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Buy it or Write it?
by: Chris Vandersluis
Some companies approach us to say that they don’t feel the need to buy TimeControl because
it would be trivial to create it themselves. TimeControl is a multi-level corporate
timekeeping system based on over 16 years of experience creating and deploying enterprise
project control systems and over 50 man-years of experience enhancing our basic
project-oriented timekeeping model.
We have prepared the following financial comparison for organizations considering writing
their own timekeeping system based on our own experience of custom designing and writing such
systems since 1982.
Purchasing TimeControl (100 users)
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Year 1
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Year 2
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Year 3
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Cost of TimeControl (100 licenses)
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$10,000
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$0
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$0
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Annual Maintenance
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$0
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$0
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$0
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Support/Upgrades
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$0
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$2,000
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$2,000
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Total
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$10,000 |
$2,000 |
$2,000 |
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Cost Per user per year |
$100 |
$20 |
$20 |
Purchasing TimeControl (1,000 users)
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Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
|
Cost of TimeControl (1000 licenses) |
$60,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
Annual Maintenance |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
Support/Upgrades |
$0 |
$12,000 |
$12,000 |
|
Total |
$60,000 |
$12,000 |
$12,000 |
|
Cost Per user per year |
$60 |
$12 |
$12 |
Writing your own Enterprise Timekeeping System
To write your own enterprise timekeeping system with functionality comparable to TimeControl using the same language, databases and other tools would require the following investment:
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Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
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Development Cost *1 |
$90,000.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
Programming Tools |
$5,700.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
Tools upgrades |
$0.00 |
$2,280.00 |
$2,280.00 |
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Ongoing internal support of system |
$0.00 |
$22,500.00 |
$22,500.00 |
|
Support/Upgrades |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
Total |
$95,700.00 |
$23,850.00 |
$23,850.00 |
|
Cost Per user per year |
$957.00 |
$23.85 |
$23.85 |
Conclusion
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Purchase 100 TimeControl System |
Purchase 1000 TimeControl System |
Develop In-house System |
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3 Year Total Cost |
$14,000.00 |
$84,000.00 |
$143,400.00 |
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- A departmental timekeeping system would take approximately 2 work-years. The amount of Based on two years full time of two programmer salaried at $45,000 each.
- Development includes system design, programming, testing, minimal on-line help and minimal documentation.
- It is assumed that if a custom system, only the minimal functionality for that organization would be created not the full functionality of TimeControl.
- The estimate is for a 2-tier Client/Server Windows interface, and does not include Java.
- It is assumed that qualified programmer/system analyst staff are available who already have some understanding of design requirements.
- A custom application would typically require minimal documentation and on-line help. It is assumed that only the minimal work required would be done in this area, not the help/documentation effort done for a commercial application such as TimeControl.
- There is no allowance for major new enhancements to the system. Ongoing technical support (bug fixes, minor feature enhancements etc.) would require approximately 50% of one programmer. We have allotted this at 50% of a $45,000/year salary.
Notes
If you decide to move forward with a custom implementation there are a few implications to consider:
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Customized Development |
TimeControl |
- Delivery of your customized system and the start of your implementation process will be at least one year from the start of the project.
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- Delivery of TimeControl could be within 24 hours.
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Programmers and Systems Analysts must be available to do the project. In addition, during the design and testing phase, many other personnel will need to devote time to determining the system requirements, approving the specifications, testing the system through various quality phases etc. There is no allowance in our model for these costs. In addition, there is no allowance for the project management costs of the project. With many companies devoting their I/S resources to Year 2000 projects, these resources may be hard to come by.
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- TimeControl is already written. It is deliverable instantly with no programmer/systems analysts required.
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Features in a customized system will often not include market driven enhancements found in commercial systems. This places the customized system in perpetual competition with commercial systems which advertise regularly. Yet there is no allowance for continual improvements to the customized system. |
As a market-driven system, TimeControl will be continually upgraded and enhanced.
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- End -
To receive a printed copy of this paper or information on any of our
products and services, contact HMS Software at info@hmssoftware.ca or by phone at 514-695-8122.
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go to HMS Corporate 
