Questions to ask a software partner before you sign anything.

8 August 2026 · 5 min read

The questions that matter before signing with a software supplier are about ownership, exclusions, handover and running costs, not about technology. A supplier who cannot answer what is not included, who owns the accounts, and what it costs to run per month has not scoped the work properly.

Best questionWhat is not included?

Correct answer on ownershipDay one

Watch forVagueness on handover

01 Ask about the ending, not the beginning

Most buyers interrogate the technology and the timeline. Those are the easy parts to answer confidently and the hardest to verify. The questions that actually predict whether a project succeeds are about what happens at the end and what happens if it goes wrong.

02 The twelve questions

01What is explicitly not included in this price?

02Who owns the code, the repositories and the provider accounts, and from what date?

03What exactly do we receive at handover?

04What does this cost to run per month, including third party services?

05If AI is involved, what does it cost per user per month, and can it be capped?

06What happens if it takes longer than you estimated?

07How are change requests priced, and who decides what counts as a change?

08Who specifically will do the work, and will that change?

09What does support cost after go live, and what response time does it include?

10Can we speak to a client you delivered for, not a written testimonial?

11What happens to our data, and will you sign a data processing agreement?

12If we stopped working with you tomorrow, what would we have?

03 What the answers tell you

Fluency on the first four suggests the work has been scoped rather than estimated. Discomfort on ownership and handover is the strongest single warning sign, because it usually means dependency is part of the commercial model.

The last question is the one worth listening to hardest. A good supplier has a clear answer and is not offended by it being asked.

Common questions

Is it rude to ask who specifically will do the work?

No, and it is one of the most useful questions. Agencies frequently sell with senior people and deliver with junior ones. Asking early is normal and a good supplier will answer plainly.

Should I ask for references?

Ask to speak to a client rather than read a testimonial. A supplier confident in their delivery will arrange it. One who deflects to written quotes is telling you something.

What if the supplier will not give a fixed price?

Ask why. Genuine research or ongoing support cannot be fixed priced honestly. A defined build can. If the reason is that the scope is unclear, pay for discovery first and get the scope.

Ask us these questions

We have published our prices, our exclusions policy and our ownership position already. Put the rest to us directly and see how the answers compare.

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