Here are some more ways to make sure you’re getting most out of the deal when you pick a Software as a Service (SaaS) vendor for you HR software.

We recently wrote about important questions you should ask a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider before signing any contracts. Here are a few more:

• Who owns the data and how can we get it back? Let’s face it - most relationships don’t last forever. You need to make sure you can easily migrate the data if you ever decide to pick a different provider or switch to software that you install in-house.
• Who owns the source code? If the vendor goes under, will you be able to continue using the application? Some use open-source software that (And of course, you need to know what happens to your vital data if the vendor goes belly-up.)
• Get credit. A good service agreement with clearly define aspects like how soon you must notified of an outage and how quickly problems must be fixed. Sometimes, if the vendor fails to meet those requirements you get paid, in the form of credits applied as a discount to your next bill. Make sure your agreement includes something to reimburse you if the service isn’t what was promised. Assuring you that outages will never occur isn’t good enough.

Tags: HR software, SaaS, service agreements, SLA