How do I choose a software company in Qatar? The questions to ask before signing.
Ask for a link, not a deck
Every software company has a presentation. Very few have a link you can open now, on your phone, to something they built that is running for a real client. Ask for one. Then ask for the one they are least proud of, and what they learned from it. The second answer tells you more than the first.
Ask who owns what
Who owns the code when the project is paid for. Whose name is on the hosting account, the domain and the database. Where the data lives, and whether that is a region you are comfortable with for the kind of data it is. If the answer to any of these is the software company, you are renting, not buying.
Ask what happens when it is wrong
If the work involves AI, ask to see a screen where the model gave a wrong answer and what the system did next. A company that has shipped AI to real customers will have that screen ready and will be slightly relieved you asked. A company that has not will show you the demo again.
Ask who answers at 9pm
Something will break on a Thursday evening. Ask who picks up, whether they built the thing, and how long they take to respond. Then ask what that costs per month, because it costs something, and a quote that leaves it out is not complete.
Ask for the number on its own line
A proposal should have the price on a line by itself, before the appendices, with what is out of scope written next to it. If you have to hunt for the number, you will hunt for it again when the invoice arrives.
Ask about Arabic
Ask who writes the Arabic. If the answer involves a translation tool, the Arabic edition of your product will read like one, and your customers will notice before they read the offer.
The Qatar specifics
A company in Doha works your hours and your weekend, knows which payment gateways work here, and can meet you. Registration at the Qatar Financial Centre means a legal entity on a public register and a contract enforceable under QFC law. Neither guarantees the work is good. Both are the floor, and you should not sign below it.
Cliqom is one of the companies you could ask these questions. Ask them of us too.
Related questions
Should I pick a local company or an offshore one?
Pick the one that will be in the room. Time zone, Arabic, Qatari payment gateways and the Friday weekend all matter, and a company that answers in your working hours in your language costs less over a year than a cheaper quote that does not.
Fixed price or hourly?
Fixed price per phase, with what is out of scope written next to it. Hourly billing moves the risk to you.
What does QFC registration tell me?
That the company is a registered legal entity you can find on the QFC public register, with a contract enforceable under QFC law. It is a floor, not a guarantee of quality.
How do I check they can build what they say?
Ask for a link, then use it. A live system you can click through is the only evidence that counts.