---
id: KB-PS-012
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/getting-started/what-to-ask-before-signing-up
idioma: en
categoria: primeros-pasos
subcategoria: recursos
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-PS-008, KB-PS-009]
citadoPor: [KB-PS-016]
---

# What to ask before signing up

_Eight questions worth asking any platform, this one included._

**Responde a:** what to ask a software vendor · criteria for choosing a document platform · how to compare document management tools · questions before signing a saas contract

Almost every demo shows the same thing: what the tool does well. The questions that separate a good decision from regret eight months later are different, and none is about features.

## The eight questions

1. **How do I get everything out if I leave?** — In what format, how long it takes, and whether it includes the original documents, not just a listing.
2. **Where is my data and who can see it?** — Country, subprocessors, and which people at the vendor have technical access.
3. **What happens if I stop paying?** — Whether it locks, whether it is deleted, and how long I have to retrieve.
4. **What breaks when they change the product?** — With how much notice, and whether what you built still works.
5. **Who answers when something fails on a Friday?** — In what language and with what response commitment.
6. **What does it really cost in year two?** — With foreseeable growth, not the demo scenario.
7. **What do I need from my IT team?** — If the answer is "nothing" and a project turns out to be needed, now you know.
8. **Can I try it on a case of mine before deciding?** — With your real documents, not the sample ones.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The first and third are most often skipped and cost the most. A platform you cannot leave with your documentation is not a tool: it is a dependency.

## What to check as well as ask

| Aspect | How to actually check it |
| --- | --- |
| Ease of use | Have someone on your team use it without training |
| Speed | With one of your large documents, not a sample |
| Support | By sending a real question before signing |
| Security | By asking which certifications they hold and from when |

> [!WARNING]
> Be wary of answers beginning "that's on the roadmap". Buy on what it does today: what is coming may come, and your problem is this quarter's.

## And about this platform specifically

**En corto**

- You can export your complete documentation whenever you want.
- What is signed and sealed can be verified even after you stop being customers.
- It can be tried on a real case of yours before deciding anything.
- And what it costs depends on usage, with a breakdown to check it.

> [!NOTE]
> If any of the eight gets an evasive answer, that is itself an answer. It does not need to be perfect: it needs to be clear.

**What if I already signed without asking?**

Ask now: the first and third matter just as much.

**How long should a trial last?**

As long as it takes to run one real case end to end.

**Are references worth asking for?**

From someone your size and sector, yes. From a flagship case, little.

## Ejemplos

**A company compares three tools by their feature lists.**

- Asks all three the eight questions
- Trials a real case with the two that answer clearly

→ Finds one cannot export original documents and rules it out before signing.

**You wonder whether the data can be recovered the day you want to change.**

- Asks for a test export before signing

→ The exit is verified rather than assumed.

**Nobody clarifies what happens to the documents if you stop paying.**

- Asks about the access period and the delivery format

→ The answer is in writing before you depend on it.

**Comparison is by list price without knowing what each action consumes.**

- Asks which activities consume and which do not

→ The comparison uses expected usage rather than a price tag.

**A tool looks complete but nobody has tried the supplier side.**

- Asks for a trial with a real external recipient

→ You see the half of the product that never appears in the demo.

**You sign without knowing who answers when something breaks.**

- Asks about the support channel and the committed response time

→ The first problem is not also the first surprise.