Insights

Straight answers about business software

No jargon, no hype — what software actually costs, when building beats buying, and how not to get burned. Written by the people who build it, not a content team.

Real numbers, real rangesWhen to build — and when not toWritten by working engineers

Featured

Pricing & BudgetingJun 18, 20269 min read

What custom software actually costs in 2026

Quotes for the same project can vary by 5×. Here are the real numbers behind custom software pricing — what moves them, what vendors hide, and how to budget without getting burned.

Anthony

Founder, 714software

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Read this before you sign anything

Pricing, vendor selection, build-vs-buy, AI that pays — field notes from real projects, not recycled thought leadership.

Strategy

Build vs. buy: a decision framework for business software

Off-the-shelf is the right answer more often than agencies admit — until the day it quietly isn't. A practical framework for knowing which side of the line you're on.

AnthonyMay 28, 2026 · 8 min read

Operations

Seven signs your business has outgrown spreadsheets

Every operations spreadsheet starts as a quick fix and ends as load-bearing infrastructure. Here's how to tell when yours has crossed the line — and what replacing it actually looks like.

AnthonyMay 6, 2026 · 7 min read

Vendor Selection

How to choose a software development partner — and the red flags to run from

Most software project horror stories were predictable at the sales stage. The green flags, the red flags, and the questions that separate builders from bill collectors.

AnthonyApr 15, 2026 · 10 min read

Where AI actually pays off in a mid-sized business

Skip the hype and the doom. Four AI patterns that reliably return their cost inside a year for ordinary businesses — and the ones that quietly don't.

AnthonyMar 24, 2026 · 9 min read

Behind the Studio

Why you don't pay us until your product is finished

No deposits, no milestone invoices, nothing until your software is delivered and working — then from $35 a month. Inside the model, why it exists, and why almost nobody else offers it.

AnthonyMar 2, 2026 · 6 min read

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Strategy1
Operations1
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Every article is written by the engineers who do the work — the same people who scope, quote, and ship the projects these lessons come from.

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