Begin with proven experience, not the length of the client list. Ask for a couple of case studies that match your stack, and then ask specifically whether those engineers are still with the education software development company. An honest provider is happy to connect you with the people who would work on your project. Answers that name nobody at this stage generally mean you are talking to a reseller.
The paperwork warrants more scrutiny than the proposal. get a software development quote few clauses carry most of the weight: ownership of the code, non-disclosure, and exit terms and handover. Everything produced has to transfer to you on payment, including designs, scripts and infrastructure configuration. Be careful with language that leaves reusable components outside the transfer, as this is frequently the part you cannot replace later.
Ask how they estimate. A serious estimate arrives with a written set of assumptions, a breakdown per feature and a range rather than a single number. A fixed-price contract only makes sense when the requirements are stable and documented; when the scope is still moving the supplier pads the number and you pay for it anyway. A time-and-materials model shifts that risk to you, so it demands a cap, regular demos and transparent reporting.
The delivery process matters more than headcount. Find out what happens when the scope changes, who defines done and how testing is organised. A mature team can show you a live build at the end of each sprint. Clear, written acceptance criteria stay the practical protection against the it-was-never-in-scope conversation.
Last, plan for the day you no longer need this vendor before it becomes urgent. Ask that the repository lives in your organisation from the beginning, and that documentation is written as you go rather than left to the end. A partner who is comfortable with this says yes immediately; a long negotiation over it tells you a great deal.
