How to use it
- 01
Fill it in the same day
Rate the company within hours of the meeting or of reading the proposal. Impressions blur quickly, and after three companies they merge. A record made at once is the only fair basis for comparison.
- 02
Use unseen honestly
Where you have no evidence for a line, choose unseen and do not guess. The unseen lines become your list of requests, and how a company responds to them is evidence too.
- 03
Write specifics in the notes
In strengths and concerns, record what was said or shown. A note such as asked how refunds work is useful a fortnight later. A note such as seemed professional is not.
- 04
Repeat for each company
Download the record, clear the form and start again for the next company. With the same lines rated the same way, differences between proposals become obvious, and price finds its proper place among them.
What separates one software company from another
Proposals for the same project often look alike and differ little in price. The differences that matter show up in four areas, which is why the checklist gives each its own part.
| Part | What it settles | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding | Whether they grasped the problem and its risks | A company that misunderstands the brief will build the wrong thing efficiently |
| Evidence | What they showed, and who you met | Claims are free, while comparable work and reachable references are not |
| Commercial terms | How the price is built and what changes it | An unexplained total cannot be compared or controlled |
| Ownership and exit | What you hold during and after the work | It decides whether you could ever change supplier |
| Judgement | Your own strengths, concerns and next requests | Turns a rating into a decision and a list of things to ask |
A worked example
One company rated after its proposal
The example is invented: a leisure operator rating one of three companies. Load it to see the complete record. The ratings are mostly good, and the unseen and weak lines show what to do next.
- Strong linesUnderstanding is the best part. The company restated the problem, asked about freezes and refunds and named the risks in moving old member data.
- Weak and unseenThe developers were not met, running costs are missing, and neither references nor exit terms have been seen.
- Next requestsFour concrete asks follow directly from those lines, and the verdict is proceed with conditions.
Nothing in the record says this is the wrong company. It says the decision is not ready, and it names the four things that would make it ready.
What this tool does not do
The checklist organizes your own observations. It adds no information about any company, and it cannot weigh the lines for you.
- It does not produce a score, on purpose. A total would hide the one weak line that matters most to you.
- It cannot verify what a company told you. References and sample documents do that.
- It does not replace legal review of the contract, particularly the clauses on rights and exit.
- Nothing you type leaves this browser. Each record exists only where you save it.
What to do with the finished document
Lay the records for your shortlisted companies side by side and look first at the weak and unseen lines. If we are one of the companies you are evaluating, send us the list of what you still need to see. Send it through the contact page or book a 30-minute call and bring it along.
Common questions
Why does the checklist not give each company a score?
Because a total invites the wrong comparison. A company can collect many strong marks and still be weak on the single line that matters most for your project, such as who holds the code. Reading the ratings line by line, and weighting them by your own priorities, leads to a better decision than adding them up.
How many companies should we evaluate?
Three or four is usually enough for a real comparison while leaving time to speak with each properly. Evaluating many more spreads your attention thin and discourages serious companies from investing effort in a proposal. Shortlist by relevant experience first, then use the checklist on those that remain.
What matters more, the proposal or the meeting?
They show different things. The proposal shows how a company structures work, prices it and handles terms. The meeting shows how it thinks: the questions asked, the assumptions challenged, the risks raised unprompted. Rate both. A polished document from a company that asked nothing should concern you.
Should price be on the checklist?
Price belongs in the comparison, after you have confirmed that the proposals describe the same scope. The checklist rates how clearly a price is built and explained, which tells you whether it can be compared at all. An unusually low total with unclear assumptions is a warning, not a saving.