Rates for work that has to run, not demo.

I build and keep running the back office systems of a nickel-mining services company: an agent job queue across eight channels, a PIN-protected portal for cash and contracts, and an office floor drawn from live state. Everything below is priced the way I actually work: small scope, fixed price, handover included.

What the prices assume Access to the systems involved, one decision-maker, and a written scope agreed before work starts. Prices are in USD, exclude tax and third-party fees (hosting, domains, paid APIs), and are starting points; a fixed quote follows the scope call.

Engagements

Engagement	What you get	From
Audit sprint	One week inside an existing system: what breaks, what is already automated, what to fix first. Written report with a prioritised list and effort estimate.No code changes unless separately agreed.	USD 450
Build project	A scoped tool, portal or queue, delivered with tests, a README and a recorded walkthrough. Typical build: 2–4 weeks.Fixed price after the scope page; 50% to start, 50% at handover.	USD 1,800
Monthly retainer	Up to 20 hours a month keeping the thing alive: queue upkeep, small changes, monitoring, backups, incident response.Unused hours do not roll over; extra hours billed below.	USD 900 / mo
Extra hours	Additional work outside a retainer or a fixed build, billed in 30-minute blocks.Reported with what changed and why.	USD 45 / h

Included by default

Scope written on one page: deliverables, deadline, price.
Automated tests and the command that runs them.
README plus a recorded walkthrough at handover.
Source and data left in your control. No lock-in.
Reply within one business day during the engagement.

Not included unless agreed

Hosting, domain and paid API costs.
Design from scratch, branding, copywriting.
Content moderation and customer support shifts.
Hardware, licences and third-party subscriptions.
Work outside the written scope, quoted separately.

How an engagement starts

Scope call30 minutes on what is broken and what “done” means.

One-page scopeDeliverables, deadline, price, and what is excluded.

Deposit50% to start; the rest at handover on Upwork.

HandoverTests, README, walkthrough, and a month of answers.

Send the messiest process you still run by hand.

[email protected]
Upwork profile · GitHub
Reply within 1 business day · 10–20 h / week

Evidence behind the numbers on the portfolio: 98 automated tests (42 on the cash and contract ledger, 56 on the portal) re-run on this machine before publishing; the public repo carries the 42 ledger tests · 8 command channels routed into one queue · 4,402 lines of Python across the portal and the ledger, tests excluded · 2 floors / 11 zones / 19 desks drawn from live state. Rates are starting points, not a published price list; final quotes follow the written scope.