A software company in Turkey is the technical team that builds software around your own workflow, connects the systems you already use, and keeps that software alive for years after launch. Choosing the right one is not about liking the screenshots in a portfolio; it is about asking eight concrete things in writing: scope document, contract, code ownership, technology choice, maintenance agreement, data security, integrations and pricing model.
This guide is a checklist for businesses about to start a custom software, mobile app, admin panel or integration project in Turkey — which question reveals which risk in advance, and which item costs you money later if it is missing from the contract. Our own service scope is on the Turkey software company page; here we focus on the decision itself.
What a software company in Turkey does and does not do
Software companies and web agencies are often put in the same box, even though the output differs. An agency builds the shop window: brochure site, content, visibility. A software company builds the place where the work actually happens: bookings, orders, stock, accounts receivable, quotes, field teams, reporting. The work most often asked of a software company in Turkey:
- Custom panels and operations software: Bookings, orders, stock, balances and tasks gathered on one screen.
- Mobile apps: Customer-facing or field-team apps, together with an admin panel.
- Integrations: Accounting, Turkish e-invoicing (e-fatura), shipping, marketplaces, payments and channel managers.
- Modernization: Renewing an old system that can no longer be maintained, or migrating its data.
What it does not do should be just as clear: a software company will not define your processes for you. Who approves what, how a cancellation works, which rule changes a price — that knowledge is yours. A good team extracts it with the right questions instead of deciding for you.
Off-the-shelf package or custom software?
The first decision is not the vendor, it is the method. If a ready-made SaaS package covers your work, custom software is an unnecessary expense; if the package fights your operation, custom software is not a cost but time recovered.
| Criterion | Off-the-shelf (SaaS) | Custom software |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Low, usually a monthly subscription | One-off development fee |
| Ongoing cost | Monthly fee per user or branch, grows over time | Annual server + maintenance, does not grow with users |
| Time to first use | Days | Weeks per phase |
| Fit to your workflow | As far as the package allows | Built around your flow |
| Integration flexibility | The vendor's ready-made connectors | Can be built for any system you need |
| Data and code ownership | With the vendor; export may be limited when you leave | Yours, if the contract says so |
| Change requests | Depend on the vendor's roadmap | Depend on your priority list |
| When is it the right call? | Standard process, small team, tight budget | Process specific to you, several systems synced by hand, the package blocks you |
There is a third route, and it is the one we set up most often in Turkey: leave the ready-made packages in place and write a custom layer between them. The accounting program stays, the marketplace panel stays; what you build is the software that removes the manual copying in between. We covered the distinction in detail in what custom software development is.
What makes Turkey projects different
The local context genuinely changes the scope of the software. Four situations come up again and again.
Tourism, hotels and bookings
In hotels, villas, boats and tour businesses the critical risk is double booking. If the channel manager, the booking form on your site and the request that arrives by phone do not write into the same availability table, one day the same room will be sold twice. Add seasonal rate rules, deposits, cancellation policy and multilingual use: the same screen may be used by staff working in Turkish, English and Russian.
Agriculture and logistics
In greenhouses, wholesale markets and haulage the need is usually lot tracking, crate and packaging counts, dispatch planning and the grower–buyer account balance. Kilogram-to-unit conversion, prices that change daily and broker commission are rules off-the-shelf packages struggle with; this is one of the fastest payback areas for custom software.
Real estate and construction
Portfolio management, control over the same property sitting with several agents, language and currency support for foreign buyers, feeds to listing portals, and post-sale title deed and payment tracking. The item most often overlooked is keeping a property's photos and descriptions in one place so every channel receives the same version.
Health tourism and clinics
The channel a patient enquiry arrives through (form, WhatsApp, agency) has to merge with the appointment, the quote and the treatment plan in a single record. Data sensitivity rises here too: under KVKK, Turkey's personal data protection law, health data is a special category, so access rights and audit logging must be designed from the start.
Seasonal workload is the common denominator. Between April and October nobody on the team has time for software, so the calendar has to be built backwards: analysis and development in winter, go-live and training before the season opens, and only support during the season. Switching to a new system mid-season fails even when the software is good.
Eight criteria for choosing the team
1. Scope document and contract
This is the most important one. If the quote is a single line such as "admin panel — 3 months", you will spend the end of the project arguing about what is missing. A proper scope document lists screens, user roles, the permissions of each role, the integrations, what is explicitly out of scope, the delivery phases and the acceptance criteria. The contract should also cover revision rounds, what happens on delay, the payment plan and how change requests will be priced.
A practical test: if a third person reading the quote answers "what will be delivered when this project is finished?" the same way you do, the document is good enough.
2. Code ownership and source code handover
If the contract does not say that the source code and the data belong to you, you do not have full control over the system. Ask three things separately: will the source code be handed over, whose account holds the repository, and can you get a database backup whenever you ask? Server and domain records should also be registered in the company's name. Asking for this is not distrust, it is standard: it is the only thing that decides whether you can continue with a different team.
3. Technology choice
The right question is not "which technology is best" but "will there be a developer to maintain this in five years". A common, current stack — modern JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks on the web, a single codebase with Flutter or React Native on mobile, a relational database — keeps you from depending on one team; a bespoke framework nobody else knows is a long-term risk. Also settle whether iOS and Android will be built separately or from one codebase; details are on the mobile app development page.
4. Maintenance and support agreement
Software does not end at delivery: security patches, API changes in the services you integrate with, server updates and inevitable bugs continue. The agreement should state the response time, which work counts as maintenance (bug fixing, security, backups) and which counts as new development, how many hours a month are included, and the hourly rate beyond that. An extra question for tourism businesses: is there weekend and evening support during the season? When the booking system stops on a Saturday evening you cannot wait until Monday.
5. Data security and Turkish data protection law
The data you process may include customer names, phone numbers, passports, payment details or health records. The minimum to expect from a software company: HTTPS and encrypted connections, role-based access, logging of critical actions, regular backups whose restore has actually been tested, and a short list of people with database access.
Legally you are the data controller and the software company is usually the data processor. Defining that relationship in the contract, knowing which country the server sits in, and collecting privacy notices and consents in the right place in the system are the basis of compliance with KVKK, the Turkish equivalent of GDPR.
6. Integrations
Most projects slip on integrations, not on development. At the quote stage, list which systems will be connected and who holds the access or licence for each:
- E-invoicing (e-fatura / e-arşiv): Mandatory electronic invoicing in Turkey, through a private integrator or the tax authority's portal; the provider fee is normally the company's.
- Accounting: With Turkish systems such as Logo, Mikro or Netsis, whether an API or data export exists — and how old the installation is — determines the effort.
- Shipping: Label generation and tracking; every carrier has its own service and contract.
- Marketplaces: Trendyol and similar Turkish channels; the integrator licence is bought in the company's name.
- Payments: Providers such as iyzico or PayTR; the virtual POS application and commission are the company's own business.
- Tourism-specific: Channel manager and booking engine connections.
For each integration, get a written answer to "who applies, who pays, is there a test environment".
7. Pricing model: fixed price or day rate?
Both models can be right; what is wrong is picking the one that does not match the scope.
| Model | How it works | Advantage | Risk | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed price | One price based on the scope document | Budget known upfront | Anything out of scope is a new quote; uncertainty is priced in | Scope is clear, integrations are known |
| Day rate (time and materials) | Monthly invoice for days spent | Easy to reorder priorities | Total cost unknown upfront, needs tracking discipline | Exploratory work whose scope emerges through use |
| Phased fixed price | Each phase has its own scope and fixed price | Budget control plus flexibility | Needs replanning time between phases | Multi-module operations projects |
In practice the third is the healthiest: deliver the first phase at a fixed price, then re-scope the next phase using real usage data.
8. The advantage of working with a local team
Remote work is standard now, yet a team in the region has two concrete advantages. First, context: you do not have to explain the season calendar, multilingual staff or how agencies and marketplaces behave here. Second, go-live: being next to the team on the day they switch systems beats ten remote meetings. Still, "local" alone is not a quality signal; ask a local team for the seven items above in writing too. Our team is based across Turkey and runs projects across Turkey mostly online, with on-site meetings when needed.
Project phases and typical durations
The table below shows the typical flow for a single-module operations tool or a mid-sized panel project; durations change with scope.
| Phase | What comes out of it | Typical duration | Who has to take part |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Discovery call | Summary of the need, list of current systems | 1–3 days | The person running the work, the owner |
| 2. Analysis and scope document | Screens, roles, integrations, acceptance criteria | 1–2 weeks | Staff who know the process |
| 3. Quote and contract | Phase plan, price, timeline, code ownership clauses | 2–5 days | Decision maker |
| 4. Design and prototype | Clickable screen flow, sign-off | 1–2 weeks | The people who will use the screens |
| 5. Development (phase 1) | Working first version, test environment | 6–10 weeks | Weekly feedback |
| 6. Testing and data migration | Migration of old data, defect list | 1–3 weeks | Staff who know the data |
| 7. Go-live and training | Live use, user guide, parallel run | 1–2 weeks | All users |
| 8. Maintenance and next phase | Bug tracking, updates, new modules | Ongoing | A short monthly review |
A single-module project usually takes three to four months from contract to live use. If you are planning around the season, count backwards: to go live at the end of March, analysis has to start in December.
How to plan the budget
Price is driven by the number of modules, user roles, integrations, whether a mobile app is needed and how much legacy data has to be migrated. Our published starting figures are below — all excluding KDV (Turkish VAT) and all starting prices; the firm number comes after the scope document:
- Custom software: from 50,000 TL. CRM, ERP, stock, booking, dealer/B2B panels, automation and API integration are all assessed in this scope.
- Mobile app: from 100,000 TL. iOS + Android from a single codebase, up to 12 screens, login and push notifications included.
- Server and backend: 12,000 TL per year, covering API, database, backups, security and updates.
Add to the budget: third-party fees (e-invoicing integrator, Apple and Google store accounts, channel manager, virtual POS commission), the maintenance line, and the change requests that arrive from the second year on. When the business changes the software changes too; that is not a failure, it is the sign of a living system. Current package details are on the pricing page.
The most honest way to calculate payback is to count time: six hours of manual work a week is roughly 300 hours a year. Multiply that by your own cost and the payback period appears on its own.
Do you actually need custom software?
Some businesses need the right category of ready-made tool rather than custom software. The rough split: if the problem is customer relationships and the sales funnel, look at CRM software; if it is the stock–production–finance chain, look at ERP software; if the flow is specific to you and neither covers it, custom software. We compared all three with tables in CRM, ERP and operations software.
Our work in Turkey
For Suits Finance, an Turkey-wide consultancy that helps clients set up companies abroad, we brought a multi-country service structure into a single digital flow; Suits Finance AE, built for the same client's Dubai/UAE branch, is the second-market version of the same job. One client, two countries and two different audiences means the content structure and the launch process have to be planned separately from the start. At Art of Tart, a restaurant in Turkey, the software side is what stands out: menu content is updated from a custom admin panel and guests reach the same menu from the table via a QR code. These projects show what the criteria above look like in practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I look at first when comparing software companies in Turkey?
The scope document. Experience in a similar sector helps but is not enough on its own; what decides it is whether the team can extract your process with the right questions and put it in writing. If, after the first meeting, you receive a document listing screens, roles, integrations and out-of-scope items, you are in the right place.
How long does a custom software project in Turkey take?
A single-module project usually takes three to four months from contract to live use: two to four weeks of analysis and design, six to ten weeks of development, the rest testing, data migration and training. For multi-module projects the right approach is phases, with a working version at the end of each one.
What changes the price of custom software?
The number of modules, user roles, panel scope, number of integrations, whether a mobile app is needed and how much legacy data has to be migrated. With us custom software starts at 50,000 TL and a mobile app at 100,000 TL, excluding VAT; the firm price is given phase by phase once the scope document exists. Third-party fees such as the e-invoicing integrator, store accounts and virtual POS are separate.
Will the source code and the data belong to us?
Yes if the contract says so — and it should. Source code handover, whose account holds the repository, getting a database backup on request, and server and domain records being in the company's name are four separate clauses; ask about each one.
How does the tourism season affect the timeline?
Between April and October nobody on the team has time for software. So analysis and development belong in the winter months, and go-live and training in the weeks before the season opens. During the season you only do support and small improvements.
Is a maintenance agreement after launch really necessary?
In practice, yes. Security patches, API changes, server updates and bug fixes continue after delivery. Put the response time, what is in and out of scope, the included hours and the overage rate in writing; in tourism, ask separately about weekend support during the season.
Conclusion
Choosing a software company in Turkey is not a matter of liking a portfolio, it is risk management. The scope document defines the project, the code ownership clause protects your future, the integration list prevents delays, the maintenance agreement keeps the software alive, and the pricing model protects your budget. If those five are in writing, everything else can be discussed.
Describe your project in a paragraph and we will scope the first phase and estimate its duration free of charge. Details are on the custom software development page.
Phone / WhatsApp: +90 536 628 0007
