What do I own on the day you're done?
Everything. The code, the configurations, the documentation, the credentials, the data — all of it, in your accounts, under your control. If a consultant can't say that plainly, keep looking.
The longer version
This is the question that exposes the business model. Some consultants build your systems inside their accounts, on their infrastructure, with their API keys — and then charge you rent forever to keep the lights on. The day you stop paying, your automation stops working. That's not a service relationship. That's a hostage situation with invoices.
Here's what ownership should actually look like. Everything is built in your accounts: your cloud, your subscriptions, your domains. You're the admin on all of it from day one — the consultant works inside your house, not theirs. All credentials are documented and handed over. The code lives in a repository you control. And the documentation is written for the next person, not as job security for the last one.
There's a legitimate middle ground worth naming: ongoing maintenance is real work, and paying someone to keep things running is fair. But maintenance should be a choice, not a trap. You should be able to fire your consultant on a Friday and have everything still running on Monday. If you can't, you didn't buy a system — you leased one, and the terms were never in your favor.
Ask this question before you sign anything. Watch the reaction. The good consultants light up, because they've already built this way. The others change the subject.
How BIS handles this
Every project phase I deliver lands as an isolated, useful thing — in your accounts, documented, yours. You can stop after any completed phase and keep everything that was built. My retainers are for ongoing build-and-care work you choose to keep me for: improvements, integrations, maintenance. Not ransom. If we part ways, it all keeps running, and I'll hand you the keys with a smile. That's the deal, in writing, before we start.