No forced custom build
If a standard CRM fits your workflow, we’ll recommend it.Custom CRM development for SMEs
Custom CRM development built around your business
FRAI builds custom CRM software around your customer, sales and operational workflows.One team handles integration, migration, hosting and maintenance after launch.
Clear starting price
Custom CRM projects start at €4,000. We confirm the final price after defining the scope.Existing systems
Useful systems and data can remain connected where viableTechnical ownership
One accountable technical owner for the agreed production boundary01 — Custom CRM assessment
Could a custom CRM make economic sense?
Start with three practical questions.
Is a critical customer or sales workflow still managed in Excel?
YES?Does your team spend paid time copying data between disconnected systems?
YES?Are CRM licences, add-ons and consultants costing more than €20,000 a year?
YES?
If any answer is yes, a custom CRM assessment may be worthwhile.
A custom CRM can reduce recurring costs and improve how your business operates.
02
When HubSpot or Salesforce no longer fits
Standard CRMs can become expensive and restrictive as your business grows. FRAI builds a custom CRM around how your business works, then supports it after launch.
- 01
Your team still uses spreadsheets next to the CRM
- 02
Reporting depends on manual exports
- 03
The CRM process is full of custom fields nobody fully understands
- 04
You pay for users, hubs, add-ons, or consultants you do not really need
- 05
Sales is connected to operations, support, delivery, finance, or customer service
- 06
The CRM cannot represent your operating workflow cleanly
- 07
You need one technical owner responsible for the system after launch
03
What FRAI can build inside a managed custom CRM
A managed custom CRM should not be a generic feature list. It should be designed around the way your company works.
CRM data model
- 01
Contacts, companies, customers, leads, deals, partners, or custom objects
- 02
Custom fields and relationships designed around your business
- 03
Clean structures that avoid spreadsheet chaos
Sales workflow
- 01
Lead intake and qualification
- 02
Pipeline stages, follow-ups, quotes, approvals, and activity tracking
- 03
Deal notes, documents, and communication history
Operations workflow
- 01
Order, booking, delivery, fulfilment, or service stages
- 02
Task assignment between sales, operations, and support
- 03
Internal approvals and customer onboarding workflows
Dashboards and reporting
- 01
Sales, operations, customer status, and management dashboards
- 02
Custom KPIs and exportable reports when needed
- 03
Views of the data your team actually uses
Customer portals
- 01
Customer login areas
- 02
Order, request, document, booking, or service history
- 03
Self-service forms and communication workflows
Integrations and AI
- 01
Email, forms, ecommerce, payments, invoicing, WhatsApp, APIs, and databases
- 02
AI-assisted lead classification, summaries, routing, extraction, or drafting where useful
- 03
AI added only when it improves the workflow
04 — Client evidence
A custom CRM built around package and attendance rules
This anonymized FRAI client case shows the workflow before and after implementation. It documents an operational change, not a percentage saving or revenue claim.
Starting point
ActiveCampaign, ClickUp, and WooCommerce worked, but package credits, attendance, and follow-up still depended on manual checks.
What FRAI built
A CRM connected to WooCommerce that links each purchase to the client, package entitlement, events, and attendance.
What changed
One client record now shows remaining sessions, attendance, spend, and the next action. The coach no longer reconstructs that information after each event.
05 — Annual CRM cost comparison
What does your CRM cost every year?
Choose a professional CRM plan, 5–30 paid full-access users and any known yearly CRM costs. Then compare annual costs, FRAI’s first 12 months and estimated payback.
Annual CRM cost comparison
See what your CRM costs every year—and when a focused FRAI build may pay for itself.
Ownership cost over time
See the upfront build become the lower recurring cost.
Salesforce Pro SuiteFRAI planning range
€12,000 selected plan€12,200–€14,400 FRAI total
€24,000 selected plan€15,500–€18,000 FRAI total
€36,000 selected plan€18,800–€21,600 FRAI total
Salesforce prices are the published EU list prices in euros. Published onboarding is included in first-year and ownership totals, but not in the recurring annual figure. FRAI values are guided planning bands rather than published fixed-price packages. The FRAI total includes the selected CRM licence during delivery, then FRAI operation after launch. Any additional CRM figures are supplied by you and are not market averages.
Public references
HubSpot catalog HubSpot Sales pricing Salesforce EU pricing Pricing can change at any time. These official sources are comparison benchmarks, not a commercial offer.
06
The FRAI CRM migration process
Switching from HubSpot, Salesforce, spreadsheets, or an old CRM should not be rushed. A CRM migration is not only a data export. It is a business workflow decision.
- 01
Audit the current CRM or repository
Review contacts, companies, fields, automations, reports, integrations, exports, roles, dashboards, and manual workarounds. If there is already custom software, review code, hosting, database, documentation, deployment, and risk.
- 02
Decide what should stay, connect, or be replaced
Not everything should be rebuilt. FRAI identifies what is useful, what is broken, what can be connected, what should be simplified, and what should be removed.
- 03
Design around the operating workflow
The CRM is designed around sales, operations, support, customers, management, reporting, permissions, tasks, documents, portals, and integrations.
- 04
Build the first useful version
Start with the workflow that creates the most value: core records, stages, dashboards, permissions, forms, important integrations, and hosting from the start.
- 05
Migrate essential data
Move the data that matters and avoid carrying old, duplicated, unused, or unreliable data into the new CRM.
- 06
Run a controlled transition
Run old and new systems in parallel when needed so the team can validate workflows, reports, permissions, and data quality.
- 07
Operate after launch
FRAI can stay responsible for hosting, monitoring, maintenance, support, documentation, backups, updates, and the agreed integrations. New features are scoped separately.
07
A CRM is operational infrastructure
The software only creates value when its hosting, maintenance, ownership, data, and workflow remain under control after launch.
01
Hosting
Application and database hosting, deployment management, backups, and restore planning.
02
Maintenance
Bug fixing, dependency updates, documentation, integrations, and support.
03
Ownership
One technical owner responsible for the CRM after launch.
04
Security and recovery
Access control, monitoring, backup verification, recovery planning, and incident handling for the CRM.
09
FAQ: managed custom CRM development
Questions about replacement, migration, recurring cost, hosting, maintenance, and long-term ownership.
Is FRAI a HubSpot alternative?
FRAI can be a HubSpot alternative when an SME has outgrown HubSpot, needs a CRM built around a specific workflow, or wants a managed custom CRM with hosting and maintenance. FRAI can also build around HubSpot if replacing it is not the right decision. New features are scoped separately.
Is FRAI a Salesforce alternative for SMEs?
FRAI can be a Salesforce alternative for SMEs that do not need the full complexity of Salesforce but do need custom CRM workflows, operational logic, custom dashboards, integrations, hosting, and long-term technical ownership.
Is a custom CRM cheaper than HubSpot or Salesforce?
A custom CRM is not always cheaper. The responsible comparison includes the initial build or migration, monthly operation, infrastructure, integrations, support, internal administration, taxes, and the value of the workflow being improved. FRAI prepares a scope-specific comparison instead of promising a universal percentage saving.
Can FRAI migrate data from HubSpot or Salesforce?
Yes. FRAI can help migrate essential data after reviewing the current setup, objects, fields, workflows, integrations, permissions, exports, API access, and data quality.
Should we switch from HubSpot or Salesforce immediately?
Not always. The first step should be an audit. Sometimes the best decision is to stay with the current CRM. Sometimes the best decision is to build custom software around it. Sometimes the best decision is to replace it with a managed custom CRM.
Can FRAI build around our existing CRM?
Yes. FRAI can build customer portals, dashboards, workflow tools, lead capture systems, reporting layers, integrations, or operational tools around an existing CRM when the CRM still works for sales but does not cover the full business workflow.
Can FRAI take over an existing custom CRM repository?
Yes, but only after reviewing the software. FRAI first audits the codebase, database, hosting, documentation, deployment process, security basics, integrations, and maintainability before taking responsibility.
Does the managed custom CRM include hosting and maintenance?
Yes. FRAI can host and operate the CRM as part of a managed software relationship, including application and database hosting, backups, monitoring, deployments, routine maintenance, bug fixes, documentation, support, and the agreed integrations. New features are scoped separately.
How long does it take to build a custom CRM?
It depends on scope. A focused first version can often be built faster than a large CRM rebuild. The right approach is usually to start with the workflow that creates the most business value, then expand the CRM over time.
Can AI be included in the custom CRM?
Yes. FRAI can add AI features such as lead classification, request routing, note summaries, document extraction, response drafting, or internal assistant functions when they improve the workflow.
10 — Discuss your custom CRM
Decide what should stay, connect, or be replaced
FRAI can audit your current setup, identify the workflows that matter, compare recurring cost, and define the first version of a managed custom CRM around your business process.
Pricing can change at any time. HubSpot and Salesforce are trademarks of their respective owners. FRAI is not affiliated with HubSpot or Salesforce.