us your stack
We are curious about the software map, but more curious about the gaps between it.
See the story →Show us your software stack.
Send us the tools involved in one important journey. We will help you spot where the complexity, human glue and duplicate work actually sit.
