Ownership and handover — questions we get asked
These come from founders who have been locked out before, or know someone who was: an agency holding the code, the store accounts or the passwords. Behind them is one question: if this relationship ends, do we still have a business? The answers say what you own, from when, and how another team would pick the platform up.
9 questions · answered by Taimoor Sikander, founder
Who owns the code?
You do, on full payment. Exclusive and perpetual. You pay per phase, so the work in each phase becomes yours when that phase is paid. The code is kept in your repository from the start, which means ownership is not a transfer that happens at the end. It is where the work was all along.
Who holds the repository and signing keys?
You. We work in your accounts from the start. The repository is where the code lives. Signing keys are what let you publish updates to your apps in the stores; whoever holds them controls your releases. Keeping both in your accounts means nobody, including us, can hold your platform or its next update hostage.
Who holds the app store accounts?
You, unless you ask otherwise. Decided at kickoff, not at launch. The Apple and Google developer accounts are registered to your business, and we are added to them to publish. Leaving this until launch week is how founders end up with an app listed under someone else's name, which is slow and painful to move.
What if you disappear?
Your repository, your accounts, your signing keys. Documented so another team can pick it up. The handover documents are written from phase one, not at the end, so they exist whether or not you ever need them. Zain looks after accounts and handover on every build, so this is someone's job, not an afterthought.
What if we want to stop?
Stop at the end of any phase. You keep everything built and paid for. There is no exit fee and no hostage. The code is already in your repository, the accounts are already yours, and the handover documents are written as we go, so stopping does not depend on our cooperation or goodwill.
Can we move to another team later?
Yes. We write the handover documents that make that possible, whether you use them or not. A new team needs to know how the platform is set up, how it runs and how to release it, and that is what the documents cover. Moving is your decision, and nothing we hold can slow it down.
Will another developer be able to understand the code?
Yes; that is what the handover documents are for. They are written from phase one so another team can pick the platform up without us in the room. The mobile apps are built in Flutter, which is widely used, so the next team is one you can hire rather than one you have to search the world for.
What happens to our data?
It is yours. Exportable at any point, in a format another system can read. Customer records, provider details, orders and payment history belong to your business, not to us. If you move to another team or another platform, the data goes with you, and you do not need our permission to take it.
Do you use our code elsewhere?
No. Shared components we own are licensed to you; your business logic is yours alone. Shared components are the parts most platforms need, such as sign-in or notifications. Your business logic is what makes your marketplace yours: your pricing rules, your matching and your flows. That is never reused for another client.
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