Software
Project rescue & bug fixing
Overview
Take over broken or abandoned projects from other developers. Code review, debugging, and completion.
Delivery
Project rescue & bug fixing Delivery Process
Discover
We map your business, your users, and what winning looks like before a single pixel.
Design
Direction, identity, and interfaces: shared early and reviewed with you at every step.
Build
Engineering in weekly slices you can see, click, and comment on as they land.
Launch
QA, performance, SEO, and deployment handled end to end. Nothing left to chance.
Grow
Support, iteration, and new capabilities as your business scales beyond launch day.
Details
Typical timeline
Hourly rate
Best for
Deliverables & Scope
- → Code and infrastructure audit with a written report on what works, what is fragile and what is missing
- → Prioritised defect list separating things that lose you money from things that are merely untidy
- → A fixed-price quote for the repair work, issued after the audit rather than before
- → Working repository access, a documented environment setup and a deployment you can actually run
- → Automated tests around the critical paths, so repaired bugs stay repaired
- → A handover session covering the architecture and the risks that remain after the fixes
Post-Delivery
- → 30-Day Bug Warranty
- → Source Files & Ownership
- → Handover Training Session
Investment
Project rescue & bug fixing Investment & Pricing
Indicative starting ranges - every project is quoted to its real scope.
FAQ
Project rescue & bug fixing FAQs
What does project rescue cost?
Our rate is $50 to $150 USD per hour, or A$70 to A$200 per hour. Diagnosis starts with a paid audit, usually eight to twenty hours, which ends in a written report and a fixed-price quote for the repair itself. That audit fee is not padding. It is the only way to price unfamiliar code honestly, and you keep the report whether or not you hire us for the fix.
The previous developer disappeared. Can you take over without their cooperation?
Usually yes, provided you have access to the code and the servers. If you control the domain, the hosting account and the repository, we can work with what exists. If those accounts are in the previous developer's name, recovering them is your first job and it can take weeks. Check that today, before anything else. Losing a domain is far more damaging than losing a codebase.
Will you tell us to start over instead of fixing it?
Sometimes, and we will show you why rather than just asserting it. Rewrites are justified when the code cannot be deployed reliably, when security holes are structural, or when every small change breaks two other things. They are not justified just because the code is ugly. Plenty of working systems are unpleasant to read. If a targeted repair gets you two more years for a fraction of a rewrite, we will recommend that.
How quickly can you stop something that is actively broken?
For an outage or a security incident we can usually start the same day and stabilise within 24 to 48 hours, charging at the hourly rate until the situation is under control. Longer-term repair is then scoped properly. Emergency work is priced at the top of our hourly band because it displaces scheduled work, and we will tell you that before we begin rather than after.
What if the codebase is genuinely unsalvageable?
Then the audit report will say so, with the specific reasons and an estimate for rebuilding. You are free to take that report to another developer. There is no obligation to continue with us, and we would rather give you an honest assessment than talk you into a repair we do not believe in. If a rebuild is needed, we will also tell you what to preserve: usually your data, your URLs and your integrations rather than the code.
Can you work with a codebase you did not write?
That is most of what this service is. We work in PHP, Laravel, WordPress, Node, React, Python and legacy stacks including plain PHP from a decade ago. The awkward cases are heavily customised page builders and code generated by tools nobody understands any more. We will tell you in the audit whether your stack is one we can work in confidently or not.
Who owns the fixes and the audit report?
You own both. The report is yours to keep and share, including with another developer if you choose to go elsewhere. Repaired code goes into your repository. We do not hold work hostage or require a retainer to release anything, and we will hand over repository access and credentials at the end of the engagement.
Paired Services
Complementary Services for Project rescue & bug fixing
Ready to start your project?
Start this project