What if we told you that your company could save time and better manage projects while also cutting software costs? If your first thought is “well, yeah, that’s the dream but obviously not possible,” then we’re glad you stumbled upon this article.
We know we may be biased (you know, being a no-code platform and all), but we’re firm believers that no-code platforms are the best thing since sliced bread. They’re better for your time, better for your projects, and even better for your budget.
So whether you’re currently using Excel to manage your projects (by the way–bad idea and here’s why) or are looking to replace your several subscriptions with something more cohesive, know that no-code platforms are a stellar solution for helping startup companies manage their software costs without cutting back on value.
So without further adieu, here are three reasons no-code platforms are the ideal solution for managing software costs.
1. They're better for your monthly budget
Compared to subscription services and custom software, no-code platforms can help you save on monthly costs while still giving you a bang for your buck. Let’s break down the different sorts of software available to startups and their average costs:
Custom Software
Exactly as it sounds, custom software is specifically created for an organization by developers. Developers start from scratch to create a software solution uniquely curated to you and your business.
The Cost: According to SolTech, most custom enterprise software projects cost anywhere from $75,000 to $750,000 depending on size, integration, implementation, and training. This is usually the least accessible software option to startups.
Out-of-the-box (OOTB) Software
Traditionally, these are the mass-produced software you could buy online or at the store–think Microsoft 365, TurboTax, etc. It can also include subscriptions services such as Slack or even free versions of software such as Google Sheets.
The Cost: Typically free or an affordable monthly subscription fee, with costs increasing with the number of features you add. For example, Microsoft 365 Business Basic starts at $6.00 user/month, but can scale to $22 user/month depending on the number of features you need. Slack starts free but increases to $12.50 user/month for features such as message history, video calls, and data security.
A report by SaaS Management company Blissfully found that companies with 0-50 employees will spend $20,000 or more on SaaS products, and those with 50-100 employees $160,000 and more. Meaning like streaming subscription services, the total cost can begin to add up quickly if left to grow unchecked.
No-Code Software
If you’re here and unfamiliar with no-code platforms, we suggest taking a look at our What Are No-Code Platforms post first. But in a nutshell, this is software that you can build and customize to meet a variety of specifications with zero programming experience. No-code platforms usually offer the best of both worlds to their counterparts: the affordability of OOTB software and the personalization that comes with custom software.
The Cost: Like their OOTB counterparts, no-code subscription services are usually available via monthly/annual subscription plans that charge per user. But what sets many no-code platforms apart is their ability to act in many different capacities for a business rather than a few limited ones. Meaning you pay one subscription, but you get much more bang for your buck.
(Our pricing starts at $24/user per month (starting with five users), and our all-in-one platform lets you build everything from a project management software to CRM in the same space.)
2. They consolidate tools and subscriptions
There’s a challenge a lot of startups face early on: having the right software for their specific needs. Oftentimes, startups either hodge-podge and modify software from its intended use to serve a variety of purposes, or purchase various subscriptions to manage the different parts of their data and workflows. For example, a startup might need Bamboo to run their employee database, ADP for payroll, Zoho for CRM, Google Sheets for data compiling and report generation, Hubspot for marketing…and you get the picture.
Over time this can add up to a heavy monthly cost, with the average small business spending $6,000 on IT solutions. One of our clients would be paying more than $7,000 per month if he bought his software off the shelf–that’s $84,000 per year in subscriptions! With the power of no-code, he’s able to save over 92% on these costs, and save time that would’ve been wasted by splitting data across those different software subscriptions.
No-code platform tools help address this by letting you create various kinds of custom software solutions without needing to purchase the multiple software subscriptions to do so. You can build an array of tools in a single software, from project management trackers to customer relationship management platforms, and even employee databases.
Essentially, you can save on costs by creating every kind of software you need for each department and their specific needs in a single platform.
3. They’re scalable
Let’s paint a picture: it’s your first year of business, and you keep your client management list in Google Sheets, which five employees who work from your WeWork office space use to do their jobs. Maybe there are miscommunications about access, or sometimes data gets overwritten or put in wrong. But your team can talk it out onsite and adjust as needed to keep things running smoothly.
Now scale that three years later: you’ve got twenty employees in different roles and all of them are working off that same Google sheet. Except some of them live out of state so you can’t immediately check in with them when data changes…oh and two of them are interns and they need half the information on that sheet but the other half is incredibly sensitive client info they shouldn’t see.
Your solution could be to create two separate spreadsheets, one with all the info and the other with a sanitized version, but now you’re creating a whole other set of data siloing issues. This is where no-code can save you headaches while your business is scaling.
Traditional custom software is typically created for whatever business needs you need addressed at the moment. It can be scaled later as your business grows, but may become a large and unwieldy project if no one from the original development project is still around.
As for OOTB software, you can always expand or upgrade the number of subscriptions to address more workflows, departments, or issues as needed. But this can result in ever-growing software costs along with data siloing and separation.
No-code tools are as big or small as you need them to be, and can easily grow with you and your business. If you need five apps to manage various product, client, and internal data, you can have them for one monthly cost instead of five. If you need more apps later on, you can build them out without buying more software. Plus, you can protect your data with a sophisticated set of permission controls that allow you to keep everything in one database while restricting visibility to certain data fields in the records.
Ultimately, this results in fewer mistakes, fewer software subscriptions, and a software setup that allows for scalability without having to rethink or restart your entire software structure.
Ready to Start Saving?
If you’d like to see a no-code platform in action, sign up for a personalized demo with a Kintone product specialist. Kintone is a customizable no-code platform that lets you manage your data, tasks, and communication in one central place.
Personalized demos give you a chance to see just how no-code tools work, what you can create with them, and how they may help you save on software costs as you grow your business.
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