Guide · Software house
Software house what it is, what it does and how to choose one.
Choosing a software house is like choosing who builds your house: the rendering everyone knows how to do it, the yard counts. Here you find what it does, types, a checklist and questions to ask before signing up.
What is a software house
A software house is a company that designs, develops and maintains software: management software, CRM, web app, smartphone app. Some sell a product of their own, others build custom software; the right one is recognized by how it works, even before the price.
- What it does
- Process analysis, design, development, testing, release and maintenance over time.
- Types
- By product, by order, system integrator, by day. Often the same company mixes two.
- How to Choose It
- Software in use to see, people with a name, code and accounts registered to you, a prototype to try soon.
- How much does it cost
- It depends on the perimeter more than the fare: a serious figure comes after the analysis, not before.
What a software house does, in addition to writing code.
Code is the least visible part. Before it come the questions; after it comes software that needs ongoing care.
Analysis
Understand how you work today, where time is lost and which exceptions arise. This determines what to build and what to leave out.
Design
Screenshots, data, roles, and permissions drawn before the code: the time to change your mind costs less.
Development
The real software, in pieces: first a prototype to click, then versions to use with real data.
Integrations
The new software connects to your business management system, CRM, invoicing, email and website through APIs.
Test and Release
Tests, online posting, store posting if it's an app, and an easy way to go back.
Maintenance
Security, backups, tweaks, and new features. Software doesn't just deliver: it keeps you alive.
In practice: management software, CRM, portals, dashboards, web app and PWA, iPhone and Android apps, AI agents inside the processes. The practical side is on the page on custom software.
Types of software houses.
Under the same label there are different trades: figuring out which one you have in front tells you what to ask.
Product company
It sells software of its own, often by subscription. You configure it, you rarely change it thoroughly.
Custom development
It builds custom software starting from your process. The code can become yours, if the contract says so.
System integrator
Configure and connect other software, such as ERP and CRM, and develop the pieces in between.
Daily-rate staffing
It gives you paid developers on time. It works if you already have who leads the project.
What about Italian software houses?
All four approaches can exist within the same company. An Italian software house understands local requirements such as electronic invoicing through the Sistema di Interscambio and certified email (PEC). Always ask which work it does directly and which work it outsources.
Software house, freelance, agency or software ready?
There is no right choice for everyone: it depends on how central the software will be and how long it has to last.
| Who | It makes sense when | The risk | Who Keeps It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software house | The software holds central processes and must last for years. | Large structures can be slow and pass you on to people never seen before. | A group of people, with a written agreement. |
| Freelance | The project is small and well defined. | It all depends on one person: vacation, illness, a bigger customer. | The same person, if he is still available. |
| Web Agency | The heart of the job is the site, communication, marketing. | Complex software sometimes ends up third parties: ask who writes the code. | It depends on who developed it. |
| Software ready | There is already a product that does almost everything you need. | You adapt to the software, and the data is on the supplier's systems. | The supplier, for all customers together. |
If an off-the-shelf product covers almost everything you need, it is often the better choice. We discuss this in our guide to Custom CRM or off-the-shelf business management software.
How to choose a software house: the checklist.
Ten items to check before signing. Check out the ones that the supplier you are evaluating already respects.
The provider you are evaluating
0 up 10
Check out the items that the provider you are evaluating already respects.
Questions to ask a software house before signing.
Four questions for the first call, with the answer reassuring and the one that has to light a spy.
Can I see something you've done that's in use?
- Response that reassures
- “Here is the link, the app in the stores, the case with the name of the customer.”
- An Answer That Concerns
- “It's all confidential. Always, for every project.”
Who will write the code?
- Response that reassures
- “These people, and this is your referent.”
- An Answer That Concerns
- “Our team, no names, no way to talk to us.”
Whose code, domain and account will it be?
- Response that reassures
- “Yours, and we write it in the contract.”
- An Answer That Concerns
- “We keep them, for convenience.”
When do I see something that works?
- Response that reassures
- “A prototype in a few days, then a version to use at each stage.”
- An Answer That Concerns
- “To the final delivery.”
Warning signs: the quote under the lens.
Many problems with a software house are already written in the quote: just know which lines to emphasize.
Quote
Custom business software · an example to examine closely
- Subject matter: development of a custom order and inventory management system.
- Requirements: as discussed at the initial meeting.Without an analysis document the price is a bet, for you and for them.
- Delivery: complete software at the end of the work.Nothing to try until the end? Ask for a prototype right away and a version at each stage.
- Properties: the source code remains with the Supplier, who grants the Customer a license to use it.The transfer of rights must be proved in writing (Article 110 of Italian copyright law): have your own code and repositories written down.
- Infrastructure: domain, servers and store accounts registered to the Supplier.Head them to your company: if you change providers, you don't have to ask permission to take them back.
- Amendments: to be quoted separately.There will be, right. Ask who approves them, at what time and at what rate.
- Assistance: Compulsory annual fee.What does it cover? Security, backup, response times. A no-content fee is a subscription to nothing.
- Payments: to progress, to the delivery of each stage.
The rules to know before the contract
The rule that gives the employer the rights to employee software (Art. 12-bis) does not apply to an external supplier: this is why the assignment must be written (Art. 110). If the software house handles personal data for you, the GDPR also asks for a contract on processing (Art. 28). The rest is in the guide to contract with an AI provider.
How much does a software house cost.
A serious figure comes after the analysis, not before. They move it how big the problem is, how many systems need to be connected, which data treats the software and what it takes after launch.
Fixed price
A fixed price for a written perimeter. It protects against surprises, if the perimeter is clear to both of us.
Time and materials
You pay days or hours. Flexible, but you need someone on your side to keep track and prioritize.
Recurring fee
A periodic amount, for a subscription software or for maintenance. Ask what it covers, black on white.
The market groups, with the sources, are on the page on how much it costs to develop an app; the factors that move the estimate, in that on the prices. We make a fixed price quote after the free call.
Because Giallo Studio, if you are looking for a software house.
We are a small Milan studio building custom software, with AI where it serves a purpose. Coding agents such as Claude Code help us deliver prototypes in days; a person reviews every line.
Rial Rent · Fleet OS
One business system. One interface.
For a supercar and yacht rental business, we built Fleet OS: fleet management, PDF quotes and contracts with electronic signatures, AI-read documents and traffic fines matched to the correct customer. One system replaces a stack of spreadsheets.
The Case StudyAthleex
One codebase, three doors.
The platform for personal trainers, in six languages. A single web base that is used by the browser, installs as PWA and is published on the App Store and Google Play.
You talk to the code-writer.
The one who listens to you on call is the one who develops.
Code and account are yours.
Headed to your company, black on white.
Fixed price, written first.
Any changes are agreed before they are made.
Based in Milan or Lombardy? We can meet at our Milan studio. See our page on software house in Milan.
Tell us what your software needs to do.
Thirty minutes, for free, with whom then would write the code. We tell you if you really need custom software or if something that already exists is enough.
Software house: frequently asked questions.
For integrated AI features, we evaluate Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 and Fable 5.1, GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Astra. Classification, document search and actions in business management software require different tests. The model can be replaced; permissions, controls and the action log belong to your company's software.
It is a company that designs, develops and maintains software: management software, CRM, web apps, apps and links between programs. Some sell their own product, others build it tailored to customers.
A web agency mainly works on websites, communication and marketing. A software house builds applications that manage processes such as orders, inventory and documents. If an agency proposes a business management system, ask who will actually write the code.
It depends on the perimeter: functions, systems to be connected, data processed, assistance after launch. The market segments are on the page about how much it costs to develop an app; we work at a fixed price, decided after the free call.
Looking at how it works more than what it looks like: software in use to see, people with a name, code and accounts registered to you, a prototype soon, recurring costs in writing.
Not automatically. Copyright law gives the employer the rights to the employee software, but an external software house is not, and the transfer of rights must be tried in writing. Let him write in the contract.
For small and well-defined projects a good freelancer is fine. If the software holds up central processes and has to last years, continuity matters: more people know the code, and someone who responds even in August.
With the programming agents a prototype to click comes in a few days. The first version to be used with true data is planned after analysis, with a written calendar and phased releases.