1C or custom software: how to run accounting, stock and orders
In Kazakhstan, people search Google for «1С» 8,100 times a month (Google Ads data, October 2026). It's the standard for accounting. But many companies notice that it's inconvenient for running orders, the warehouse and production. Let's look at when 1C is enough and when you need custom software.
What 1C does well
- Accounting and taxes.
- Payroll and HR.
- Official documents and reporting.
That's what 1C is for, and there's usually no reason to replace it here.
Where the difficulties start
Problems appear wherever your business has its own way of doing things:
- the price depends on size, material and complexity;
- orders go through several stages: measuring, production, delivery, installation;
- you need to see machinery, staff shifts and warehouse stock in real time;
- managers work from their phones;
- leads come in from WhatsApp and the website, and you want to see them in one place.
That's when the Excel spreadsheets, manual calculations and double data entry begin.
What custom software is
It's a system built around the way your company actually works. It's often called ERP or CRM, but the idea is simple: screens built around your processes. For example:
- orders and their stages;
- warehouse and purchasing;
- production;
- price calculation using your formula;
- a report for the head of the company: revenue, expenses, customer debts.
An example from our work: for a rolled-metal company in Astana, we built a website with a calculator for customer requests and an admin panel. Requests, the price list, categories and texts are all managed from one panel. Access rights are split: only the owner can change bank details and delete data; everything else is done by a manager.
Not "or" but "and"
Most often, the best option is 1C for accounting, custom software for day-to-day work. You can set up data exchange between them, so nothing has to be entered twice.
How to tell it's time
- Your Excel spreadsheets have grown out of control, and people get confused in them.
- Managers calculate prices by hand and make mistakes.
- The head of the company can't see stock, orders and debts without calling employees.
- The same data is entered in several places.
- Leads get lost between WhatsApp, the website and a spreadsheet.
If you recognize yourself in at least two of these points, custom software will most likely pay for itself in staff time.
Where to start
- Describe your processes: how an order comes in now and what happens to it next.
- Sketch the screens: what a manager sees and what the head of the company sees.
- Launch the main process, then add the rest piece by piece.
That way, the software is useful right away, not after six months of development.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on the number of processes. It's wiser to start with one main process and expand the system once it's working.
We build simple screens for each role: a manager sees their own orders, the head of the company sees the big picture.
Yes, the software can be made easy to use on a phone.