An estimate that arrives instantly counts as a red flag rather than good service. Any serious team returns clarifying questions before any number: about integrations. A supplier that commits to a figure before understanding the scope is guessing, and that guess will be corrected later — and you will pay for it.
Watch for a mismatch between the people you meet and the developers actually assigned. Insist on named engineers in the contract, with a clause covering replacement. A vendor that will only describe abstract roles and custom software development vs saas will not commit to people is preserving its own flexibility at your cost.
Insist on the source repository from the start. A team that hands over a build only at the end of each phase is inviting you to trust a black box. Visible commits show you who is really on the project far better than any status report. The same holds for the automated test suite: if nothing runs automatically, assurances about quality remain nothing more than words.
Loose contract language around code ownership is rarely a formality. The agreement should state explicitly that all deliverables become the property of your business as they are paid for. Also check which country's law applies and software development company in moscow how payments are structured: a request for most of the money up front with no milestone tied to it removes your only leverage.
Finally, examine communication. Establish how much working-time overlap there will be enterprise application development with java your timezone, which named person answers your questions and laravel development outsourcing on what response times. A few hours of overlap generally works; none at all turns a five-minute question into a lost day. Sloppy written English in the sales phase will not improve later.