Questions to ask a software agency
Every agency is impressive in a first meeting. These questions are about what happens in month four — and the answers tell you more than any portfolio.
About the people
- Who, by name, will actually work on this — and will they stay for the whole project?
- Is the work done in-house, or passed to another team?
- Who is my single point of contact, and how often will we speak?
About ownership
The most important section on this page, and the one most often left until it is too late.
- Who owns the code when the project ends?
- Whose accounts are the hosting, domains and app stores registered to?
- If we part ways, what do I receive, and in what state?
About quality
- How is the software tested, by whom, and is that time in the quote?
- How will I see progress — a working version, and how often?
- What happens when you find a bug after I have accepted a stage?
About change and the long run
- How do you handle a change I ask for halfway through?
- What does support cost after launch, and what does it include?
- Can I speak to a client whose project went wrong, and how you handled it?
How to read the answers
Good answers are specific. "Our team" is not an answer to "who will work on this"; a name is. "We test everything" is not an answer; a description of how is.
The last question in the list is the most revealing. Every supplier has had a project go badly. The ones worth hiring can tell you what happened and what they changed. The ones to avoid have somehow never had one.
Questions people ask next
Should I hire an agency or a freelancer?
An agency brings design, testing and continuity if someone leaves; a freelancer is usually cheaper per day and can be excellent on a well-defined project. The more of the project is still undecided, the more an agency's breadth is worth.
Is an offshore agency a false economy?
Not inherently. What matters is communication, time-zone overlap and the clarity of the brief. A precise written specification is what makes any remote team work.
What should the contract include?
Scope, price model, stages and acceptance criteria, ownership of code and accounts, support after launch, and how changes are priced. If the contract is silent on ownership, stop and ask.
Read next
How to compare development quotes
Why three quotes for one idea differ tenfold, and how to read them.
Fixed price or time and materials?
Which contract fits which project, and who carries the risk.
A requirements template for non-developers
What goes in a brief, section by section, in plain English.
Walk in with a written brief
The strongest position in any agency conversation is a precise description of what you want. A Moksy Blueprint gives you one — scope, requirements, risks and budget — so the meeting is about how they would build it, not what "it" is.