Salesforce thinks you sell software. You bid on the next Karratha shutdown
A custom CRM (Customer Relationship Management) for a Perth resources-services or construction firm runs AUD $70k to $160k over 3 to 6 months. You go custom when your pipeline is tenders, prequalifications and shutdown windows rather than a clean SaaS funnel, and Salesforce's stage logic stops describing how you actually win work.
Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho and Pipedrive are built around a deal that moves predictably from lead to close. Your work doesn't behave like that. You're tracking a BHP or Rio prequalification that takes nine months, a shutdown bid that opens and closes on the client's calendar, and a relationship with a procurement team that matters more than any single tender. Force that into a HubSpot pipeline and the stages stop meaning anything.
So the real account intelligence lives in a senior estimator's head and a shared inbox. When that person is on swing or leaves, the relationship history and the tender deadlines go with them. The CRM you pay for becomes a contact list nobody trusts.
- Your pipeline is tenders and prequals, and Salesforce stages describe none of it
- Losing an estimator means losing a client relationship and its history
- You bid across multiple majors and can't see your prequalification status in one place
- Bid deadlines get missed because they live in personal calendars
- Your sales motion is a straightforward funnel that HubSpot already fits
- You're a small team where a shared Pipedrive board still works
- You need marketing automation more than tender tracking
- You have no one to own and maintain a custom system
- Pipeline stages that match how you actually win: prequal, EOI, tender, award, shutdown delivery
- Prequalification status tracked per major so you know where you can and can't bid
- Tender and shutdown deadlines surface automatically instead of dying in an estimator's calendar
- Account history survives roster changes and resignations
- Connects to your project management software and quoting so a won bid flows straight into delivery
- You lose Salesforce's huge ecosystem of off-the-shelf integrations and have to build what you need
- A custom CRM needs an owner or it rots into the same stale contact list you started with
- Reporting and dashboards are your build, not a one-click vendor feature
- If your sales process is genuinely simple, this is over-engineering you'll regret paying for
The honest cost picture for Perth
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Tender and prequal CRM for a services firm | $70k to $120k | 3 to 5 months |
| CRM + bid management + delivery handoff | $120k to $160k | 4 to 6 months |
| CRM layer on top of existing Salesforce | $45k to $80k | 2 to 3 months |
Feature priorities for Perth teams
Perth CRM: the full scope
Everything a CRM build here can cover: sales pipeline automation, lead management system, CRM API integration, marketing automation, Salesforce development, HubSpot integration and Zoho CRM.
Exactly what you get
A custom CRM here is a tender and relationship engine, not a sales funnel. It tracks where you're prequalified across BHP, Rio and FMG, surfaces shutdown and tender deadlines from each client's calendar, gates bids on compliance documents, and keeps account history alive through roster changes. Won work hands off cleanly into project management software and resourcing, so the bid you win in the CRM is the job you deliver.
How to choose a developer in Perth
Find a team that understands the difference between selling a subscription and winning a shutdown bid. Ask them to model a nine-month prequalification on the spot. Ask how compliance documents gate a tender. If they keep steering you back to a HubSpot funnel, they're solving a problem you don't have. The right partner has built for someone who lives and dies by the resources tender cycle.
Timeline: what happens, and when
- !They demo a sales funnel template. Ask how they'd model a prequalification that takes nine months
- !No concept of compliance gating. Ask what stops a bid going out with an expired insurance
- !They assume always-on field reps. Ask how the CRM behaves for staff on a two-week swing
- !No delivery handoff plan. Ask how a won tender becomes a resourced project
- !Generic agency with zero resources clients. Ask for a tender or bid workflow they've shipped
Most Perth teams pricing crm end up comparing notes on mobile app, website, pos too; the systems share one data spine.
Rohan advises mid-market and enterprise teams on ERP, CRM and custom software, and has led delivery on dozens of business-software builds.
Writes for Digital Heroes, shipping business software for 2,000+ brands across 55+ countries since 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just configure Salesforce?
You can, up to a point. But Salesforce's deal-stage logic and reporting assume a funnel. For a tender and prequalification pipeline you'll fight the tool harder than building a CRM shaped around how resources work is actually won.
How does it keep account history through FIFO rosters?
Activity, emails and tender notes attach to the account, not the individual. When an estimator goes on swing or leaves, the next person opens the account and sees the full history.
Can it track which majors we're prequalified with?
Yes. That's a core feature: prequalification status per client, with expiry and renewal dates, so you know exactly where you can bid before you spend time on an EOI.
What does it cost?
AUD $70k to $160k for a custom build, or $45k to $80k for a tender layer on top of an existing Salesforce instance you don't want to abandon.
Does it connect to delivery?
It should. A won bid should flow into your project management software and resourcing without re-keying, so sales intelligence and delivery aren't two disconnected worlds.