guides

Twenty questions to ask before you sign

These are the questions we would ask if we were buying. A supplier who answers them clearly is usually a supplier who has been through it.

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Outcomes

Who exactly will work on this, and can we meet them?
What happens if the estimate is wrong?
Who owns the code and when is it transferred?
How do you handle scope changes?
What does support cost after launch, and what does it include?
Can we take this in-house later, and what would that involve?
What testing is included, and who signs off?
How do you handle security and personal data?

Problems this solves

Questions about technology instead of delivery

Ask how work is scoped, demoed and changed — that predicts the outcome more than the stack does.

No insight into failure

Ask about a project that went wrong and what changed afterwards; the answer is revealing.

Ownership left vague

Ask explicitly who owns the code, the infrastructure accounts and the data.

How delivery runs

01
Delivery questions
How is scope agreed, how often do we see working software, how are changes priced?
02
Team questions
Who exactly works on this, how much of their time, and who replaces them if they leave?
03
Quality questions
What is tested, what is reviewed, and what does your definition of done include?
04
Exit questions
What do we receive at handover, and what happens if we stop after phase one?

Realistic timeline

Meeting 1

Delivery, team and quality questions.

Meeting 2

Commercials, exclusions and change pricing.

Before signing

Ownership, handover and exit terms in writing.

What moves the price

What the quote excludes

Migration, training, support and infrastructure are the usual omissions.

Change pricing

Ask how a mid-project change is estimated and approved.

Ongoing costs

Hosting, third-party services and maintenance after launch.

Where projects go wrong

Answers with no specifics

Vague answers about process usually mean the process does not exist.

Unwillingness to say no

A supplier who never pushes back on scope will not protect the budget either.

FAQ

Questions buyers ask

What is a red flag?+

A fixed price offered before anyone has written a specification.

What if they cannot answer about IP?+

Treat it as a serious finding. Ownership should be unambiguous in the contract.

How to Choose a Software Development Company

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