Hiring a software company is one of the few purchases where you pay a large sum for something you cannot see yet. That makes the hiring conversation more important than the proposal itself. The good news is that a handful of direct questions reveals most of what you need to know, because dependable teams answer them easily and unreliable ones get vague.
1. Can I see work like mine, running live?
Screenshots are easy to produce. A live product you can click through is much harder to fake. Ask for demos of projects with similar complexity to yours, and ask what the team would do differently today. Our own portfolio links to live demos wherever the client allows it, and you should expect the same from anyone you consider.
2. Who exactly will build it?
Some agencies sell with senior people and deliver with whoever is free. Ask who will write the code, who reviews it, and whether you will talk to them directly. A small team that answers this clearly is usually a better sign than a large one that cannot.
3. Is the price fixed, and against what?
A fixed price is only meaningful if it is tied to a written scope. Ask to see the scope as a checklist of features you can tick off. Hourly billing can be fair for open-ended work, but for a defined product it moves the risk onto you. Whichever model you choose, make sure you know what happens when requirements change: how a change is priced, and who approves it.
4. How is my money protected?
This is the question most buyers forget, and it matters most when you work with a company in another country. Paying a large deposit upfront with no safeguard means your only protection is trust. Escrow-protected delivery holds the payment with a neutral party and releases it as you approve each milestone, so both sides are covered. If a company refuses any form of milestone protection, treat that as information.
5. Who owns the code?
The contract should say plainly that you own the source code and all related assets once you have paid. Watch for clauses that keep ownership with the developer, license the code back to you, or charge extra to hand over the repository. You should also receive the hosting accounts, domains and credentials in your own name, never theirs.
6. How will we communicate?
Ask how often you will see progress and in what form. Weekly demos of working software beat long status reports. Also ask about time zones and response times. A team that overlaps with your working hours, and tells you honestly when it does not, will save you weeks of delay.
7. What happens after launch?
Software needs updates, security patches and small fixes. Ask what the warranty period covers, how bugs found after launch are handled, and what a maintenance and support plan costs. A team that has thought about this has usually built the product with maintenance in mind.
8. How do you test before delivery?
You are not looking for a technical lecture. You are looking for evidence that someone other than the author checks the work: a test plan, a staging site you can try before launch, and a clear acceptance step where you confirm that each item works as agreed.
9. What would make you say no to this project?
This one reveals the most. A good team will tell you when a project is too big for the budget, when an existing tool would serve you better, or when your timeline is unrealistic. If every answer is yes, you are being sold to rather than advised.
Red flags worth taking seriously
A price far below every other quote usually means the scope was misunderstood, or that costs will appear later. Pressure to pay everything upfront, reluctance to put the scope in writing, no live examples, and unclear ownership of the code are each worth pausing over. Two or three together mean you should walk away.
Putting it to use
Send the same short brief to two or three companies and compare how they respond, not only the price. Notice who asks sensible questions about your users and goals, and who simply sends a number. If you would like to see how we handle these nine points, send us your brief and we will reply within one business day, or try the free cost estimator for a realistic range first.