This is not a generic “10 things to consider” list. These are the 15 specific questions that, based on real project outcomes in Bangladesh and internationally, most reliably separate good software partners from bad ones.
Ask all 15 before you sign anything. The answers will tell you whether this company can actually deliver what they are promising – or whether you are about to fund someone else’s learning curve.
If you have not yet decided what type of partner you need (freelancer, agency, or company), start with our comparison of software companies vs freelancers vs agencies.
If you need help evaluating specific companies, our guide to choosing a software company in Bangladesh covers the 6-step verification process.
Questions About Technical Capability
1. “Can you show me live, deployed projects similar to mine?”
Not screenshots. Not case study PDFs. Live URLs of working software you can click through. This is the single most important question because it is the hardest to fake.
A company that has built three ISP billing systems can show you three ISP billing systems running in production. A company that has never built one cannot.
If they say “we have done similar work but cannot share due to NDAs” – ask for a sanitised demo environment instead. Legitimate companies prepare these for exactly this situation. If they cannot show any evidence of relevant delivered work, that is your answer.
2. “What technology stack will you use for my project, and why?”
The answer should be specific and justified by your project requirements – not by what the team happens to know.
If they recommend React for the frontend, ask why React over Vue or Angular for your specific use case. If they propose Python for the backend, ask why not Node.js or Laravel.
A competent team explains technology choices in terms of your project needs (performance requirements, scaling expectations, and team maintainability). A weak team defaults to whatever they used last and cannot articulate why.
3. “Who exactly will be working on my project – and can I meet them?”
This catches the “bait and switch” – where the senior architect presents in the sales meeting, but your actual project is built by junior developers or interns.
Ask for names, roles, and experience levels of every team member who will touch your code. Ask to meet the lead developer and project manager before signing.
If the company says, “We will assign the team after signing, – that is a red flag. Legitimate companies know their team capacity and can commit specific people to your project during the proposal phase.
Questions About Process and Communication
4. “What does your development process look like week by week?”
“We use Agile” is not an answer. Every company says that. Ask for specifics: How long are your sprints? What tool do you use for project management (Jira, ClickUp, Linear)?
What happens at the start of each sprint? How are tasks prioritised? How do you handle a task that takes longer than estimated?
A mature company describes a specific, repeatable process. An immature one gives you buzzwords and assurances about “flexibility.”
5. “How will I see progress – and how often?”
You should receive a demo of working software at least every two weeks. Not a status report. Not a slide deck. A clickable demo that you can test.
Ask specifically: “Will I see a working build every sprint?”
If the answer is anything other than yes, you are being asked to trust without verification for extended periods – which is how projects go off track.
6. “What happens when the scope changes mid-project?”
Scope changes are inevitable. What matters is how the company handles them. Ask for their change request process: Is there a formal change request form?
How are additional costs estimated and approved? What is the turnaround time for evaluating a change request? Does a scope change trigger a timeline revision?
A company with a mature process answers all of this instantly – because they have documented it. A company that says “we are flexible and will figure it out” is the company that sends you a surprise invoice in month four.
Questions About Quality and Testing
7. “Do you have dedicated QA engineers, or do developers test their own code?”
This is a binary indicator of process maturity. Developers testing their own code is like a student grading their own exam.
Dedicated QA engineers catch bugs that the developer who wrote the code cannot see because they are too close to it.
Ask how many QA engineers the company employs relative to developers. A healthy ratio is 1 QA for every 3-5 developers.
8. “Can you walk me through your testing process?”
The right answer includes: unit testing (automated, run with every code commit), integration testing (do the parts work together), and functional testing (does the feature do what the specification says).
It must also cover regression testing (did the new feature break anything old) and user acceptance testing (does the client confirm it works).
If the company cannot name these stages or explain when each happens in the sprint cycle, their quality process is informal at best.
Questions About Ownership and Security
9. “Who owns the source code after delivery?”
The only acceptable answer: you do, fully, upon payment completion.
This must be explicitly stated in the contract as an IP assignment clause – not implied, not “standard practice,” not “we will discuss it later.”
If the company retains any rights to your code, or licenses it back to you, you are not buying software – you are renting it from someone who can change the terms later.
Ask to see the IP assignment clause in the contract before you sign. If it is not there, add it. If they resist, walk away.
10. “How do you handle our data, and who has access?”
If your project involves customer data, payment data, or proprietary business information, data security is not optional.
Ask: Where is data stored? Who on the team has access? Are credentials shared through secure channels (not WhatsApp)? Do they hold ISO 27001 certification? What happens to your data if the engagement ends?
For Bangladesh businesses handling financial data, ask specifically about compliance with Bangladesh Bank regulations and whether their infrastructure meets the requirements of the Digital Security Act 2018.
Questions About Support and Long-Term Viability
11. “What does post-launch support look like – and what does it cost?”
Software does not end at launch. Bugs appear in production. Integrations need updating. Users request features.
Ask for a written Service Level Agreement (SLA) with specific response times: critical issues within 4 hours, major bugs within 24 hours, minor requests within 48 hours.
Ask whether support is included in the project price or billed separately, and at what rate.
12. “What happens if we need to switch to a different vendor later?”
This question reveals how locked in you will be. Ask: Will I receive full source code, database schemas, documentation, and deployment scripts?
Is the code written in standard frameworks that other developers can understand and maintain? Will you assist with a handover to a new team if needed?
A company confident in its own quality welcomes this question. A company that makes switching difficult is not confident that you will want to stay.
13. “How long has your company been operating, and can I verify your registration?”
Check BASIS membership at basis.org.bd. Verify RJSC registration at roc.gov.bd. Ask for their Certificate of Incorporation, Trade License, and TIN certificate.
A company that has been operating for 5+ years with verifiable registration, real clients, and live deployed products is a fundamentally different risk profile from a company that registered six months ago.
See our full verification guide for the complete process.
Questions About Pricing and Contract Terms
14. “What is included in the quoted price – and what is billed separately?”
The most common source of budget overruns is not scope creep – it is unclear pricing boundaries.
Ask explicitly: Does the quote include project management? QA testing? Design? Deployment? Data migration? Training? Documentation? Post-launch bug fixes?
Each of these can add 10-30% to the total cost if not included. Get the answer in writing, in the contract, before signing.
15. “Is pricing in BDT or USD, and what are the payment milestones?”
For Bangladesh domestic buyers: insist on BDT pricing with clear terms so you have no foreign currency exposure if the exchange rate moves.
Payment should be milestone-based – tied to deliverables, not dates. A common structure is: 20% at project start, 30% at design approval, 30% at development completion, 20% at final delivery and acceptance testing.
Never pay 100% upfront for any software project.
The One-Page Checklist
Print this, bring it to your next vendor meeting, and check off each item:
- ✓ Live deployed projects reviewed – at least 2 in your industry, accessible via URL
- ✓ Technology stack justified – explained in terms of your project needs, not just team preference
- ✓ Named team members confirmed – lead developer and PM identified by name before signing
- ✓ Sprint process documented – specific tools, cadence, and demo schedule confirmed
- ✓ Change request process defined – formal process for handling scope changes with cost implications
- ✓ Dedicated QA confirmed – separate QA engineers, not developers testing their own code
- ✓ IP ownership clause in contract – full source code assigned to you upon payment
- ✓ Data security practices verified – storage location, access controls, ISO 27001 if applicable
- ✓ Post-launch SLA in writing – response times for critical, major, and minor issues documented
- ✓ EXIT strategy clear – full code, docs, and handover assistance confirmed
- ✓ BASIS membership verified at basis.org.bd
- ✓ RJSC registration verified at roc.gov.bd
- ✓ Two client references called – not emailed, called – with specific questions on delivery
- ✓ Pricing fully itemised – PM, QA, design, deployment, training, support all explicitly included or excluded
- ✓ Payment milestones tied to deliverables – not dates, not 100% upfront
Softifybd Ltd has been operating since 2017, registered with BASIS and RJSC, with 100+ team members and 10M+ users across 12+ live deployed products you can test today.
We provide milestone-based pricing in BDT, formal post-launch SLAs, full IP assignment on all custom work, and a dedicated PM and QA team on every project.
We are happy to answer all 15 questions in detail on a discovery call.