Signs you need this
- Your software works, but nobody currently employed understands how.
- The cloud bill keeps growing and no one can explain which service is responsible.
- You find out about outages from customers rather than from monitoring.
- Security patches are applied when something goes wrong, which is the wrong time.
- The original developer has stopped replying.
What a retainer covers
Monitoring and incident response
Uptime and error monitoring configured properly, with an agreed response path when something fails.
Patching and dependency upkeep
Security updates and library upgrades applied on a schedule, before they become an emergency.
Infrastructure and cost control
Cloud architecture reviewed for both reliability and spend. Reducing an over-provisioned bill often covers a meaningful part of the retainer.
A monthly block of hours
For the small changes and improvements that otherwise queue up for months waiting on a project.
No surprises, and no arguments about scope.
You will know the cost and the shape of the project before you commit to anything.
Free scoping call
Thirty minutes. What you need, what it is worth building, and what it is not.
Written proposal
Scope, milestones, a fixed cost band and a timeline — in writing, before you pay anything.
Build in sprints
You see working software every two weeks, not a status report at the end.
Launch and support
We hand over the code and the accounts, then stay on to maintain and improve.
Common questions
Can you take over a project another team built?
Often, yes. It starts with a paid code audit — we read the codebase and tell you honestly what is solid, what is risky and what should be rewritten. You then decide with real information rather than a hopeful quote.
What if we do not have access to our own code or servers?
This is more common than it should be, and it is worth resolving urgently. We can help you work out what exists, what you legally own and how to recover access. Even in the worst case, rebuilding with proper ownership beats staying dependent on someone who has stopped replying.
What does a retainer cost?
It scales with the size of the system and the response time you need. A small application with next-business-day response is very different from a platform needing round-the-clock cover. We will price it after looking at what you actually have.
Tell us the problem. We'll tell you what it takes.
A free 30-minute scoping call, a written estimate, and an honest answer about whether it's worth building.