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You’ll know the price of every piece before it starts.
A free conversation, a paid plan, then one working piece at a time. You can stop after any of them.
- ConversationFree
- Written planFixed fee
- First pieceFixed price
- Next phaseQuoted first
- Later phasesQuoted first
You can stop here and keep what’s builtThe piece in progress: all you’re committed to
The route, one step at a time.
Five steps. Each one ends with something you can hold, and a decision that stays yours.
Step 1 of 5. Free.
A conversation about the problem.
You describe the problem in your own words: what’s slow, what breaks, what it costs you. I ask questions, then tell you honestly whether I can help and what a sensible first piece might be. If something simpler already solves it, I’ll say so.
- What you get
- A straight answer, from the person who would do the work.
- What you decide
- Whether the written plan is worth it. There’s no obligation.
- Your risk
- Nothing but your time.
In your hands after this step
- An honest view of whether software is the right fix
Step 2 of 5. Fixed fee.
The written plan: a short, paid look before anyone quotes a big number.
I review the problem and the systems you already use, properly. It ends in a written plan: what to build first, how it fits what you have, the risks I can see, and a fixed quote for that first piece.
The written plan: Fixed fee, agreed in writing before it starts
- What you get
- A written plan and a fixed quote for the first piece. The fee is credited against the first piece if you go ahead, and the plan is yours to keep, whether or not you carry on with me.
- What you decide
- Whether to build the first piece, with me or with someone else.
- Your risk
- The fee for the plan, fixed and agreed in writing before it starts. Nothing more.
In your hands after this step
- An honest view of whether software is the right fix
- A written plan for the first piece and what follows
- A fixed quote for that first piece
Step 3 of 5. Fixed price.
The first working piece, at a fixed price.
One useful piece of the system, with a fixed scope, built and working in your business. From the first day, the services it uses are in your name, and who owns what is agreed in writing. If you want to change what we agreed, I quote the change first and you decide. For a new product, this is your first version.
“The number I quote is the number you pay for the agreed scope.”
- What you get
- Working software your team uses, and the first edition of the handover pack.
- What you decide
- Carry on to the next phase, change direction, pause, or stop.
- Your risk
- The price of this one piece, known before work starts. If it takes me longer than I planned, that’s my cost, not yours.
In your hands after this step
- An honest view of whether software is the right fix
- A written plan for the first piece and what follows
- Working software, in use in your business
- The accounts, in your name, and ownership agreed in writing
- The handover pack, first edition
Step 4 of 5. Each phase quoted before it starts.
The rest, in phases you can see coming.
The rest of the work is split into phases. Each one is quoted before it starts, so the next commitment is always one you can see, and it’s never bigger than the phase in front of you. At every sign-off the handover pack is brought up to date.
- What you get
- Each further piece, working, and a handover pack that keeps pace with it.
- What you decide
- At each sign-off: continue, change what comes next, pause or stop.
- Your risk
- Never more than the current phase. Stop after any of them and what’s built so far keeps running.
In your hands after this step
- A written plan for the first piece and what follows
- Working software, in use in your business
- The accounts, in your name, and ownership agreed in writing
- Every phase you’ve signed off, working
- The handover pack, updated at every sign-off
Step 5 of 5. No lock-in.
Handover, and whatever you want after it.
You get the complete, current handover pack, and your accounts are already in your name. If something doesn’t match what we agreed, I fix it free for 14 days after sign-off. If you want me to keep looking after it, that’s a monthly arrangement we agree after the first piece. If you’d rather your own team or another developer took over, they start from the pack, not from zero.
- What you get
- The full handover pack, and software you can run without me.
- What you decide
- Who looks after it from here: me, your team, or someone new.
- Your risk
- None added. You’re never stuck with one developer, including me.
In your hands after this step
- Working software, in use in your business
- The accounts, in your name, and ownership agreed in writing
- Every phase you’ve signed off, working
- The complete, current handover pack
- A free choice of who looks after it next
Every project ships with a handover pack.
It’s not a clause for when things go wrong. It’s how I work: the pack is kept up to date at every sign-off, so you can always carry on, with me or with anyone.
- DocumentationWhat the system does, who uses it, and where to start reading.
- A map of how it’s builtAn architecture diagram: every part, and how they connect.
- Access and accounts, in your name from day oneEvery service, who owns it, and who has admin rights. Never my name.
- The codeThe complete repository, with its full history, handed over as agreed in writing.
- How to run it and put changes liveA runbook: deploy, roll back and restore, step by step.
- Open issuesWhat’s known, what’s planned, and anything to keep an eye on.
- Decisions made, and whySo nobody has to guess why it was built this way.
When someone new takes over, my developer access is removed and the passwords are changed. The only person who can’t get in afterwards is me.
Handover pack
Harbour Road Bakery, ordering system. Version 3, updated at the phase 2 sign-off.
1. Overview
The ordering system takes online and phone orders for both shops, prints the next morning’s bake list, and sends paid orders to the accounting system.
- Used by: the owner, two shop managers and the bakers.
- Customers use the order page on the bakery’s website.
- New to it? Read sections 2 and 5 next.
2. How it’s built
3. Access and accounts
| Service | Account owner | Admin access |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Harbour Road Bakery | Owner |
| Hosting | Harbour Road Bakery | Owner, Anton (developer) |
| Code repository | Agreed in writing | Anton (developer) |
| Database backups | Harbour Road Bakery | Owner |
| Payment provider | Harbour Road Bakery | Owner only |
| Email sending | Harbour Road Bakery | Owner |
At handover: developer access is removed and every password and key is changed.
4. The code
- Repository:
harbour-road-bakery/ordering - The main branch is what’s live. Every change is reviewed before it’s merged.
- Setting it up on a new computer: 6 steps, last tested from scratch at the phase 2 sign-off.
- Automated tests run on every change.
5. Runbook
Put a change live
- Merge the reviewed change into the main branch.
- The tests run on their own. If they pass, the change goes live.
- Check the order page and today’s bake list.
Undo a bad change: redeploy the previous version from the hosting dashboard. Restore data: pick a nightly backup and follow the six restore steps in the appendix.
6. Open issues
7. Decisions log
Ownership, in writing.
Before work starts
Who owns what is agreed in writing before any work starts, so nobody has to guess later.
In your name from day one
Your domain, hosting and data accounts sit in your business’s name from the first day. Your data is always yours.
Confidential when you need it
A mutual NDA is available before you share any details. Ask for it in the first message if you like.
Nothing is assumed and nothing is left to a handshake. It’s written down before the first piece of work starts.
When you can reach me.
Cape Town
South African time (SAST), UTC+2 all year.
South Africa doesn’t change its clocks.
Replies
I reply myself, usually the same working day.
No account manager, no ticket queue. The person who answers is the person who builds it.
Calls and meetings
Calls 09:00 to 20:00 SAST.
Meetings 10:00 to 20:00 SAST.
US Eastern: about 5 hours of overlap in summer (09:00 to 14:00 ET) and 4 hours in winter (09:00 to 13:00 ET). US Pacific: an hour or two, early morning.
Working with agencies.
Many of my most complex builds came through agencies. I can work under your name, or alongside you as the specialist.
How I work with agencies →- White-label or specialist
- Your client never sees my name unless you want them to.
- NDA and non-solicit
- Signed before you share a brief. I never approach your client.
- Inside your tools
- Your chat, your task board, your repositories and your process.
- A small first task
- Send one bounded job first, and judge the work before anything bigger.
- Honest capacity
- It’s one senior developer: me, so I’ll tell you honestly whether I can start when you need me. Accounts sit in your agency’s name, ownership is agreed in writing, and the handover pack means your team can always carry on.
Questions people ask before they sign.
What if we want to stop halfway?
Then we stop. The work is agreed one piece at a time, so there’s always a clean place to stop: the end of the current piece. Each piece is paid for as it finishes, and what you get for it is set out in writing. Your accounts are already in your name, and the handover pack is current to the last sign-off.
If you need to stop in the middle of a piece, tell me. We agree what’s done, and I bring the handover pack up to date before we part.
Who owns the code?
Who owns what is agreed in writing before any work starts, so nobody has to guess later. Your domain, hosting and data accounts sit in your business’s name from day one, and your data is always yours.
What if you’re unavailable?
It’s a fair question to ask one person. It’s the reason the handover pack exists and your accounts are in your name: any capable developer can pick up the work from the pack. You’re never stuck waiting for me.
How do payments work?
You pay per piece of work: the written plan, then each working piece, on the terms written in its quote. You see what’s due and when before you agree to anything. There’s no single bill for the whole project up front.
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes. A mutual NDA before you share details, if you want one. For agencies I also sign a non-solicitation agreement, so your client stays your client.
Why pay for a written plan instead of getting a free quote?
A free quote on a problem nobody has looked at properly is a guess, and guesses are where overruns come from. The written plan gives you a quote I can stand behind. The plan is yours to keep, whether or not you hire me.
Can I see a real handover pack?
Client packs are confidential, so the sample above uses demo contents. On a call I can talk you through how one is put together for a project like yours.
Tell me how your business runs. I’ll tell you honestly what would help.
+27 87 150 9305Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 20:00 SAST. Or email info@antondevilliers.com.