Build vs Buy Software: The Honest Framework | Clickmasters

# Build vs Buy: The Honest Framework The build-vs-buy decision reduces to one comparison most vendors avoid writing down: the total cost of the off-the-shelf path over 4–5 years (subscriptions that scale with seats and usage, plus the workaround labor and error costs the tool doesn't remove) against the total cost of building (the build itself, plus 15–20% of build cost annually to run and evolve it). Where those curves cross — and whether your workflows are differentiated enough to care — is the whole decision. Everything below is that sentence, expanded into something you can defend in a budget meeting. A disclosure that doubles as a credential: Clickmasters builds custom software and implements off-the-shelf platforms — Shopify, Salesforce, WordPress, and more. We invoice either answer, which is precisely why we can afford to give you the honest one. Vendors who only build always say build; vendors who only resell licenses always say buy. Ask any advisor which answer they can't invoice — that's the pressure on their advice.