Buying software
Choosing an offshore development partner: a buyer's checklist
The questions worth asking before you send a brief abroad, including several that agencies would rather you did not ask.
Sending development work abroad usually starts with cost and ends with communication. The rate is the reason people look; whether it works out is decided by things that have nothing to do with the rate.
We are an Indian agency, so treat this as a partial view — but the questions below are the ones we would want asked of us, and several of them are questions agencies would rather avoid.
Before anything else: what problem are you solving?
Offshore development solves two different problems and the right partner differs by which one you have.
- You need something built and have no team. You want a supplier who can scope, design, build and hand over.
- You have a team and need capacity. You want developers who join your process, your board and your standups.
Agencies that are good at one are often mediocre at the other. Say which you need in the first email.
Ownership and access
Who owns the code?
The answer should be "you do", and it should be in the contract. Ask when the transfer happens — on final payment is normal — and whether any part of the work is licensed rather than assigned.
Where does the repository live?
It should be in your organisation's account, with the agency added as collaborators. If the code sits in the agency's account and you get a zip file at the end, you have no history, no ability to bring in another developer mid-project, and no leverage if the relationship sours.
This single question tells you a great deal. An agency that resists it is planning for you to be dependent on them.
Who controls the hosting and domain?
Your accounts, your billing, agency added as a user. Domains registered by a supplier in their own name are a recurring nightmare and the reason a lot of businesses cannot leave an agency they have stopped trusting.
Communication
What hours do they actually work, in your time zone?
Not "we are flexible". Ask for the working hours converted into your local time, and how many hours a day genuinely overlap with yours. Indian working hours overlap comfortably with the UK morning, the whole Gulf day and the European afternoon. With US Pacific there is almost no overlap at all, and any agency telling you otherwise is either overstating it or planning to make someone work nights.
A limited overlap is workable if both sides plan for asynchronous work. It is not workable if you expect to pick up the phone.
Who will you actually be talking to?
Ask whether you speak to the developers or to an account manager. Neither is wrong — a large agency needs coordination — but a message relayed through a third person loses detail, and technical questions take a day to round-trip instead of ten minutes.
How often will you see working software?
The answer should involve a staging URL you can open whenever you like, not a demo at the end. If you cannot see it running by week three, you have no way of knowing whether it is going well.
Scope and change
What happens when requirements change?
They will. The question is whether the process is written down. On fixed scope, expect a written change note with a price before work starts. On a dedicated developer arrangement, expect to simply re-prioritise. What you do not want is silence followed by an invoice.
What has been assumed?
Ask directly: "what have you assumed that is not in my brief?" A good answer is a list. "Nothing" means they have not read it carefully.
Evidence
Can you talk to a current client?
Not a testimonial on a website — an actual conversation, ideally with someone in a similar time zone to you. Agencies with happy clients can usually arrange this. Hesitation is informative.
Do the case studies say what was built?
Look for specifics: the stack, the constraints, the decisions. A case study that says "we delivered a stunning website that exceeded expectations" contains no information. One that explains why they chose WooCommerce over a custom cart tells you how the team thinks.
Are the numbers plausible?
Be sceptical of the statistics on agency websites. A twenty-person company claiming fifteen hundred projects and a ninety-eight per cent retention rate is quoting figures nobody measured. It does not necessarily mean the work is bad, but it does tell you something about how carefully they say things.
Warning signs
- A quote arrives within an hour of a complex brief. Nobody read it.
- Guaranteed search rankings. Nobody can guarantee those.
- A price far below every other quote, with no explanation of what is excluded.
- Reluctance to put the repository in your account.
- No written scope, only a proposal PDF with bullet points.
- Every question answered with "yes, we can do that", including the ones where the right answer is "why do you want that?"
What good looks like
A partner who pushes back on your brief before quoting, says plainly what they are not including, puts the code in your account, and tells you when something you have asked for is a bad idea. That last one is the hardest to find and the most valuable.