The Custom Software Buyer's Checklist.
12 questions to ask before signing any SaaS contract or hiring a builder. The ones vendors hope you skip.
- Source code ownership
- Data export and lock-in
- Pricing-model gotchas
- Integration limits
- Security and SLAs
- Exit terms
12 categories. One question per category your vendor doesn't want.
Each category in the PDF includes the question to ask, why it matters, and the answer that should make you walk.
- 01
Code ownership
Who owns the codebase the day after launch — and the day after a dispute? Get it in writing.
- 02
Source code escrow
If your vendor folds, do you get the code? If they get acquired, does your contract survive?
- 03
Customization limits
Which workflows are configurable, and which require a six-figure upgrade or a full rebuild?
- 04
Data export and portability
Can you walk away with every record — schema intact — without a six-week extraction project?
- 05
Pricing model and gotchas
Per-seat, per-record, per-feature, or annual hike? What does it cost at 3x scale, not today?
- 06
Support model and SLAs
Who picks up when production breaks at 2am? What is the response time in writing, not in marketing?
- 07
Integrations and APIs
Open API or walled garden? Will it talk to your accounting, payroll, and CRM without a $40k connector?
- 08
Security and compliance
SOC 2, encryption at rest, audit logs, role-based access. What does the vendor actually have, not just claim?
- 09
AI capability and roadmap
Is AI a feature you can adopt on your terms, or a black box that touches your data however the vendor wants?
- 10
Scaling behavior
What breaks first at 10x users, 10x records, 10x transactions? And what does it cost to fix?
- 11
Exit terms
How do you leave? How long does it take? Are there termination fees, data-purge costs, or transition penalties?
- 12
Contract length and renewals
Auto-renew clauses, multi-year lock-ins, price-protection terms. Read every word before you sign.
Most buyers sign the wrong contract.
We built Bluestone because we kept watching the same thing happen. A growing business outgrows its starter SaaS, talks to two or three vendors, and signs the one with the slickest demo. Two years later they're paying $4,000 a month for software they can't fully control, can't fully export, and can't leave without a six-month migration project.
Most of that is preventable. The traps are in the contract, the data model, and the pricing tier they upsell you onto in year two. They're not hidden — they're just easy to miss when you're trying to ship.
This checklist is the questions we'd ask if it were our business and our money. Use it on us. Use it on every vendor. Walk away from anyone whose answers don't survive the list.
Want us to walk through the checklist with you?
Book a free 30-minute teardown. Bring the SaaS contract or the vendor proposal you're reviewing — we'll go through the 12 questions together and tell you straight where the risk is. You walk away with a clear picture, whether you hire us or not.