Legacy PHP help for digital and web agencies
Let your developers do the work they're good at. I'll take the legacy backlog.
Every agency has them: the client application built years ago, in an old framework, on an old PHP version, by someone who's left. It's profitable to nobody, risky to everybody, and your best developers would rather be doing anything else.
I investigate, document, stabilise, upgrade and maintain difficult legacy PHP systems, white-label or directly with your client, on terms designed to keep things simple.
What I can take off your hands
- Inherited client applications nobody understands. Legacy application takeover
- PHP and framework upgrades before a host or security deadline. PHP upgrades
- Security findings from a client's penetration test or insurer. Security audit and fixes
- Hacked client sites. Hacked site cleanup
- Server and hosting migrations. Hosting migration
- Bugs and slow pages your team has been chasing for weeks. Bug investigation
- Documentation before a handover. Documentation
- Ongoing care for clients you'd rather not maintain. Ongoing care
Three ways to work together
1. White-label
I work under your brand, communicating through you or directly with your client as your team member, whichever you prefer. You keep the client relationship and set the price.
2. Overflow and specialist support
Your team stays in charge, and I pick up the investigations and legacy jobs that don't suit them.
3. Referral
The referral fee is 10% of the first project's fee, paid once the client has paid. You introduce the client, I contract directly with them, and you receive a referral fee. You keep the relationship and earn from it, without the admin, risk or payment chasing.
Rates
| Price | |
|---|---|
| Agency / white-label work | From £1,150 per day |
| Urgent production / recovery work | From £1,300 per day |
| Fixed-price packages | Legacy System Assessment from £2,500; upgrades quoted fixed-price after assessment |
| Ongoing care | From £2,000 per month |
Why a higher rate than direct work (£950 per day)? Agency engagements involve extra communication, access management, project coordination and the overhead of working through an intermediary. I'd rather price that honestly than pretend it isn't there.
Terms
I'm upfront about these because they're what make the work run smoothly for both of us:
- Payment on delivery, regardless of whether your client has paid you. My work is billed to you, on its own terms.
- Access in place before the work starts. VPN, servers, repositories and credentials provided up front. Delays caused by access issues can extend timelines and may be billable.
- One named contact with authority to approve work and answer questions.
- Deposit before work starts, with milestone billing on larger projects: 50% upfront, balance on delivery.
- Short payment terms and a late-payment fee: 14 days, with statutory late-payment interest and compensation.
- Defined scope. Fixed-price packages where possible, and change requests quoted separately.
- A minimum engagement for small requests: two days.
- Confidentiality. An NDA is available, and I won't approach your clients.
Not every agency will want these. That's fine, but I only take on work that can be done well, and those terms are what make that possible.
How a typical engagement runs
- Short call about the client system and what's wrong
- Assessment of the application, or a direct start on a defined fix. Legacy System Assessment
- Prioritised findings and options, written so you can present them to your client
- Agreed scope and price
- Work, with tests, human review and staged rollout. How I work
- Handover and documentation your team (or the client) can use
Why agencies use a specialist for legacy work
- Legacy work is a poor fit for the way agencies work. It's unpredictable, unglamorous and hard to price.
- Your best developers are better used on new work, which has better margins.
- Specialist experience means fewer surprises. I've seen these systems fail in most of the ways they can.
- AI-assisted analysis makes investigation and documentation much faster than they used to be, which is why legacy work can now be both profitable and affordable. How I use AI
- You keep the relationship. I'm not trying to win your clients.
Data protection
Client systems often hold sensitive data. I work least-privilege and read-only where possible, prefer sanitised data, and can sign an NDA and a data processing agreement, including with you as the controller or processor. Data protection and security
Frequently asked questions
Will you contact our client directly?
Only if you want me to. In white-label work I follow your lead. Under a referral arrangement, I contract with the client directly.
Will you try to take our clients?
No. I'm a specialist subcontractor, not a competitor, and I'll sign an agreement to that effect.
Do you work under our name?
Yes, if you want. White-label is a normal way for me to work.
What if our client hasn't paid us?
That's your arrangement with them. My payment terms with you stand on their own.
Can you take on a project at short notice?
Sometimes. It depends on my availability. Tell me the situation, and I'll be honest about what's possible. Urgent work is charged at the urgent rate.
Do you only do PHP?
PHP and everything around it: databases, servers, security, deployment and the front end, because legacy problems rarely respect technical boundaries.
Got a client system nobody wants to touch?
Tell me about it. If it's something I can help with, I'll say so, and if it isn't, I'll say that too.