What happens to your project data if the software disappears

Every hosted tool asks for the same trust: put your contracts, your BOQs, your client records in here, and we'll keep them safe. Most don't say what happens to that trust the day you stop paying.

The question worth asking before you sign up

Not "is my data secure" — most vendors can say yes to that. The real question is narrower: if you cancel tomorrow, what do you walk away with, and in what format? Ask it before the first contract goes into the system, not after the third year.

• Can you export a project, not just a settings page, in a format you can actually open elsewhere
• Is the export scoped to your company only, or does it require the vendor to run a manual pull for you
• Do issued documents stay valid outside the tool, or do they only exist as a database row
• Is the account bought in your name, or does the vendor own the underlying subscriptions

Hosted isn't the same as locked in

A tool can be hosted by someone else and still leave you in control, if it's built that way from the start. The distinction is whether export was designed in, or is a support ticket you'd have to fight for after the relationship has already gone bad.

Where Studio draws this line

Archgrid Studio is tenant-scoped: queries are pinned to your company, and another studio cannot see your rows. A project exports as JSON and CSV that's actually yours. It's hosted by us for now — the honest difference between a pilot and a system we hand over — but leaving with your data was never meant to be a negotiation.