Buying software: the questions about data, exit and ongoing cost

What should you ask before you buy software?

Before you buy business software, get four answers in writing. One: does it handle a real task from start to finish, including an exception such as a correction or a returned approval? Note every step that needs another tool. Two: what does an export actually contain? Check attachments, history and custom fields as well as the main records, and who can run it. Three: what is the full cost over the same period? Count subscription, setup, connections, your own admin time, support, renewal terms and exit. Four: what happens to your records if you stop renewing? Give one person ownership of the decision, and treat any unanswered question as a reason to pause.

Start with the work you expect to complete

Bring a real task to the demonstration. Follow it through the proposed software, including an exception: a correction, a returned approval or an incomplete record. Ask which steps require another tool or manual intervention.

This establishes a more useful basis for comparison than a long feature list. It also exposes work that may otherwise reappear as an implementation charge or a daily administrative burden.

Can you get every record back out?

An export of the main records may leave out attachments, comments, approval history or custom fields. Ask the supplier to identify what can be retrieved, in which format and by whom.

For important records, ask to see a sample export. Check whether somebody outside the supplier could understand the field names and connect the files. If an export requires paid assistance or is available only during a particular contract period, include that condition in the decision.

Ask, too, whether your own administrator can run a full export whenever they need to, without raising a ticket with the supplier.

Also establish where information will be held, which other providers will handle it, how authorised access is managed and what the supplier’s deletion arrangements cover. Obtain the relevant documentation rather than treating a logo or a general security statement as the answer to every question.

Will the software hold personal data about customers or employees? Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act), your business stays responsible for that data even when a supplier processes it for you, and that processing should sit under a contract. Ask for the supplier’s terms on processing, sub-processors, breach notification and deletion. DPDP Act compliance is part of our Compliance work.

Compare the operating cost

Use the same planning period and expected level of use for each option.

For example, a tool with a lower monthly fee may require staff to re-enter information into another application, such as your accounting software. Estimate that effort alongside the quoted price. State the assumptions so a later change in headcount or volume does not make the comparison misleading.

Plan an exit before it becomes urgent

Ask what happens if you stop renewing or need to move earlier. Establish the period during which records remain accessible, the available export assistance and the treatment of information after closure. Where software supports an essential activity, consider how that activity would continue during a transition or outage.

Record the answer in the agreed commercial documents. A reassuring sales conversation is difficult to use as an operating plan six months later.

Give the decision an owner

Someone in the business should confirm that the software fits the work and that the implementation and continuing costs are understood. Technical, security and contractual reviewers can examine their respective areas without leaving the overall decision ownerless.

Before signing, assemble a short decision record: the tasks tested, material limitations, expected costs, implementation responsibilities, key contract conditions and unresolved questions. Treat any unresolved item as an explicit acceptance decision or a reason to pause.

If no product fits the tasks you tested, ask a different question: would configuration, a changed workflow or a custom application fit better? Our spreadsheet-to-application example shows how that work could be planned.

Common questions

What cost do buyers most often miss when choosing software?

Your own team’s time. Setting up users and permissions, preparing starting data, re-keying what the software cannot exchange and handling routine changes. It rarely shows up on a quotation.

When should you agree exit terms?

Before you sign. Once your records and routines depend on the software, the supplier has little reason to improve export or migration terms.

Is it worth asking for a sample export?

Yes, for the records you would need to move. Check that someone outside the supplier could read the field names and put the files back together.

Considering a new business application?

Share your shortlist and the task you plan to test in each demonstration. We can help you put the export, cost and exit questions to every supplier.

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