Before you choose business software.

A shortlist is more useful when every option answers the same questions. Use this checklist with your team or send it to a provider before committing. It is a decision worksheet, not a certification of any product.

1. Write the job before the product name

Describe one task you need to improve: send customer follow-ups, reconcile payments, track leads or run a storefront.
List your three must-haves separately from optional conveniences. Give every shortlisted provider the same list.
Record your starting volumes: contacts, monthly messages, transactions, products and team members. Repeat the comparison at the volume you expect next.

2. Check the exact country and edition

Tell the provider where your business is registered, the currencies you invoice in and the bank account you want to settle into.
Ask which local payment methods, bank connections and sales channels are available for your account. A customer being able to pay is a different question from your business being able to sign up.
Test the languages your team and customers use. Ask your accountant to confirm any reporting or e-invoicing workflow you require.

3. Compare the complete commitment

Record the exact plan, billing currency, payment frequency and minimum commitment. Divide an annual total by 12 only if you also record the upfront payment.
Ask about extra users, contact tiers, message allowances, apps, migration, support and payment-processing fees. Mark missing prices as unknown.
Compare a first-year total and a renewal-year total. Keep taxes and currency conversion separate unless they are confirmed in the quote.

4. Run the same small trial

Use sample records rather than sensitive customer information. Run one complete workflow from start to finish in each shortlisted tool.
For email, test a sign-up and follow-up sequence. For accounting, create an invoice and examine its payment and export workflow.
For a CRM, assign a lead and its next action. For ecommerce and payments, use the provider’s test mode to check an order, confirmation and refund workflow.

5. Check how you would leave

Export your sample contacts, transactions or products and open the files. Check that the fields you need are actually included.
Record cancellation timing, access after cancellation, data-deletion options and who controls your domain or integrations.
Ask who handles backups, updates and support. Include any work your own team would need to take on.

6. Make a decision you can revisit

For each must-have, record confirmed, not supported or still unknown, together with the source and date checked.
Eliminate clear mismatches. Ask providers to resolve important unknowns before signing a longer contract.
Save your assumptions and set a review point based on a meaningful change, such as another team member, higher volume or expansion into a new country.

Your one-page decision record

Copy these headings into your notes for each option: product and exact plan; business country; must-haves; confirmed evidence and date; open questions; first-year total; renewal total; trial result; export result; next review point.

Put the checklist to work

Compare email marketing plans, accounting tools, payment providers, CRM and messaging, or ecommerce platforms. For questions to check locally, start with our six Southeast Asian market guides.

Read how our comparisons work to understand the limits of the recorded evidence.