Insights · 5 min read
Choosing a software development company is mostly about avoiding the ones that sell well and build poorly. The specific questions that separate the two.
By GGP Editorial
Choosing a software development company is mostly about avoiding the ones that are good at selling and bad at building. The field is crowded, and every vendor's website says the same three things. The real differences show up in a handful of specific questions, which most buyers never ask.
Here are the ones that separate a company that ships from one that just invoices.
Not a logo wall. A real project, in your industry or close to it, that you can see or read about in detail. Ask how they handled the hard part.
We have built for clients in Brazil, South Africa, Singapore, and the US, across brokerage, property, restaurant, and ad tech. When a potential client asks this question, we can walk them through a specific build, including the parts that went wrong and how we fixed them. If a vendor cannot name a hard problem they solved, that is a signal.
Ask for one or two client references you can actually call, not testimonials. A short call with a past client reveals more in five minutes than an hour of demo.
The best reference is a client whose project went sideways at some point. Every build hits a rough patch. What you want to hear is how the company behaved when the schedule slipped, because that is when the real character shows up.
This matters more than the stack, because communication is where most projects die. Ask three things: how often they report, who you can reach when something breaks, and what happens across timezones.
We run overlap sessions in the morning and evening and give each client a dedicated group with English and Portuguese support. The point is not the tools, it is that nobody disappears for a day because of the clock.
The person who closes your deal is rarely the person who writes your code. Ask to meet the developers who will actually work on your project, before you sign.
Ask how long the core team has worked together. A stable team that has shipped 300 projects together is different from a sales front with a rotating cast of freelancers behind it. Also ask what happens if someone leaves mid-project. The answer should be boring and specific, like a named backup and a handover doc.
Ask about the stack too. If you run Java, Spring Boot, and MySQL, a vendor that lives in that world will move faster than one that is learning it on your dime. We build on Java, Spring Cloud, MySQL, Redis, Nginx, Vue, Node, Go, Python, and React, so this is rarely a stretch for us, but it is still worth checking for any vendor.
Ask about security and how they protect your code and data. A signed NDA is table stakes. You also want to know where the code lives, who has access, and whether they follow basic practices like code reviews and backups. Most buyers skip this and regret it later.
Fixed price, time and materials, or a hybrid. There is no universally right answer, but there is a right answer for your project, and the vendor should explain the trade-off instead of defaulting to one.
| Pricing model | Best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed price | Scope is clear and stable | Padding for uncertainty |
| Time and materials | Scope is still evolving | You carry the risk |
| Hybrid (discovery + fixed) | You want certainty later | Slower start |
A vendor who insists on fixed price for vague work is pricing in a cushion you are paying for. One who defaults to time and materials for clear work is asking you to carry risk you should not have to carry.
Software is not finished at launch, either. Ask what maintenance costs, how they handle bugs after go-live, and whether the same team stays on the project. A company that disappears after the demo is a liability. One that plans for the first year of operation, patches, and small improvements is the one you actually want.
Ask for the maintenance number in writing. On a typical build it runs 15 to 20 percent of the original cost per year for hosting, monitoring, patches, and small fixes. If a vendor will not quote it, they are either hiding it or hoping you do not ask.
We are not picky about the industry. If it is legal, we will build it. The questions above are the same ones we would ask if we were hiring us, and that is probably the best test of any vendor.
Tell us what you are building and where you are today. We typically reply within 24 hours.
