Choose a software development company by checking relevant past work, asking how they plan, test and communicate, and confirming in writing that you will own the code, accounts and data. Good partners ask hard questions about your goals before quoting. Weak ones promise everything quickly and cheaply.
Start with what you actually need
Before you speak to anyone, write a short brief. Describe the problem, who will use the software, the must-have features for a first release, any systems it must connect to, and your rough budget and timeline. You do not need a full specification. A clear brief helps you compare proposals fairly and shows quickly which companies listen.
What questions should you ask?
Ask to see work similar to yours, and ask what went wrong on those projects and how they handled it. An honest answer is more useful than a polished case study.
Ask who will work on your project, and whether you can speak to them. Ask how they break work into stages, how often you will see working software, and how changes to scope are priced and approved.
Ask how they test: automated tests, manual testing, and who signs off before release. Ask about hosting, security practices, backups and what happens after launch. Ask what support costs once the project is live.
What are the red flags?
Be cautious if a company gives a fixed price and date without asking many questions. Software estimates depend on detail, and a quote with no discovery is a guess.
Other warning signs include: reluctance to share references, vague answers about who writes the code, pressure to sign quickly, no mention of testing, refusal to let you hold your own accounts, and a proposal that copies your brief back without adding any thinking. Very low prices often mean corners will be cut somewhere you cannot see until later.
Who should own the code and accounts?
You should. Make sure the contract says that intellectual property in the code, designs and content passes to you, normally on payment.
Just as important is control of the accounts. The code repository, domain name, hosting, cloud services, app store listings, analytics and payment gateway should be registered to your organisation, with the developer added as a user. If a partner holds everything in their own name, leaving them later becomes painful and slow.
Ask for documentation and a handover process too. Another team should be able to pick up the project without starting again.
What should the contract cover?
A good contract is clear about scope, stages and acceptance. It sets out how payments link to delivered milestones, how change requests are handled, and what counts as done. It covers confidentiality, data protection, ownership, warranties for defects found soon after launch, and how either side can end the agreement.
If you handle personal data, check that the contract reflects the privacy laws that apply to you, such as GDPR for European users. Have a lawyer review anything significant before you sign.
Fixed price or time and materials?
A fixed price works when scope is small and well understood. For most products, requirements change as you learn, so a time and materials model with a monthly budget cap, or fixed-price stages after a short discovery phase, is often fairer to both sides. Whichever you choose, insist on visibility of progress against budget.
How do you work well across time zones?
Distance is manageable when expectations are clear. Agree a few hours of overlap each working day for calls and quick questions. Decide which tools you will use for messages, tasks and documents, and keep decisions written down.
Ask for a regular rhythm: a short weekly demo of working software, a written update on progress and risks, and a named person who answers your questions. Agree response times for urgent issues after launch, and how out-of-hours support works if your users are in a different region from the team.
Run a small paid start
If you are unsure, begin with a short paid discovery phase or a small, contained piece of work. You will learn more about how a company communicates, estimates and delivers in a few weeks of real work than from any sales meeting.
If you are comparing partners now, technocity is happy to talk through your brief, answer these questions openly and suggest a sensible first step, even if that step is not with us.
