How to vet a software house in Poland before you sign

By Krzysztof Ścira, September 2026

Hiring a software house in another country means trusting a company you have probably never met. Here is how we would check a Polish vendor if we were in your place, using public registers, review platforms and a few direct questions. At the end you will find every place where you can verify desi9n.pl.

Poland has a large and mature software industry, which is good news for anyone outsourcing development. It also means a lot of choice, and a polished website tells you very little about who is behind it. Before you sign a contract, spend an hour on the checks below. None of them cost anything.

1. Confirm the company exists in the official registers

Every Polish limited company (sp. z o.o.) is listed in the National Court Register, known as KRS. The public KRS search shows the registered address, the date of registration, the share capital and the people who can legally sign on the company's behalf. If the person you are negotiating with is not on that list, ask why.

The second check is the VAT taxpayer register (the so-called white list). Search it by tax number (NIP) to confirm that the company is an active VAT payer and to see its registered bank accounts. If an invoice asks you to pay into an account that is not on the list, stop and call the vendor on a number you already know.

For reference, our own details are: desi9n sp. z o.o., KRS 0000480006, NIP 6772377357, REGON 122944778, ul. Królewska 65a/1, 30-081 Kraków.

2. Read independent reviews, and check how they were collected

Review platforms differ a lot in how much they verify. Clutch, for example, interviews clients or confirms their identity before publishing a review, so a review there carries more weight than an anonymous star rating. Google reviews are easier to leave, which makes them less rigorous but more spontaneous. Read the negative ones too: the way a company replies to criticism tells you how it will treat you when something goes wrong.

Be sceptical of a vendor with hundreds of five-star reviews and no detail in any of them. A handful of specific reviews describing a real project is worth more.

3. Use agency directories to build a shortlist, not to decide

B2B directories are a quick way to see who works in your area, filter by budget or technology and compare several companies side by side. Designrush, TechBehemoths and Agency Spotter all list software development companies with their services, rates and location. Treat a listing as a starting point: being in a directory means the company filled in a profile, not that anyone checked its work.

4. Ask for references you can actually call

Ask for two or three clients from projects similar to yours, and speak to them yourself. Useful questions: Did the project finish on budget? What happened when the requirements changed? Who owns the source code now? Would you hire them again? A company that has done good work for years will have clients happy to take that call.

Our client references (in Polish) include letters from public institutions such as the Silesian Police and St. Luke's Hospital in Tarnów, as well as private companies. Ask us about any of them.

5. Settle ownership and handover before the first line of code

The contract should state that you own the source code and all copyright in it once you have paid, and that you get access to the repository from day one, not at the end. Ask how the vendor documents its work and what happens if you want to move the project to another team. A good software house makes that easy, because it expects you to stay for the quality of the work, not because leaving is hard.

Where to verify desi9n.pl

We have been building custom software, mobile apps and accessible websites in Kraków since 2008. You can check us in these places:

• Clutch: our company profile. It is new, so if you have worked with us, a review there helps a lot.
• Google Business Profile: our office in Kraków and Google reviews.
• TechBehemoths: services, technologies and portfolio.
• Agency Spotter: agency profile with our main services.
• LinkedIn: company page and the people behind it.
• Portfolio: selected projects for transport, healthcare, industry and the public sector.

If you would rather talk than read, get in touch. We are happy to answer the questions above about ourselves.