---
title: "Guides: choosing, integrating and building software · Volcanic Minds"
description: "Current answers for those who choose, integrate or commission business software: costs, business systems, integration and AI, with sources cited."
url: "https://volcanicminds.com/en/guides"
lang: "en"
type: "first_level_page"
updated: "2026-10-28"
alternate: "https://volcanicminds.com/guides"
---

# Guides on software and AI what we know, shared

Each guide comes from our projects and answers a precise question from whoever decides: it cites its sources and carries the date of its latest revision.

## All guides

*Kept up to date*

- [AI Act for deployers what falls on those who use AI](/en/guides/ai-act-deployer-obligations.md): What the AI Act asks of a company that uses AI, from when, what Italian employment law adds and what is at stake, with a self-check to tick.
- [AI agents for SMEs what they do, what they cost, what can go wrong](/en/guides/ai-agents-for-smes.md): What an AI agent is, what it does in a manufacturing SME, what it costs, what the risks are and what the AI Act asks, with an example on incoming orders.
- [Risks of a custom software project, how to keep budget and timeline in check](/en/guides/custom-software-project-risks.md): Why cost and time overrun, fixed price or time and materials, who pays for a change under Italian law and what to write into the contract.
- [How to choose a software house, and who owns the code](/en/guides/choose-software-house.md): The code is yours only if the contract assigns it in writing. What the law says, the clauses to ask for, what you get handed over and how to choose.
- [Pros and cons of custom software](/en/guides/custom-software-pros-cons.md): When custom software pays off and when an off-the-shelf system does: pros and cons in one table, the questions that decide and the three-year sum.
- [ERP and MES differences and integration](/en/guides/erp-mes-integration.md): The ERP plans, the MES runs production: the differences in one table, when you need an MES, what data they exchange and how they are connected.
- [Excel or business software when it pays to switch](/en/guides/excel-or-business-software.md): When Excel spreadsheets cost more than business software: the signals, the four ways out, list and custom prices, and how to switch without stopping work.
- [Job costing in the shop before the job closes](/en/guides/machine-shop-job-costing.md): How to know every week whether a job is making money, before it closes. Hours per operation, materials at issue, hourly cost, estimate at completion, costs.
- [Tyre shop software off the shelf or custom](/en/guides/tyre-shop-software.md): What tyre shop software has to do, from tyre storage to seasonal changes and the end-of-life tyre contribution. List prices and when custom pays off.
- [How much custom software costs](/en/guides/custom-software-cost.md): From 10,000 € for an MVP to 45,000 € for an Enterprise platform: what moves the price, who pays for an overrun and how to compare two quotes.
- [Legacy software: rebuild, modernize or migrate](/en/guides/legacy-software-modernization.md): When to replace old software, the six paths with times and costs, how to move to the new system without stopping work and what to do with historical data.
- [AI in business: where to start](/en/guides/start-with-ai-in-business.md): Which process to start from, which rules to set now, how to run a pilot that can say no and what it costs: the guide for SMEs, with ISTAT data and the AI Act.

## Have a question you cannot find here?

Tell us about your case: the people who work on these topics every day are the ones who answer.

- [Let's talk about your project](/en/contacts)