Software Without Subscription — Own Your Code Instead of the SaaS Trap
Your software. You own it. No subscription.
5 years of trade software subscriptions cost a 10-person business €9,000 to €18,000 in real terms — and you own nothing at the end. With Krafteq, you receive your own business software at a fixed price of €1,000–2,000, Krafteq Cloud at €250/year per software (1st year included, optional, self-hosting equally supported), and full source code access from Sprint 1. Delivery in under 4 weeks. No subscription, no vendor lock-in, no US backend — your software. You own it. No subscription.
From internal market research: no German competitor actively addresses the subscription trap. Krafteq occupies this position with a fixed price of €1,000–2,000 plus Krafteq Cloud at €250/year per software (1st year included).
The SaaS TrapWhy pay monthly for software you do not own?
plancraft, ToolTime, HERO, TAIFUN, Bosch OfficeOn — all solid programmes for standard businesses. But the subscription model itself has five weaknesses that become costly over time. These costs do not appear in the brochure; they show up on the annual invoice.
5-year TCO €9,000–18,000
A base rate of €39–97 per month sounds reasonable. Add the real extras — mobile app, time tracking, DATEV interface, additional users — and a 10-person business quickly reaches €150–300 per month. Over 5 years, that adds up to €9,000 to €18,000+.
Hidden add-on costs
Per module: +€10–35/user/month for mobile app access, time tracking, stock management, DATEV or DATANORM, GAEB import. What looks small at the first conversation grows with every new employee and every additional workflow.
Vendor lock-in
Your data lives in someone else's cloud. Switching provider is expensive and painful. The vendor controls the roadmap, pricing, and cancellation terms. A 20 per cent price increase is not something you can negotiate away on your own.
US backend risk
Some vendors advertise EU servers whilst running parts of their backend on US infrastructure. The US CLOUD Act permits US authorities to access data held by US companies — regardless of where it is stored. For trade businesses with IT security concerns, this is a genuine issue.
No adaptation to your workflows
Standard software never fits 100 per cent: 80 per cent unused features, 20 per cent of the critical workflows missing. You adapt your processes to the software — not the other way around. Workarounds accumulate, and the system becomes more fragile rather than more stable.
The Krafteq AnswerYour own software — five concrete promises
Krafteq steps sideways out of the SaaS competition. Instead of a monthly subscription, you receive a one-off fixed-price engagement, EU hosting at a standard rate, and full access to your source code. These five pillars underpin the anti-subscription proposition.
Code ownership from Sprint 1
You receive source code access from the very first sprint — in your own Git repository. Standard containers (Docker), portable to any provider, no proprietary cloud API. If Krafteq were to disappear tomorrow, your software would continue running on any hosting provider.
EU hosting without CLOUD Act risk
Krafteq Cloud runs on servers in Germany (EU fallback available) — optional, with self-hosting equally supported. GDPR-compliant by design, Data Processing Agreement (DPA) available as standard, encryption in transit and at rest. Your data does not leave Germany.
Fixed price, not a subscription
A one-off €1,000–2,000 for your first production version. Confirmed after the prototype walkthrough. Krafteq Cloud at €250 per year per software, 1st year included — no per-user tiers, no add-on modules, no price increases without prior notice. You know in advance what the next 5 years will cost.
Adapted to your workflows
We build 100 per cent tailored to your business — not 200 features of which 80 per cent go unused. What you do not need, we do not build. What defines your specific workflow, the software maps precisely.
No vendor lock-in
Data export at any time via self-service through the Customer Portal. Notice period 3 months to the end of a quarter, followed by a 30-day data export window. Your own database, your own domain, your own tenant. You are not locked in — and that is part of our sales promise.
ComparisonOwnership or subscription — the two models in detail
plancraft, ToolTime, HERO, TAIFUN, and Bosch OfficeOn are solid software for standard businesses. They compete on features within the SaaS model. Krafteq plays a different model: buy once instead of renting monthly. Here is the direct comparison.
| Krafteq Custom Software | plancraft / ToolTime / HERO | TAIFUN / Bosch OfficeOn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business model | Fixed price + annual hosting | Subscription / monthly fee | Subscription / monthly fee |
| 5-year TCO (10 users, with add-ons) | €2,000–3,000 | €9,000–18,000 | €8,000–15,000 |
| Source code ownership | Yes — from Sprint 1 in customer repository | No | No |
| Adaptation to your workflows | 100% bespoke | Standard configuration, limited customisation | Standard configuration, limited customisation |
| Data export | At any time, self-service via Customer Portal | Restricted | Restricted |
| Data residency | Guaranteed EU (Germany) | Variable — partly US backend | Variable |
| Vendor lock-in | None — standard containers, portable | High | High |
| Price stability | Fixed price confirmed, Krafteq Cloud constant at €250/year per software (1st year included) | Annual price adjustments typical | Annual price adjustments typical |
| Add-on costs | None — features are included in the fixed price or transparently calculated | Per module and user | Per module and user |
| Location | Leverkusen, personal point of contact | Hamburg, Berlin, Hanover — remote | Various |
How the Switch WorksThree steps out of your subscription
The journey from an active SaaS contract to your own software takes a matter of weeks. You see a working prototype before paying a single cent, and you know the fixed price before placing an order. No sales pressure, no open consultancy invoice.
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Free prototype in 5 business days
You describe your business and key workflows in the request form. You hear back from us within 24 hours. Krafteq builds a working prototype of your 1–2 core workflows — live-hosted, with a login for you and 1–2 other people, using realistic sample data. In the walkthrough we show everything and discuss the next version.
You see your own software in action — before any contract is in place.
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Fixed-price proposal and v1 in under 4 weeks
After the walkthrough you receive a confirmed fixed-price proposal between €1,000 and €2,000 — depending on scope. We develop in 1- to 2-week sprints with demos, source code in the customer repository from Sprint 1. Data migration from Excel, CSV, or an existing SaaS solution from €300 as a one-off.
Fixed price instead of hourly billing. Code is yours from the first day of paid development.
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Cancel your current SaaS contract
Once your v1 is live in production, you cancel the existing SaaS provider — typical notice is 1–3 months to the end of a quarter. We help with the data export from the legacy system and the transfer into your new software. Krafteq Cloud then runs at €250/year per software (1st year included), self-hosting equally supported; further development is billed by time or on an hourly credit.
From now on, you pay once instead of monthly. Code, data, and roadmap belong to you.
TrustWith the rigour of a German engineering partner
Krafteq is a German GmbH based in Leverkusen. We have been serving mid-market and enterprise clients for years — and we bring those engineering standards to the small business stack.
Krafteq GmbH, Leverkusen
A German company based in the Rhineland. A personal point of contact rather than a call centre. On-site meetings are possible; fully remote works equally well. Competitors are based in Hamburg, Berlin, and Hanover.
EU hosting & GDPR by design
Krafteq Cloud runs on servers in Germany (EU fallback available) — no US CLOUD Act risk. Data Processing Agreement (DPA/AVV) available as standard, encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest, dedicated database per customer, strict tenant isolation.
ISO 27001 in progress
ISO 27001 certification in progress — currently in the gap analysis phase, target Q1 2027. Already in place: code review on every change, secrets management with HashiCorp Vault, vulnerability scanning on every container before deployment.
Built by Senior Engineers
AI-assisted delivery accelerates — quality control remains human.
“No competitor plays this message actively — we checked. plancraft, ToolTime, and HERO compete on features within the subscription model. At Krafteq, you own the code and the data, a one-off fixed price instead of monthly rent. What makes this possible is AI-assisted development combined with our productised stack — Krafteq Cloud, Customer Portal, IAM. We pass the leverage on to you.”
FAQFrequently asked questions about leaving your subscription
Software Without Subscription — Own Your Code Instead of the SaaS Trap — let's tackle it
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