Software Access, Ownership and Support After Launch

Understand the difference between access and ownership

• AccessWho can sign in, manage users, retrieve records and reach the accounts that keep the system running.
• Ownership and permission to useWhat your agreement says about the software, its files and the rights to use or change it.

These questions are related, but a login does not explain the rights in the software. Ask the agreement to identify the newly created code, any existing components and the permissions your business receives.

Source code is the editable set of instructions a developer uses to build and change the software. Agree whether it is included in the handover, when you receive it and whether another developer can use it to maintain the system.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s overview of software rights explains copyright and licensing, including that open-source components can have licence conditions. If the terms in your agreement are unclear, have them explained before you sign.

Know which accounts keep the system running

An online system may depend on hosting, a web address, email delivery and other services. An installed program may also depend on shared records or online accounts. Ask for a list of the services used and who controls and pays for each one.

Where accounts are held for your business, arrange recovery details that remain available if one person leaves. If the developer manages a service through their own account, agree on how access or service would be transferred.

Use individual logins and appropriate access levels. Protect important accounts with multi-factor authentication, which adds another check when signing in, and store recovery information securely.

Ask for a handover someone else can use

The handover should explain enough for the agreed support arrangement to work. If another developer may take over, ask what they would need to run, update and release the software.

Useful items include the agreed source files, setup instructions, a list of connected services, records of important decisions and instructions for backups and recovery. Credentials should be transferred securely rather than copied into ordinary project notes.

Arrange a walkthrough of the handover. Finding a missing account or instruction is easier while the people who built the system are available to explain it.

Check how records can be recovered and exported

A backup is a copy used for recovery. An export is information taken out of the system for another purpose, such as analysis or moving to a different program. Ask what each contains and how you would use it.

Agree who checks backups and tests recovery. Discuss how much recent work could be lost and how long the business could manage without access; those answers help shape the recovery arrangements.

For exports, check whether you can retrieve the records, attachments and relationships you would need. A spreadsheet of customer names may not include their orders, notes or uploaded documents.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security’s small-business guidance covers account protection, software updates and testing backups. It provides a useful starting point for discussing these responsibilities.

Separate fixes, upkeep and improvements

Ask how problems in the delivered work are handled and whether any period of fixes is included. Record the start and end dates and what falls within that arrangement.

Ongoing work can also include security updates, checking connected services and adapting to changes outside your system. New features are another category. Making the distinction helps you understand what a support price covers.

Reporting a problem

Where staff send the issue, what information to include and who decides how urgent it is.

Availability

The hours support is available, any agreed response targets and what to do when help is needed outside those hours.

Cost and approval

What is included, what is charged separately and who can approve additional work.

Keeping it running

Who handles updates, backups, service renewals and checks on important connections.

A response target describes when someone will acknowledge or begin handling a request. It is different from a promise about when every problem will be fixed. Ask for both expectations to be clear.

Keep the arrangements current

Review access when staff or suppliers change. Update the contact list, remove access that is no longer needed and confirm that the business can still recover its important accounts.

If you change developers, agree on the handover work, any charges and the date responsibility moves. Confirm the new provider has the necessary files, permissions and knowledge before the previous arrangement ends.

You may be satisfied with the same developer for years. Keeping this information organized still helps when someone is unavailable or a new person joins the project.

Your next step

Create a short handover list covering accounts, source files, rights to use and change the software, records, backups and support contacts. Ask who will provide each item and when, then keep the completed list somewhere your business can access.