Choosing a software company in Oman is a decision that stays with you for years, because the system built for you will hold your customers' data and your invoices. These ten simple questions separate serious companies from the rest, and you can ask them in the first meeting.
1. Can I open your previous work?
Do not settle for pictures in a presentation. Ask for links to sites and apps that run today, and open them on your phone. See our work as an example of what to ask for: live projects you can click.
2. Is the price fixed and written?
Ask for one price against a written scope. An open price "by the hour" can end in a much larger invoice. We give one fixed price before we start, and payment details are on the prices page.
3. How are payments split?
Full payment up front is a risk to you. Better is payments tied to stages, and not paying the second instalment until you have tried the working version and approved it. With us it is 40% to start, 30% after your approval and 30% at launch.
4. When do I see something working?
A confident company shows you a working version early, not after three months of silence. Ask when the first test version arrives.
5. Who owns the code and the data?
Get it in writing: do you own the system and your data? Can you move hosting to another provider? And which accounts (domain, store, hosting) are registered in your name rather than the builder's?
6. What does support include after delivery?
Every system has faults and changes. Ask about the free-changes period and about monthly care: hosting, backups and security updates, how you contact them and how many hours a reply takes.
7. Do you understand my business, or are you selling me a template?
A good company asks how you work before it proposes a solution: how do orders arrive? Who approves? What happens on a mistake? If the pitch starts with prices before questions, be careful.
8. Does it really work in Arabic?
Ask to see an Arabic screen with the correct direction, and an invoice printed in Arabic and English. Also read why Arabic matters in business systems.
9. Will you connect it to what I already use?
Payments, accounting, WhatsApp, devices and your old files. Ask for earlier integration examples, and which parts need an outside provider's fees.
10. What happens if we decide to part ways?
Nobody asks this one, and it is among the most important. A company that guarantees to hand over code, data and documents is a company that has no need to lock you in.
A quick comparison sheet
Write the companies' names in columns and tick each question they answered clearly and in writing. The company with the most ticks is not always the cheapest, but it is usually the one with the fewest surprises. To know us better, visit about us, or contact us and put these ten questions to us first.
Red flags in the first meeting
- Does not ask about your business, and starts with prices and features.
- "We will program everything for you" with no written scope.
- Shows no working examples, or only pictures.
- Asks for a large payment up front with no stages.
- Does not answer the ownership question or dodges it.
- Promises an unrealistic timeline and changes the subject when asked.
Green flags
- Asks questions that make you rethink your business.
- Sends a written scope, a fixed price and a timeline.
- Shows an early working version you try before the second payment.
- Explains what needs an outside provider and its fees.
- Registers the accounts (domain, stores, hosting) in your name.
How to check a provider before signing
- Open five of its projects on your phone and ask: who built them? When? What was the company's role?
- Speak to a past client if possible and ask about delays, changes and support.
- Check the company's commercial registration and real address, and visit the office if you can.
- Ask for a copy of the contract days before deciding so you can read it calmly.
A document that protects you
Write into the contract: scope, timeline, hand-over points, payments, free-changes period, support, ownership of code and data, and what happens on separation. A clear contract protects both sides.
Common questions
Should I just pick the cheapest?
The cheapest quote without a written scope is often the most expensive in the end. Compare scope, support and ownership before price, and use the Studio to write your spec so offers become comparable.