Build it, buy it, or connect what you have?

1. Each year's running cost = the first year's running cost, increased by the yearly rise for each year that has passed (worked out year by year, not first year x five).
2. Manual work left each year = hours a week x working weeks x the full hourly cost of the people doing it.
3. Total for each option = one-off cost + every year's running cost + every year's manual work, over three and five years.
4. The crossover is the first year in which a more expensive starting option becomes the cheaper one overall.

Buy means an existing product, set up and paid for by subscription. Build means software made around the way you work, with hosting and maintenance. Connect means keeping the tools you have and joining them up, or adding a small custom piece alongside them. Use real quotes where you have them. Leave an option blank to leave it out.

A business compares three routes to stop retyping orders between its website and its stock system. Buying a new all-in-one product has a small setup cost but a subscription that rises every year and still leaves some manual checking. Building has the largest one-off cost and lower running costs. Connecting the two existing systems sits in between and removes most of the retyping. Over five years, the order of the totals can change once price rises and the manual work are counted, which is why the calculator shows each year.