Off-the-shelf software is often enough. Here is where it falls short in the French Caribbean, what custom costs and what to ask before you sign.
The essentials in 30 seconds
| Your situation | What you need |
|---|---|
| Invoices, accounting, calendar: the same needs as everyone else | Off-the-shelf software |
| Two or three programs that don't talk to each other, with retyping in between | A small tool that connects them |
| A trade with its own rules: delivery rounds, skips, rental units, eligibility tests | Custom software |
| A way of working that still changes every month | Nothing for now: settle it first |
Custom or off-the-shelf software: the question often comes up on a Friday evening, when someone is still copying the week's orders into an Excel file nobody else dares touch. An agency that sells custom software ought to answer "custom". We sell it, and yet for an invoice, accounting or a calendar, our answer is: buy off-the-shelf. Here is how to decide in Guadeloupe, Martinique and the wider Caribbean, what each option costs and what to ask before you sign.
The short answer: choose off-the-shelf software if your needs look like those of any other business. Move to custom software if your trade has its own rules, or if someone copies the same information from one tool to another every week. In between, a small tool can connect what you already have.
When off-the-shelf software is enough
If your need is common, don't pay to have it built. Writing an invoice or keeping a calendar works much the same way from one business to the next. Publishers have already solved these problems for many companies.
Off-the-shelf software costs little to start and is quick to set up. The publisher handles updates, including when the law changes. For a small team with no particular process, it is often the right choice.
Where operations software falls short
It falls short where your trade doesn't look like everyone else's. The signs show up in your team's day:
- Retyping: the same customer is entered in the quote, the invoice and the tracking sheet.
- The Excel file on the side: you pay for the software, but the real tracking stays in a spreadsheet.
- Features you never use: you pay for a whole package, use a small part of it, and the one thing you need is missing.
- The field forgotten: the screen is designed for a desk, not for a driver or a technician with a phone.
France Num's guide to management software for the building trade says the same: check that the software talks to your tools, "to avoid double entry".
Off-the-shelf software in the French Caribbean: four questions before you sign
Software designed for mainland France doesn't necessarily know your rules. Ask the publisher these questions, and ask to see the answer during the demo:
- Does it handle local VAT? The standard rate is 8.5% in Guadeloupe and Martinique, and VAT provisionally does not apply in French Guiana. If you work across several territories, it must handle both cases.
- Can it track dock dues (octroi de mer)? Your imports are subject to them, wherever they come from. If you import or manufacture, ask how they feed into the cost of your products.
- Does support answer during local hours? When it is 4 pm in Pointe-à-Pitre, it is 9 or 10 pm in Paris, depending on the season.
- Can I get my data out, and in what format? France Num notes that this question is "rarely asked when signing", yet it becomes crucial the day you change tools.
For VAT and dock dues, review your situation with your accountant.
Custom or off-the-shelf software: what is the price?
Off-the-shelf costs less at the start; custom is paid for mainly at creation. Always compare the full cost of the first year, including setup and training, as France Num advises.
| At the start | Each month | |
|---|---|---|
| Odoo (according to the publisher) | €0 for a single app | €14.90 per user for all apps, reduced rate for the first 12 months |
| Sellsy, invoicing (according to the publisher) | 12-month commitment | €39 to €47 excl. VAT per user on the Standard plan, depending on how you pay |
| Custom, Ecomsoft's price guide (according to the publisher) | €12,000 to €50,000 excl. VAT for invoicing software | Hosting from €90, maintenance of about 10% of the project per year |
| Custom, E.T. Connect | From €2,000 excl. VAT, payable in up to 6 instalments | From €69.90 excl. VAT, hosting and updates included |
With custom software, you also depend on whoever built it. Before you sign with an agency, always ask what happens if you leave.
What E.T. Connect does
We build business software for small teams, and only where off-the-shelf software is not enough. Your custom business software follows the way you work: one place for your requests, quotes, customers and payments, on computer, tablet and phone.
What we have already built
- SNR Guadeloupe (recycling): website requests arrive sorted in a management tool. Result: 25% more prospects per month.
- Consulting 971: an online eligibility test, then prospects and payments managed in an admin area.
- AVENTI Affichage (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana): quote requests received and tracked in an admin area.
You can watch these tools on video on our business software page.
How it works
We listen to your need, then write a specification: what the tool will do, what it won't do, and the price. Nothing starts until you have approved it. You then follow progress and give your feedback before the tool goes live.
What we can do for you
- Keep what works: you hold on to your invoicing software, and a small tool connects to it when possible, as we explain in the cost of e-invoicing.
- Replace the Excel file: the tracking only one person understands becomes a screen the whole team can use.
- Equip the field: a driver or technician updates a job from a phone, and the office sees it straight away.
- Add an AI agent trained on your documents: it finds information or prepares a quote for your team.
What it costs, and what happens if you leave
Creation starts at €2,000 excl. VAT, payable in up to 6 instalments. This floor applies to a tool with a simple scope. The more features and connections, the higher it goes, sometimes well above. The business software subscription starts at €69.90 excl. VAT per month: hosting, updates, bug fixes and minor changes included, with a reply within 48 hours.
Here are our exit rules too. The commitment is 12 months, then the contract continues with 4 months' notice. The code remains the property of E.T. Connect. If you leave with nothing owed, we transfer the tool to your new provider for the equivalent of 2 months' subscription.
Our goal remains to reduce your costs: less time spent retyping, and control over your processes.
Where to start?
- Note what your team copies each week, and from where to where.
- Try off-the-shelf software on your most common case. Several offer a free trial.
- Ask the four questions above during the demo.
- Compare the full cost of the first year.
- Describe in two lines the Excel file you can't do without. We will tell you if off-the-shelf software is enough. Take our 1-minute quiz on our home page, or write to us directly.
Frequently asked questions
At E.T. Connect, allow 1 month once the specification is approved. This also depends on how quickly you respond: a postponed meeting or late content delays delivery by the same amount. The specification sets out what will be delivered before work begins.
It depends on the contract, so read it before you sign. Some agencies hand over the code, others keep it. At E.T. Connect, the code remains ours and the tool is provided with the subscription. Always ask your provider what happens to the code and your data if you leave.
Yes, Excel can stay for your calculations and one-off analysis. What benefits from moving out is shared tracking: the file several people edit and whose formulas only one person understands. Your existing data generally serves as the starting point for the new tool.
Not always: the size of the team matters less than the nature of the need. A team of three in a common trade will be well served by off-the-shelf software. The same team with delivery rounds, pricing or rules specific to its business can save time every week.
Sources
- impots.gouv.fr, "What are the different VAT rates in the overseas departments?", 2026 (in French)
- douane.gouv.fr, "Importing goods into an overseas department" (in French)
- douane.gouv.fr, "Declaring your internal dock dues" (in French)
- France Num, "How to choose the right management software for a small building firm", 2026 (in French, written by the publisher Graneet)
- Odoo, pricing (publisher's page)
- Sellsy, plans (publisher's page)
- Ecomsoft, custom software development (publisher's page, in French)
Information checked on 1 November 2026. Publishers' prices change often: check them on their websites. E.T. Connect prices exclude VAT. Quotes from French sources are our translations.
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