Hiro offers custom software replacements for small businesses at about one-tenth the cost

Hiro says it builds custom replacements for the rented software small businesses rely on, migrates their data, and hands over the code for about a tenth of the monthly bill they already pay. The company is positioning the model as a lower-risk way to cut recurring software costs without forcing a disruptive switchover.

Why it matters: - Small businesses often pay software bills that rise with seats, tickets, units or entries. - Hiro is targeting those recurring costs with custom software that does not scale up as a business grows. - The company says the model can replace only the parts a business actually uses, which could reduce waste in software spend.

What happened: - Hiro said it builds custom replacements for the software small businesses rent, then migrates customer data and hands over the code. - The company said the price is typically about one-tenth of the bill a customer already pays. - Hiro is based in Atlanta and operates at hiro.ly. - The company published two links for more information: Get a quote or add up a software bill and What sixty rented platforms charge.

The details: - The process starts with the invoice, not a demo. - A customer sends the software bill it pays today and identifies the screens staff actually use. - Hiro rebuilds only those parts in the company’s own words and around its current workflow. - Hiro says there is no discovery workshop and no per-seat license. - One monthly price covers hosting, fixes and requested changes as the business grows. - Hiro moves records such as customers, bookings, entries, orders and history from the existing system into the new one. - The customer’s staff do not retype the data. - If the old platform allows ongoing export, Hiro keeps both systems in step during the transition. - After go-live, the customer can export the data in full at any time, including if it decides to leave. - Hiro says the new system runs beside the old one on real work before any cutover. - The rollout starts with low-risk inventory. - Staff use both systems until the company’s own people are satisfied the new system holds up. - The customer, not Hiro, decides when to turn off the old system. - Hiro says its pricing math is based on published vendor pricing pages. - The company said pages on hiro.ly show what 60 rented platforms charge, with yearly totals worked out at three usage volumes and the same year priced as a build. - Hiro also offers a free calculator that runs the numbers for a business’s own usage without an account and without storing anything. - Levine said the company starts with the invoice instead of a demo, rebuilds the four things a team opens instead of the two hundred in a brochure, moves data across itself, runs the new system beside the old one until the customer trusts it, and then hands over ownership of the code and data. - Levine said Hiro will say if owning the software is the wrong choice for a customer.

Between the lines: - The pitch is aimed at businesses that know their software bill is growing but have not counted the full cost of rental pricing. - The risk reduction angle is a major selling point because software replacement often fails on migration and downtime, not on features. - Hiro is framing custom software as a selective replacement, not a full rip-and-replace project. - The company is also trying to narrow the scope of custom builds by focusing only on the workflows a business truly uses. - Hiro’s own materials also make the case against custom software when a rented platform is already cheap enough or used fully. - The company publishes guidance for 21 business types, including sports teams and venues, youth sports clubs, motorsports tracks, car dealerships, music festivals, fairs and expos, conferences, wedding venues, marinas, campgrounds, home service contractors, tour operators and vacation rental managers. - Those guides explain what each industry typically rents, what drives the bill higher, which parts can be rebuilt and owned, and which parts should stay rented. - Hiro says it does not replace card processing. - Platforms required by a league, governing body, franchise or landlord stay in place, and the new system is built around them. - Resale marketplaces are treated as a network of buyers, not software.

What’s next: - Businesses can request a quote or use the fee calculator on Hiro’s site. - The company appears to be expanding its positioning by industry, with guidance pages tailored to specific business types. - Customers considering a switch will likely compare their current recurring bill against Hiro’s build-and-own model before moving forward.

The bottom line: - Hiro is betting that many small businesses would rather own a narrower custom system than keep renting software that gets more expensive as they grow.