How to choose a software house in Malaysia: a buyer's checklist

How do you check that a software company is real?

Search the company name on SSM's e-Info service and confirm the registration number, status and directors. Then check that the registered name matches the quotation, the invoice and the contract. A physical office you can visit in the Klang Valley adds further assurance for a long-term system.

A company registration does not prove quality, but its absence is a warning for a project that will hold customer data or payments. Contract with the legal entity, not with an individual's personal account. Ask where invoices are issued from and whether the company can issue an e-Invoice when required.

Macoin Technologies Holdings Sdn Bhd is registered under 1545756-H. Our office is at 13-9, 2 Rio Office Tower, Persiaran Rio, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor. Clients in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Subang and Shah Alam are welcome to meet the team in person before committing.

What should a credible portfolio show?

A credible portfolio names real projects you can open or download, describes what the company built and lists the technology used. Logos alone are weak evidence. Ask which parts of each project the company delivered, and whether you can speak with a client about how the relationship worked after launch.

Look for projects that resemble your problem: user roles, payments, an admin dashboard or integrations. A beautiful marketing site says little about a company's ability to run a booking system. Ask the team to walk you through the hardest part of a past project and how they handled a problem in production.

Macoin's published portfolio includes Jian Pilates, with booking, payments, membership tiers and loyalty in React Native apps; MaCoffee, a Flutter merchant and customer platform with an admin panel; and SeeingAuto, an EV information platform built with Nuxt.js and PostgreSQL. Our clients include SocialGreen Governance, SailEdu and Brainbox. Ask any shortlisted company for a comparable list and check that each project still exists and works.

Who will actually build your system?

Ask for the names and roles of the people who will design, build and test your system, and whether any work is subcontracted or offshored. The people in the sales meeting are not always the people writing the code. Continuity matters most after launch, when someone has to understand the system quickly.

Subcontracting is not automatically wrong, but you should know about it, because it affects communication, data access and accountability. Ask how code is reviewed, how testing is done and how you will see progress. Regular demonstrations of working software are more useful than status reports.

At Macoin, delivery is handled by in-house engineers and nothing is subcontracted. We show working software in two-week increments and work in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese. Our team page lists the founders and engineers, so you can see who is responsible before you sign.

What should the contract say about ownership and support?

The contract should transfer the source code, documentation and deployment setup to you on payment, keep accounts in your company's name and separate the build price from ongoing support. It should define how change requests are estimated and how incidents are handled after launch.

Ownership determines whether you can change supplier later. If the software house keeps the code or charges a recurring licence for functionality you paid to build, you have bought a subscription. Ask also who owns the domain, cloud hosting, app store developer accounts and any third-party subscriptions.

Ask for support terms in writing: response times, what counts as a defect, and how enhancements are priced. Macoin hands over source code and documentation on full payment and offers maintenance after launch. Send your brief on WhatsApp at +60 18-263 7350; we are flexible on scope and will shape a first release to your budget.

• RegistrationSSM number, status and matching legal name on every document.
• EvidenceLive projects you can open, with the company's role described.
• PeopleNamed engineers, no hidden subcontracting, a team you can meet.
• OwnershipSource code, documentation and accounts transferred to you.
• SupportWritten response times and a separate maintenance arrangement.