Industry buying guides
How to buy ICT and professional services from small businesses
Updated
Bottom line
Buy ICT and professional services by defining deliverables and acceptance criteria, signing a POPIA operator agreement if the supplier will handle personal information, agreeing who owns the work, and paying against milestones.
Define deliverables, not hours
Describe what must be delivered and how you will accept it, for example "a working booking page tested on mobile and desktop".
Cover personal information
Sign a written operator agreement under section 21 of POPIA whenever the supplier will access or process personal information you hold.
Agree intellectual property
State in the contract who owns the code, designs or reports once you have paid for them.
Pay against milestones
Link payments to accepted milestones rather than paying the full amount up front.
Free templates for this guide
- Request for quotation (RFQ) template (CSV)
The 15 fields a supplier needs to quote accurately, with guidance for each.
- Supplier verification checklist (CSV)
16 checks across CIPC, SARS, B-BBEE, banking, insurance, POPIA and conflicts of interest, with where to confirm each one.
Find suppliers in the directory
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a POPIA agreement for a website developer?
If the developer can access personal information, such as customer data on your site or systems, you need a written operator agreement.