There are several ways in which a company can formally accept software from 3rd party developers.
One of the most popular methods is to form an agreement with the developer wherein they will sign a contract and make it clear that they have developed a piece of software for you. Once you have signed this contract, it becomes legally binding between you and the developer and there's no way back from it.
If your company does not have any such formal agreements in place, then you need to do some more research on how other companies have been doing things so that you can adopt similar strategies. There are plenty of articles available online that provide all the information about these strategies. Just google "how to form an agreement" or "what should be included in software development agreement" for more details on this topic.
For more information, you can schedule a call and we can discuss in detail.