The verdict in three sentences
A custom business platform for a London services firm costs between 45,000 and 150,000 EUR (net) in 2026, depending on functional depth and internal user count. Budget 5 to 9 months of development at a daily rate of 480 to 700 EUR (net), then recurring maintenance of 800 to 2,000 EUR/month. Return on investment materialises within 12 to 24 months through eliminated admin hours and fewer re-keying errors.
What the development budget covers
A business platform replaces a stack of tools (spreadsheets, emails, generic software) with one system modelling your real processes: quotes, scheduling, job tracking, invoicing, reporting. Price depends mainly on the number of modules and the complexity of business rules.
| Scope | Modules | Timeline | 2026 budget (EUR net) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple core | Auth, business CRUD, dashboard | 5 months | 45,000 - 65,000 |
| Intermediate | + scheduling, invoicing, exports | 6-7 months | 70,000 - 100,000 |
| Advanced | + client portal, API, fine roles | 8-9 months | 110,000 - 150,000 |
| Heavy custom | + AI, ERP integrations, mobile | 9 months+ | 150,000+ |
Modular architecture is the structural choice: it lets you ship a core in 5 months then add modules in increments of 8,000 to 20,000 EUR, rather than a risky big-bang.
Recurring costs not to forget
Initial development is only part of the total cost of ownership. Over 3 years, operations often represent 40 to 60 % of the project budget.
| Item | 2026 range | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud hosting | 200 - 600 EUR/month | by traffic and redundancy |
| Maintenance | 800 - 2,000 EUR/month | fixes + small changes |
| Third-party licences | 50 - 400 EUR/month | email, monitoring, storage |
| Major evolutions | 8,000 - 25,000 EUR/year | new modules |
A well-scoped maintenance contract typically covers 1 to 3 days/month: security fixes, dependency updates, minor tweaks. Beyond that, each evolution is quoted separately.
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Mini case study
Nicholas, director of an industrial maintenance SME in London (28 staff), loses time on manual scheduling of his 14 technicians. His coordinators spend roughly 3 h/day each (2 people) juggling spreadsheets and the phone. By internalising this logic in a platform at 78,000 EUR (net), he targets a 60 % gain on that task: 2 x 3 h x 60 % = 3.6 h/day saved, about 792 h/year. Valued at 35 EUR/loaded hour, that is 27,720 EUR/year. With 78,000 EUR of dev plus 15,000 EUR of first-year maintenance, break-even lands around 20 months, after which the gain is net.
FAQ
What is the cheapest starting module? A functional business core starts around 45,000 EUR (net) for 5 months of development. That is the minimum for a genuinely structuring tool, not a simple prototype.
What daily rate applies in London in 2026? Budget 480 to 700 EUR (net) per day by seniority: 480-550 for a confirmed developer, 600-700 for a senior or tech lead in an agency.
What annual maintenance should I plan? A realistic maintenance budget sits between 800 and 2,000 EUR/month, i.e. 9,600 to 24,000 EUR/year, hosting included or not depending on the contract.
How fast is the investment recouped? On admin productivity gains of 30 to 50 %, ROI generally falls between 12 and 24 months, faster if the tool eliminates costly errors.
Can payment be staged? Yes, a modular architecture allows billing by delivered batch (core, then modules), spreading budget over 6 to 12 months rather than a single payment.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your 2-3 priority processes, your user count and target budget (45,000-150,000 EUR net): we frame a core deliverable in 5 months. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
