Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Software Development Company in Kenya

Choosing a software development partner is one of the most important decisions in any technology project. The right company helps you clarify what you need, builds it properly and stays with you after launch. The wrong one can leave you with a half-finished system, no access to your own code and a team that stops answering the phone.

Most business owners are not software experts, and they shouldn't need to be. What they need is a reliable way to compare companies. This guide gives you the questions to ask, what good answers sound like, and the warning signs to watch for. Use it with any company you are considering — including WikiTeq.

Before you contact anyone: prepare

You will get better proposals, and be able to compare them fairly, if every company receives the same information. Prepare a short brief — one or two pages is enough:

• What your business does and who the system is for
• The problem you want to solve, in plain language
• How the work is done today, including the tools you use
• What a successful result would look like in six months
• Any systems it must connect to, such as M-Pesa, eTIMS or accounting software
• Your preferred timeline and an indicative budget range, if you have one

Sharing a budget range can feel risky, but it helps companies suggest a realistic approach rather than guessing. Our guide to planning your first software project walks through preparing a brief in more detail.

Questions about experience and fit

“Have you built something similar?”

Ask to see relevant work — live websites, systems, or products the company has built. Similar does not have to mean identical: a team that has built billing, payments and reporting for one industry can usually apply that experience to another. What matters is that they can explain the challenges they faced and how they solved them.

“Can I speak to a past client?”

A confident company will put you in touch with a client who can describe what working with them was like. Be cautious of companies that can only show screenshots or unnamed “confidential” projects.

“Who will actually work on my project?”

Some companies present senior staff during sales and hand the work to someone else. Ask who the developers, designers and project lead will be, and whether you will be able to speak with them directly.

“Do you understand the local context?”

For Kenyan businesses, the details matter: M-Pesa payments, SMS notifications, eTIMS invoicing, staff working on mobile data, and customers who prefer WhatsApp to email. A team familiar with these realities will raise them before you have to.

Questions about process

“How will you understand my requirements?”

Good companies ask a lot of questions before they quote. They want to see your current forms, spreadsheets and reports, and to understand the exceptions as well as the normal flow. A company that quotes a complex system after a ten-minute call is guessing.

“How often will I see progress?”

You should be able to see and try working software regularly during the project — not only at the end. Short cycles with frequent demonstrations mean misunderstandings are caught early, when they are cheap to fix.

“How do you handle changes?”

Requirements always change once people see the system. Ask how changes are agreed, estimated and approved. A clear, written process protects both sides.

“How do you test?”

Ask how the system will be tested before you see it, and how you will be involved in testing before launch. “We test everything” is not an answer; a description of the steps is.

Questions about ownership and contracts

These questions are often skipped, and they are among the most important.

• Who owns the source code? For custom work built for you, you should normally own it, or at least have the right to use, modify and move it. Get this in writing.
• Who owns the data? Your business data should always be yours, exportable in a usable format at any time.
• Where is it hosted, and in whose name? Ideally hosting accounts, domains and key services are registered to your business, with the developer given access — not the other way round.
• What happens if we stop working together? You should receive the code, documentation and credentials needed for another team to take over.
• How is payment structured? Payments tied to delivered, working milestones are fairer than large upfront payments for the whole project.

Questions about security and data protection

If your system stores customer, patient, student or staff information, ask how the company handles access control, passwords, backups and secure hosting. Ask how they would help you meet your obligations under Kenya's Data Protection Act. Our guide to the Data Protection Act and your business software explains what to look for.

Questions about cost

• What exactly is included in the quote — design, testing, training, documentation?
• What is not included, such as hosting, SMS credits or payment fees?
• Is the price fixed, time-based or phased?
• What are the ongoing monthly or yearly costs after launch?
• Is there a warranty period for fixing defects at no extra charge?

For a deeper explanation of what drives software pricing, read what drives the cost of custom software in Kenya.

Questions about support after launch

Launch is the beginning of a system's life, not the end. Ask:

• How do we report a problem, and how quickly will you respond?
• Who handles security updates and changes in third-party services such as M-Pesa?
• Do you offer a maintenance plan, and what does it include?
• How will our staff be trained, and is there help for new staff later?

Warning signs to watch for

• A firm quote for a complex system after very little discussion
• Pressure to sign quickly or pay most of the cost upfront
• Reluctance to put code ownership in writing
• Hosting and domains registered only in the developer's name
• No examples of real, working projects
• Promises that everything is possible, quickly and cheaply
• Vague answers about testing and support
• Testimonials you can't verify

None of these automatically disqualifies a company, but each deserves a clear answer.

Good signs to look for

• They ask about your business before talking about technology
• They suggest starting smaller than you expected
• They tell you when you don't need custom software
• They explain things in plain language without hiding behind jargon
• They are clear about what they don't know yet
• They have a visible address and a team you can meet

Comparing proposals side by side

Once you have proposals, put them in a simple table: scope included, approach, timeline, cost, ongoing costs, ownership terms, support terms and your impression of the team. The cheapest option is rarely the best value, and the most expensive isn't automatically the safest. Choose the team that understood your problem best and that you trust to tell you the truth when something goes wrong.

How we work at WikiTeq

We're a Nairobi-based team at Lonak Business Centre on Kasarani–Mwiki Road, and we're happy to be asked every question on this list. You can read about our company and client work, meet our team, or see the products we've built. If you'd like an honest second opinion on a project — even one you're planning with someone else — book a free consultation.