Choosing a software house is one of the most important business decisions you'll make. A bad choice means wasted time, money, and stress. A good one — an application that drives your business for years. Here's how to choose correctly.
Why Is Choosing a Software House So Difficult?
Thousands of companies offer website and application development. From freelancers at €500 to corporations at €500,000. Quality and reliability vary dramatically, and price doesn't always correlate with quality.
Furthermore, assessing technical competency is hard without a technical background. That's why we've prepared a list of questions that separate reliable companies from those you should run from.
8 Questions You Must Ask Before Signing a Contract
1. "Can I see your portfolio with similar projects?"
Every software house has its specialisations. A company that mainly builds landing pages may struggle with a complex e-commerce platform.
What to look for:
- Projects similar to yours (industry, features, scale)
- Links to live sites (not just screenshots)
- Case studies describing the problem and the solution
Red flag: Only screenshots with no links, portfolio "under construction," no projects from the last 2 years.
2. "What technologies do you use and why?"
A good software house chooses technology for the project, not the project for its only technology.
Good answer: "For company websites we use Next.js for performance and SEO. For stores — Next.js with headless commerce or WooCommerce, depending on scale. For mobile — React Native."
Bad answer: "We do everything in WordPress" or "We have only one stack — take it or leave it."
3. "Who will be working on my project?"
It often happens that you make the decision after talking to a salesperson, and then a junior developer with no supervision is assigned to your project.
Ask directly:
- How many developers will work on the project?
- What experience do they have?
- Will I have a single point of contact — one person responsible for the project?
- Do you use subcontractors?
Red flag: Vague answers, reluctance to introduce the team.
4. "How does communication and progress reporting work?"
A 3-month project with no updates is a recipe for disaster.
What to expect:
- Regular status meetings (weekly or bi-weekly)
- Access to a task board (Jira, Trello, Linear)
- A staging environment where you can see progress in real time
- Clearly defined milestones
Red flag: "We'll reach out when it's done."
5. "What does the contract include and what happens if the project isn't completed?"
The contract is your only protection. It must include:
- Detailed project scope (specification)
- Timeline with milestones
- Payment terms (NOT: 100% upfront)
- Code ownership clauses
- Rules for scope changes
- Acceptance and complaint procedure
Red flag: No written contract, full upfront payment, unclear scope.
6. "How long is the warranty and what does it cover?"
After launch, bugs will appear — that's normal. The question is: who fixes them and at what cost?
A good software house offers:
- Minimum 3 months of free warranty for bugs
- Clear SLA (response time, resolution time)
- A clear distinction between a bug and a new feature
At Soft Synergy we offer 12 months of warranty and a response time of up to 2 hours.
7. "Will I have full access to the code, hosting, and domain?"
This question eliminates companies that "hold you hostage."
You must have:
- Code in your own repository (GitHub, GitLab)
- Access to hosting and the control panel
- Your own domain on your own account
- Technical documentation
Red flag: "The code is on our servers and we don't share it."
8. "References — can I talk to your clients?"
A company with a good portfolio won't have a problem providing 2–3 references.
What to ask the clients:
- Was the project delivered on time and on budget?
- How was the communication?
- Would you recommend this company?
- Were there any problems and how were they resolved?
Red Flags — Run as Fast as You Can
🚩 Suspiciously low price — if the market rate is €4,000 and the offer is €800, someone is lying.
🚩 Full upfront payment required — the standard is 30–50% deposit, the rest after milestones.
🚩 No written contract — "we trust each other, who needs a contract?" — that's a trap.
🚩 No portfolio with live links — screenshots can be taken from someone else's projects.
🚩 Not answering technical questions — a good company happily explains its solutions.
🚩 Promising everything without analysis — "sure, we'll do that in 2 weeks for €1,500" without asking any questions.
Green Flags — You're Making the Right Choice
✅ Detailed questions about your business before quoting ✅ A realistic timeline with a time buffer ✅ Transparent contract terms ✅ Active portfolio with verifiable projects ✅ Happy to provide references ✅ Clear payment structure tied to milestones
Summary
A good software house is a partner, not just a service provider. It looks for a solution to your business problem, not just executes a specification.
At Soft Synergy everything starts with a free consultation, where we try to understand your business before proposing a technical solution. Transparent pricing, a contract that protects both sides, and 12 months of warranty on every project.