A business in Cyprus that wants software usually collects three quotes and compares prices. But the cost of picking the wrong company is far larger than the price gap: unfinished projects, lost data, code nobody can touch. Ask these 10 questions before you sign.
1. Who will own the source code and data?
It must be written in the contract. If the company closes or you part ways, you should be able to take your code and data to another team.
2. Have you built something similar before?
Ask for references and, if possible, call that business. Say you want to see a working system, not screenshots.
3. Who writes it and who supports it?
The person who sells may not be the team that codes. Find out who answers the phone when something breaks.
4. Do you know North Cyprus specifics?
VAT rates, TL/GBP/EUR, local banks, SMS gateways. Systems written for other markets break on exactly these points.
5. Can I see the screens before coding starts?
A good team shows a clickable prototype, so you never reach “that’s not what I asked for” months later.
6. How often will I see progress?
Ask for working deliveries every week or two. A project that stays silent for six months is a risk.
7. What does the price include?
Setup, training, first-month support, servers and licences? Get the extras written down up front.
8. How does maintenance work after launch?
There should be a monthly plan for updates, backups and fixes. Otherwise you get a new quote at the first problem.
9. Where is my data and is it backed up?
Server location, backup frequency and restore time should be clear. “In the cloud” is not an answer.
10. What happens if I want to leave?
You should be able to export your data to Excel or a standard format. A system without an exit door is a trap.
Ask us these questions too. At Stilsoft the code and data are yours by contract, you see the screens before we code, and the person who wrote the software answers the phone.