Whether you hire a studio down the road or in another country, what protects you is paper you can hold and accounts in your name. Here is the checklist we would want if we were the buyer, and where SamaStack stands on each line.
Before any money moves
- One exact price in writing. Not an estimate and not a rate. On a monthly plan, the monthly number and what it includes; for a one time build, the total against a written scope. Ours comes in writing within 48 hours of the first call.
- Billing dates and taxes. When invoices come, when they are due, and that prices exclude GST or local taxes. Nothing should be due before the price is agreed.
- An NDA, if your company needs one. Say so before the first conversation. It should cover both sides and it should not be a reason for delay.
While the system is built and run
- A named lead. The person on the first call should be the person in every weekly demo. Ask for the name. Here there is one lead on every project, from the first call onwards.
- A live link every week. Progress you can open beats a slide of progress.
- Response times in writing. How fast do questions get answered, and in what hours? Ours is one working day, with calls Monday to Saturday.
- What counts as a change. Which changes are included in the price, and which are new work quoted first. Ours: changes to what we built are included; a new module, app or connection is quoted in writing before we start.
- Pushback. A studio that agrees with everything during sales will agree with everything during delivery. We tell you on the first call if a packaged product would serve you better.
The exits
- The notice period. How you cancel and how long it takes. Ours is one month's notice, by email.
- Data export. Your data, in a common format, free, at any time and at exit.
- How code ownership works. Whether you can buy the code later and how that price is worked out, or own it from day one. Both ways, item by item.
- What stays with the studio. Reusable building blocks a studio brings to every client usually stay theirs; ask that this is written down, along with your licence to use them.
The two questions that reveal the most
Ask who owns the domain and the app store accounts. If the answer is the studio, ask why. Ask what happens if you stop paying. If the answer is anything other than "you keep your data, and you can take the system with you", keep looking.
The ownership panel on the worldwide page is our version of this checklist, written from our side of the table. Bring it to the call.
Your numbers
Get your exact price in 48 hours.
From ₹9,999 to ₹49,999 a month plus GST for teams of up to 25, set by what you need and your team size. Tell us what you run, and the exact number comes in writing.