The Case Against Cloud-Based CRMs: Why Custom Solutions Win

Guest Article by TMD Online

I know it’s controversial, but I constantly see businesses wasting thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, on big-name cloud CRMs that just don’t cut the mustard.

The Problem with Cloud-Based CRMs

1. You Bend to Their System

   You have to change how your business runs to fit their mould.

   
   

2. Support Sucks

   Usually offshore and often slow. Worse? You're stuck digging through support forums to find your own answers.

   
   

3. Too Many Hoops

   Simple tasks become a nightmare. I heard from a client recently who was using an “industry-leading” ERP/CRM (their words, straight from the vendor’s homepage). He told me if someone walked in and wanted to buy a $10 widget, it was literally cheaper to just give it away than to go through the process of creating an opportunity, adding a customer, converting it to a job, and finally generating an invoice.

   
   

4. “Built-in” Features That Don’t Work as Promised

   That “Amazing Email Marketing” they promise? Enjoy exporting CSVs and manually uploading them to Mailchimp.

   
   

5. You’re Locked In

   Sure, you can export your customer list, but fully leaving the platform? Good luck getting all your data cleanly.

   
   

6. You Don’t Control Your Data

   You might pick a region, but not the cloud provider, and definitely not where your data physically sits.

   
   

7. Per-Seat Pricing Pain

   Add a user, pay more. Add two? More again. It adds up fast.

   
   

Why We Build Custom CRMs for Clients

1. You Get Exactly What You Need

   Your processes work how you want them. Need to change this down the track as your business evolves? No problem. Everything we write is fully flexible.

   
   

2. No Paying for Junk Features

   If you don’t need it, we don’t build it.

   
   

3. Fast Support

   You get answers from real people, fast.

   
   

4. Process Tweaks? Easy.

   We can fine-tune things to be lightning quick.

   
   

5. Email Marketing That Actually Works

   We integrate directly with tools like Vision6 or Mailchimp. Need extra data or segmentation? No problem.

   
   

6. True Integration

   If it has an API, we can connect to it. No Zapier band-aids needed.

   
   

7. Real Data Ownership

   Want to leave? You can get a full MySQL dump. No CSV headaches, no API rate limits.

   
   

8. Host It Where You Want

   Azure, AWS, Google - up to you (or leave it to us).

   
   

9. No Per-Seat Licence Fees

   Sure, more users = more server load, but adding a few people won’t trigger extra costs.

   
   

10. No Ongoing Licence Fees

You’re granted a full, unrestricted licence to use the CRM we build for you—no sneaky subscriptions or lock-ins (yes, you can move developers – there are no “payout” or cancellation fees). Full disclosure: we do retain copyright, but you’ve got everything you need to run it forever.

11. Total Control

You get the code, the database, everything. If you want to take it elsewhere, you can. Try doing that with Salesforce, HubSpot, or NetSuite.

Okay, So What’s the Catch?

Going custom isn’t always the first step—and that’s okay. In fact, we often (always) recommend starting with an off-the-shelf CRM first. You might find something that covers 80–90% of what you need, and that might be enough. But if it’s not, and you’re constantly wrestling with workarounds, hitting limitations, or paying for features you never use—then it’s probably time to build something that actually fits your business.

1. Higher Upfront Cost

   A custom CRM is an investment. You’re building exactly what you need, but it’s not going to cost $50/month.

   
   

2. Longer to Launch (Sometimes)

   Unlike off-the-shelf tools you can start using today, a custom build takes time. Planning, building, testing—it’s thorough, not instant.

   
   

3. You Pay for Hosting

   There’s no “free cloud” here. You’ll have ongoing hosting costs (though we keep them lean and you’re not paying per seat).

   
   

We Built Our Own CRM

Yep, we did. We’ve invested heavily in it, and it does some seriously powerful stuff. Here are just a few things we’re proud of:

1. Lead & Partner Management

   Tracks leads, referral partners, and automatically creates follow-up tasks like Einstein on four Red Bulls.

   
   

2. “Website Developer Things”

   Scans our clients’ websites to detect issues—ESPECIALLY the stuff outside our control. Think third parties making DNS changes they shouldn’t, clients forgetting to renew their domains or SSL certificates with external hosting providers, or someone randomly revoking our access to tools like Google Search Console. The list goes on (and on).

   
   

3. Monitors Our Hosting Environments in Real Time

   Creates tickets directly in our support system when something needs attention, pushing native notifications to our devices if something is seriously wrong.

   
   

4. Dashboards

   God, I hate reports. So we built dashboards that show exactly what matters. For example, with our client metrics, we colour code these:

   
   

   ▪️ Green = Good

   ▪️ Yellow = Needs attention

   ▪️ Red = Bad

   
   

   Don’t know what a dashboard is? We really need to talk.

   
   

5. Billing That Doesn’t Suck

   a. It takes us five minutes a month. No joke.

   b. Bill directly from a support ticket (same interface).

   
   

6. Oh, We Also Built Our Own App

   It connects to the same data when we are on the move.

   
   

7. A Ton of Other Smart Stuff

   All designed to let us spend more time building cool things and less time buried in admin tasks.

   
   

   My Personal Favourite: We book team meetings through our CRM—it auto-creates the Office 365 invite and sends the client an email and SMS reminder 30 minutes before. Massive time saver.

   
   

   Bonus: it also logs the meeting in our client dashboard, so we always know when we last caught up.

   
   

Keen to Chat?

If any of this resonates and you’re thinking about going custom - we’d love to talk. Hate what I’ve said and want to tell me I’m wrong? That’s cool too. Always happy to hear a different take.

This article is by Trent Moffatt the founder of TMD Online, a web development company specialising in custom online solutions. Based on the Gold Coast, he established the company in 1998, building a reputation for great customer service and tailor-made web experiences.

With over 25 years of experience in the web development industry, Trent and his team specialise in creating customised websites, including advanced content management systems, eCommerce platforms, and custom web-based applications.

www.tmdonline.com.au

Phone: 1300 422 305

Email: info@tmdonline.com.au