Who owns the code if I cancel?
The short, honest answer: no, with me you don't own the code. Your data, though, you do — and you can leave anytime. That sounds like a catch, but it's less dramatic than it first seems. Here's what it means in practice.
This question comes up almost every time — and rightly so. If you pay for something month after month, you want to know what's yours in the end. The key here is a distinction that gets muddled constantly in everyday talk: code and data are two completely different things.
Code and data — the decisive difference
The code is the machine: the program that makes your solution run. Your data is what you put in and take out — your stock, customers, orders, lists. With me there's a clear separation:
- Your data always belongs to you. On cancellation you get it cleanly exported, in a common format you can keep using elsewhere. After that it's deleted on my side.
- I operate the code. You use a running solution rather than owning a program — much like most of the tools you already subscribe to today and never hold as source code.
The important part: because your data always belongs to you and stays exportable, you're never stuck. You're not chained to me just because the code sits with me — you take your data and you can move on.
When owning the code really should matter to you
To stay honest: in some cases you do want to own the code — for instance if you want to resell it, have it developed further yourself, or control it fully for legal reasons. Whoever owns the code is independent of the vendor and can switch anytime to another firm to maintain it.
If that applies to you, my subscription isn't the right path — then you need a contract for work with the source code expressly handed over. I've pulled apart how the payment models and ownership differ here: fixed price, hourly rate or subscription →
Why I do it this way anyway
The code staying with me isn't a trick — it's the flip side of an advantage: you pay for a solved problem, not for a handover. Because you can cancel anytime, it's in my interest to keep the solution running well for the long haul — rather than going quiet after a one-off handover. I carry the risk for operations, updates and further development, not you. How it works in detail and what it costs →