The Alchemist CodeHiring a software development company is a decision you live with for years. A good choice leaves you with a system that grows with your business. A bad one leaves you with code nobody wants to touch, a vendor who stops answering and an invoice that keeps coming.
These are the questions we hear when companies compare us with other studios. They work for any vendor, local, nearshore or offshore.
1. Can I see software of yours that is running today?
A portfolio of designs is not the same as software in production. Ask for links to apps on the App Store or Google Play, systems people use every day, or clients willing to take a call.
Store listings show public data nobody can fake: the date of the last update, the rating and the number of reviews. An app that hasn’t been updated in two years says a lot about the team behind it.
2. Who will actually work on my project?
At many agencies one person sells and another person, whom you’ll never meet, writes the code. Ask by name who leads the project, who writes the code and whether that person joins the calls.
A small, stable team usually beats a large one that rotates. What matters is that whoever makes the technical decisions talks to you directly.
3. Will I own the code and the IP?
It should be in the contract:
- Full assignment of IP for the code and the design to your company.
- Repositories (GitHub, GitLab or whatever you use) under your account, not a zip file at the end.
- App Store, Google Play, cloud and domain accounts in your company’s name, not the vendor’s.
If the vendor publishes your app under its own developer account, moving it later is possible, but it takes time and can cost you reviews.
4. Will you sign an NDA?
Before sharing the details of your business, ask for an NDA. A serious studio signs it without fuss, and often has one ready.
5. How is the price set, and what happens when scope changes?
There are three common models:
| Model | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-scope project | A clear, stable scope | Changes billed as extras without prior agreement |
| Dedicated team, monthly | A product that changes every week | Paying for hours with no visible output |
| Maintenance retainer | An app or system already live | Response times that aren’t in writing |
Scope, schedule and price should be in writing before work starts, and the contract should say how a change gets approved.
6. Which currency, and how do I pay?
Confirm the currency of the contract and the invoices, the payment method and who pays the transfer fees. If the vendor is abroad, your accountant will tell you which tax forms you need from them (for example, a W-8BEN instead of a W-9).
7. How will I see progress?
Frequent builds you can try beat a weekly report. For mobile apps, the norm is test builds through TestFlight (iPhone) and Google Play internal testing (Android), installed on your own phone.
8. Which technology do you propose, and why?
Be wary of a vendor who proposes the same technology for everything, and also of one who switches tools on every project. Ask them to explain the choice in terms of your priorities: budget, platforms, timeline and who will maintain the system afterwards.
If you’re building an app, read our guide Flutter vs native: how to choose for your app.
9. Who publishes the app and handles Apple’s and Google’s review?
Apple’s review rejects apps for reasons ranging from design to privacy. Ask whether the vendor handles the release, the replies to App Review and the store listings (copy, screenshots and languages).
10. What happens after launch?
Every year Apple and Google raise the minimum requirements for publishing updates. An app nobody maintains ends up out of the store, or stops working well on new phones.
Ask about:
- A warranty period for defects, at no cost, after delivery.
- Monthly maintenance with written response times, for example a response to critical failures within hours, not days.
- Who monitors the servers and the reviews.
11. Where will the data live, and who has access?
Ask where the data is stored (your own servers, Google Cloud, Firebase, AWS or other), how it’s backed up and who holds the keys. If you handle personal or health data, make sure the setup meets the rules that apply to your business.
12. What won’t you do?
A good vendor also tells you no. If someone agrees to everything without asking a single question, they probably didn’t understand the problem.
Red flags
- Nothing to show in production.
- The contract doesn’t mention who owns the code.
- A price arrives before anyone asks what problem you’re solving.
- No plan for after launch.
- Everything goes through a salesperson.
How we answer these questions
We’re a founder-led studio in Puebla, Mexico, on US Central hours. We publish and run 17 apps of our own: Soccer24 has 75,685 Google Play installs and a public 4.5★ rating, and Komodo VPN runs on our own server network. We sign contracts and NDAs, invoice in USD or Mexican pesos, and the code and accounts stay in the client’s name.
If you’re comparing proposals, the first call and the written proposal are free. See our software development services in Mexico and our guide to nearshore software development in Mexico.