Nobody budgets for the spreadsheet that grows next to the ERP. Yet walk any plant or back office running template software and you'll find it: the parallel system where work actually happens, because the official one doesn't match reality.
The workaround tax
Template software prices itself three ways: the license you see, the implementation you expect, and the workaround culture you don't. That third line is the expensive one — reconciliation headcount, month-end marathons, decisions made on stale exports, and the slow erosion of data trust.
The five-year math
Run the honest comparison: SaaS per-seat pricing multiplied by your growth curve, against a custom build's front-loaded investment and near-zero marginal cost. For organisations above a few hundred users, the lines usually cross between years two and four. After the crossover, every year of template software is a subsidy you pay for someone else's product roadmap.
When template still wins
Honesty cuts both ways: if a mature product matches 90% of your need and your process isn't a differentiator, buy it. Custom engineering earns its cost only where process is competitive advantage — where the way you work is *why* you win. The diagnostic is simple: count your spreadsheets.