Systems for Business23 December 2025

Why Off-the-Shelf Software Fails Most Small Businesses

5 min read
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Salesforce, HubSpot, Monday.com—the market is flooded with business software promising to solve all your problems. So why do so many small businesses end up frustrated, paying for tools they barely use?

The Feature Bloat Problem

Enterprise software is designed for enterprises. It includes hundreds of features to satisfy the needs of large organisations. But as a small business, you end up paying for features designed for companies ten times your size.

Worse, all those unused features create complexity. Staff get confused by options they don't need, and the software becomes harder to use for the simple tasks you actually require.

The Workflow Mismatch

Every business develops its own way of working. Off-the-shelf software forces you to adapt to its workflow, which was designed by developers who've never seen your business. The result? Workarounds, frustration, and processes that don't quite fit.

Common Complaint

"We tried three different CRMs before realising the problem wasn't the software—it was that none of them matched how our sales team actually works."

The Integration Nightmare

Most businesses use multiple software tools. Getting them to talk to each other is often painful or impossible. You end up manually copying data between systems—exactly what software was supposed to eliminate.

The Alternative: Built for You

Custom software starts with how your business works and builds from there. No unused features, no forced workflows, no integration headaches. Just tools that do exactly what you need.

Frustrated with Generic Software?

Let's talk about building something that actually fits your business.

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