Software house
How to choose a software house: 10 questions before signing
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You recognise a good software house by the fact that it starts from your business goal, not the technology — and tells you plainly what is worth it and what is not. Before signing, ask 10 questions about code ownership, the pricing model, risk management and who will actually run your project.
10 questions that reveal the truth about a provider
- Who will actually run my project — and what experience do they have? (A person, not “the company”.)
- Do you start from the business goal and processes, or from the technology?
- Who owns the code and the IP after the project ends?
- How do you price — fixed price or time & material — and what does it include?
- How do you manage risk and changes to scope?
- How do communication and progress reporting work? Who is my point of contact?
- Will you show comparable work and references I can check?
- How do you test and ensure quality and security?
- What happens after go-live — running, SLA, further development?
- Will I end up locked in (vendor lock-in)?
Red flags
- A price with no scope specification and “we do everything”.
- No clear answer on code ownership.
- An anonymous team — you do not know who will run the project.
- Promises with no risk and no mention of tests, security and running.
Software house, agency or freelancer?
A freelancer is often cheapest but a single point of risk. A creative agency builds a great website but rarely handles a complex system. A software house combines engineering with project discipline (PMO) — the choice when integrations, data, scale and accountability for the result are in play.
If you target or sit in the DACH market, a nearshore model is worth considering: the same standard, lower cost and the same time zone (CET).
Frequently asked questions
How do you recognise a good software house?
It starts from the business goal, shows a concrete team and references, quotes the scope clearly, hands over code ownership and takes responsibility for the result — including running it after go-live.
Fixed price or time & material?
Fixed price for a clearly defined scope; time & material when scope matures along the way. What matters is risk management and visible progress, not the model itself.
What is vendor lock-in and how do you avoid it?
Dependence on a single provider (code, hosting, licences you cannot move). You avoid it by setting code ownership, documentation and infrastructure access in the contract.
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