# How to choose a software development company: 10 questions to ask before you sign

> Ten questions that separate a software development company that delivers from one that just sells well, and the answers you want to hear.

Source: https://hidook.tech/insights/how-to-choose-a-software-development-company/ · Published by Hidook (https://hidook.tech) · 2026-10-17

Everyone's portfolio looks good. The difference between a development partner that ships your product and one that burns your budget usually shows up a few months in. To find out earlier, ask these questions before you sign. We've added the answers you want to hear.

## 1. Who actually writes the code?

You want names, and to meet them on a call. If the people from the sales process disappear after signing and a new team shows up, ask about that team's experience.

## 2. Who owns the code, and from when?

The right answer: you do, from day one, in your own repository. Not "at the end, after the final invoice". The same goes for cloud accounts, domains and API keys.

## 3. When do I first see something working?

In the first week or two. A clickable prototype is a good start; a test environment with the first real flow is better. If the first demo is two months away, the risk sits with you.

## 4. How often do I see progress?

At least weekly, on a live URL, not in a report. Status reports can say "90% done" for months. A link you can click can't.

## 5. What happens when requirements change?

They will. Ask how it's handled: does the date move, does the price go up, or does scope get cut? A good partner explains the mechanism up front and uses it openly.

## 6. How do you test?

Look for specifics: automated tests on the important flows, run on every change, and a preview environment for every pull request. "We have QA" is not an answer.

## 7. How will I know something broke in production?

Ideally, they know before you do. Ask about error monitoring, alerts, and who responds at night or at weekends if your product needs it.

## 8. What documentation do I get?

At minimum: how to run the project locally, how to deploy, where every account lives, and why the important architecture decisions were made. The simple test: could a new engineer take over without them?

## 9. When do you tell us no?

Our favourite question. A partner who never pushes back either doesn't understand your business or isn't taking responsibility for the result. Ask for concrete examples of features or projects they talked clients out of.

## 10. What does leaving look like?

Nobody asks this at the start, which is exactly why it matters. What happens if you want to continue with your own team or another company? How long does handover take, what do you get, and who pays for the time? A good partner answers without hesitating.

## One more signal

Be careful with very precise quotes after a first call. A fixed price for a whole product without a discovery phase usually means either a large risk margin built into the price, or difficult conversations later.

## How we answer

In short: the code is yours from day one, you see working software every Wednesday, the people on the call are the people writing the code, and the exit is documented before we start. The rest is on our [about page](/about/) — or ask us all ten questions directly.