Choosing a Custom Software Vendor in Jakarta: 7 Questions to Ask

Picking a custom software vendor in Jakarta is harder than it looks. There are hundreds of options ranging from solo freelancers to 200-person agencies. Most have polished websites and confident sales pitches. The differences become clear only when you’re three months into a build.

These are the seven questions that, asked early, separate the vendors worth your time from the ones who’ll burn it.

1. “Can I talk to two of your past clients about how the project actually went, especially when things got hard?”

Not testimonials. Phone calls or coffee meetings with two real clients who paid real money for similar projects. Vendors who can’t or won’t connect you with references either don’t have happy clients or are hiding something.

Ask the references specifically: what did the vendor handle badly? When something went wrong, what happened? Would you hire them again?

The answers separate professional vendors from sales-led ones quickly.

2. “Who specifically will be working on my project, and can I meet them?”

The senior person at the sales meeting is often not who actually builds your software. Ask to meet the lead developer, the designer, the project manager. If the answer is evasive (“we’ll assign the team after signing”), that’s a red flag.

You’re hiring specific humans, not a brand. Their experience, communication style, and judgment will determine whether the project succeeds.

3. “How do you handle scope changes during a build?”

Every project has scope changes. The vendor’s answer reveals their process maturity:

• Bad answer: “We’ll just figure it out as we go.” (Means scope creep with surprise bills.)
• OK answer: “We discuss it and adjust.” (Vague but workable if you have a strong PM on your side.)
• Good answer: “We use written change orders. Scope changes get estimated, you approve before we start, both sides have a clear paper trail.” (Process maturity.)

The good answer doesn’t mean rigid bureaucracy. It means accountability.

4. “Show me a code sample from a recent project.”

This separates the vendors who actually build software from the ones who outsource everything to third parties. Watch their reaction:

• Confident: “Sure, here’s something we recently shipped, with the client’s permission.” Then they walk through it.
• Hedging: “Our code is proprietary.” (Translation: they don’t want you to see it.)
• Confused: “What do you mean?” (Translation: they don’t write the code.)

Have someone technical (yours or hired for the day) review what they show you. Polish in code reviews differently than polish in slides.

5. “What happens if I’m unhappy with what gets shipped?”

The answer reveals their integrity:

• Bad: “We’ll keep building until you’re happy.” (Translation: scope creep is their business model.)
• OK: “We have a 30-day post-launch warranty for bugs.” (Standard.)
• Good: “Our contracts have explicit acceptance criteria for each phase. If something fails acceptance, we either fix it free or you can terminate. Here’s our standard contract — you can review the relevant clauses.”

A vendor who can’t articulate what failure looks like and how it gets resolved is a vendor who hasn’t thought about it. That’s a problem.

6. “What’s your maintenance offering after launch, and how is it priced?”

Vendors who don’t have a clear answer either don’t do maintenance well or don’t think about it. Both are problems.

Look for: defined monthly retainer with included hours, clear escalation for emergencies, transparent rates for work beyond the retainer. If their answer is “we’ll handle it as needed”, you’re going to have surprise bills in year two.

7. “If we wanted to leave you and switch vendors after the build, what would that look like?”

The answer reveals whether they’re trying to lock you in:

• Bad answer: “Our code is proprietary.” (Means you can’t leave without rebuilding from scratch.)
• OK answer: “We hand over the source code and documentation.” (Standard but not enough.)
• Good answer: “Source code in a repository you own from day one. Documentation that lets a new team understand it without us. Production access in your accounts. We’ve helped clients transition to other vendors before — happy to introduce you to one if useful.”

The good answer means they’re confident in their work and not relying on lock-in for retention. That’s the vendor you want.

Two questions worth not asking

These often come up but waste your evaluation time:

• “Will you sign an NDA before we discuss?” Reasonable vendors will. Don’t make it a filter — most are fine with it.
• “What’s your hourly rate?” Almost meaningless without knowing project shape. Total project cost matters; hourly rate is window dressing.

Red flags that should make you walk away

Three combinations that consistently end badly:

• Polished sales process + evasive answers about the technical team. Sales-led shop. They’re great at winning deals and bad at delivering.
• Lowest price + tightest timeline. Either they’ll cut corners or they’re misjudging scope. Both end with overruns.
• Refusal to do paid scoping before committing. Vendors confident in their estimating let you pay for a small scoping engagement and walk away with the document. Those who tie scoping to full commitment are hedging.

If you’re approaching vendor selection and want a sounding board on specific candidates, an hour of conversation usually sharpens the picture. We do those at no cost — and we’ll tell you honestly if we think a vendor is a good fit, even if it isn’t us.