Most business owners assume that if they paid for their software, they own it. Often that is true. Sometimes it is only partly true, and owners usually find out at the worst possible moment: when a supplier relationship ends, when an investor asks, or when someone tries to buy the business.
You can check most of it yourself, in an afternoon, without reading any code.
1. The code
Where does the code live, and whose account is it in? It is usually in a service such as GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket. You should be an owner of that account or organisation, not a guest in your supplier’s. Ask for owner access, then log in and look.
2. The contract
Does your agreement say the intellectual property in the work belongs to you once paid? Look for the words assignment or assign. A licence to use the software is not the same as owning it. If you are unsure, this is a good moment for a short conversation with your lawyer.
3. The domains
Your domain name is your address on the internet, and losing it can take your website and your email with it. Check who the registered owner is with your registrar, and make sure the renewal reminders go to an inbox you control.
4. The app store listings
If you have an app, it is published under a developer account with Apple and with Google. It should be your account. Moving an app from a supplier’s account to yours is possible, but it is easier to start right than to fix later.
5. The cloud accounts
Hosting, databases, email delivery, payments, analytics: each one is an account somewhere, usually with a monthly bill. Make a list. For each, note whose name it is in, who pays, and who can sign in. Anything billed to your supplier’s card is something they can switch off.
6. The knowledge
Ownership is not only legal. Could a new developer understand and run your software without the person who built it? Look for written instructions on how to set it up, how to release a new version, and where the important settings live. If the honest answer is “only one person knows”, see our note on what happens if your only developer leaves.
If something fails a check
Do not panic, and do not start with an accusation. Most of these gaps happen because nobody asked at the start, not because anyone meant harm. Ask your supplier to move the item into your name, and agree a date. A team that is confident in its work will not mind.
If you want the whole picture at once, an independent review can check all six, plus the parts you cannot see: whether the code matches what you were told, and whether anything in it would stop you moving to another team.