What should I ask about the third-party services a small software product relies on?

Ask for the list in writing: hosting, databases, payment processing, email, maps, analytics, login, messaging and any artificial intelligence or data services. For each, record the monthly cost, the account holder, the plan, and how the product connects to it. Compare the total with what the seller reports as expenses.

Then probe the risk. What happens if a price rises, a service closes or an interface changes? Ask whether usage is close to a limit. Ask when the product last had to be changed because a provider changed something, and how long that took. A seller who can answer fluently has probably lived through it.

Next, look at agreements. Do the providers allow the buyer to take over the account, and are any terms tied to the seller personally? Does the product send customer information to these services? Ask your lawyer to review the terms and your privacy promises. Ask who can maintain the connections, and what a replacement would involve. Request a written note of how each dependency would be moved to your own accounts. Ask which of these services the seller pays for personally, because anything on a personal card or account needs attention before closing.

Key takeaways

• Get a written list of each service, its cost, plan and account holder.
• Ask what breaks if a service changes price, rules or disappears.
• Have your lawyer check whether accounts transfer and what customer data is shared.
• Move any services paid on personal accounts into business accounts before closing.