An annual partnership
Monthly developer retainer The Year With Me.
Hire me for the year. A senior developer and sysadmin on your team, flexible hours every month, urgent help first when it matters, and every skill in my belt.
6 of 7 seats open this year
What this is
Not a support plan. A partnership.
This is hiring me like an in-house senior, without the salary, the contract, the 9-to-5, or the overhead.
You get a senior dev and Linux sysadmin with rare-skill range. WHMCS, WordPress, servers, AI, mobile, on your team for the year. Flexible hours every month, more on each higher tier: I pace the work, you get the outcomes. When something is urgent, I am your hand, fast response, fast fix.
Point me at whatever shows up, a broken module, a sluggish server, a half-built idea, a security audit, a new feature, a hire you are considering. Guide, support, development, maintenance, management. If it's in my skill set, your tier covers it.
No cap on the ask
Ask for anything. Even all of it.
Hand me the whole list, however long it is: big builds, small fixes and everything you have been putting off. Asking is never "too much".
I work through it in priority order, urgent items first, at the depth your tier gives you. Your list carries over from month to month, so nothing is dropped. Anything bigger than your tier can carry, we plan together before it starts.
Why I am doing this
I want to work with a small group of good people, deeply.
For a decade I built one-off projects. They ended. The relationships that mattered most kept ending with them. This year I am changing that. I am limiting myself to a small number of clients, so I can show up properly for the ones I keep.
If a seat fits you, you are lucky, and so am I. We get a long relationship instead of a quick transaction.
Money is nothing when you are under stress. Peace of mind is worth more than any small monthly fee, especially when a senior dev and sysadmin has your back, and I do not keep myself for you.
Whatever idea is in your mind, bring it. I will get it done for you.
Who it is for
Built for the people I want to keep close.
Founders, agencies, hosting companies and product teams who want one senior developer for the long run. Friends, family and clients I have worked with for years.
New clients are welcome too, case by case. Have a short conversation with me first. If the fit is right, you are in.
The math
Stop paying by the hour.
Hourly billing punishes you for not seeing the future. Nobody can predict how many hours a job really takes, so the bill often lands higher than the estimate.
The hourly way
- You never know the final bill until it lands.
- Estimates creep. The total is often higher than quoted.
- You hesitate to ask, because every message has a meter running.
- Big ideas get shelved because the hours scare you.
The Year With Me
- One predictable price. You always know what you pay.
- No meter on each task. The work in your tier is already paid for.
- Ask as often as you like, by WhatsApp, Slack or email.
- Bring the big ideas. We plan them into your months together.
Limited seats per tier
Pick the depth that fits you.
When a seat fills, it fills. The higher tiers go faster.
On Retainer
I work my way. You get the results.
Monthly includes a 10% flexibility fee
Flexible hours every month. I work at my own pace on what you bring. and when something is urgent, I am your hand. Development, support, management. anything in my skill set.
- Flexible monthly hours. I pace the work, you get the outcomes
- On urgent issues, I am your hand. fast response, fast fix
- Development, installation, setup, support, management. all included
- Priority queue. your message jumps the line
- Monthly 30-minute strategy call
- I work in your repos, on your servers, in your tools
Embedded
A senior dev embedded in your team.
Monthly includes a 10% flexibility fee
More flexible hours every month. Real hands-on engineering, architecture decisions, and the unfair advantage of having someone with a decade of WHMCS + hosting on speed dial.
- Even more flexible hours per month. I pace, you get outcomes
- Urgent issues handled first. I am your hand when it matters
- Anything in my skill set: dev, setup, hardening, audits, hiring
- WhatsApp priority. answers fast
- Architecture decisions, vendor selection, code reviews
- I will join your team calls when it helps
- Strategic input on your product roadmap
Reserved
Half my working life is yours.
Monthly includes a 10% flexibility fee
The closest thing to a full-time senior hire without the salary, the contract, or the overhead. Unlimited flexible hours. I work at my pace and prioritise your business over new prospects.
- Unlimited flexible hours. first refusal on all my time
- I am your hand on every urgent. same-day, evenings, weekends within reason
- Anything in my skill set, A to Z. bring an idea, I get it built
- Direct phone line, not just chat
- I represent your interests over new prospects
- Build anything. modules, plugins, sites, AI agents, scripts, infra
- We are co-conspirators now
How it works
Five steps to working together.
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1
Pick a tier above.
Open Line for guidance only. The other three for real hands-on work.
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2
Apply with a short note.
Tell me how we know each other, or how you found this page, and what you would bring. I read every message personally.
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3
Brief conversation.
Quick call or message thread. We agree the fit, the tier, the cycle.
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4
Pay for your cycle.
Monthly, six months, or a full year. Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, or crypto.
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5
Send work whenever it shows up.
No briefs. No quotes. Direct line by WhatsApp, Slack, or email. I prioritise by tier, urgent gets my hands fast.
What is included under any working tier
A to Z. All of it.
WHMCS development
Modules, hooks, automation, security, audits
Hosting infrastructure
cPanel, WHM, CyberPanel, Plesk, setup + hardening
Server administration
Linux, LiteSpeed, Nginx, MySQL tuning, monitoring
Website security
Audits, hardening, malware cleanup, SSL, firewalls
WordPress
Themes, plugins, malware, performance, migrations
Custom development
Laravel, Node.js, Astro, Next.js, React Native
New websites
From scratch, design to launch, whatever you need built
API setup + integrations
REST, webhooks, third-party + payment APIs, automations
Payment + billing
Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, crypto, regional gateways
SaaS and CRM
Laravel SaaS products, custom CRMs, customer portals
AI agents + software
LLM integrations, agents, automation tooling
Maintenance
Updates, backups, monitoring, uptime, patching
Support
Troubleshooting and fast fixes whenever you need them
Migrations + recovery
Host moves, hacked-site rescue, data recovery
Strategy + reviews
Code review, architecture, hiring help, vendor choice
Whatever idea is in your mind, bring it. If it is in my skill set, I will get it done. If it is outside my skill set, I will tell you and help you find the right person.
When it is urgent
I am your hand.
The day your server goes down, the day your WHMCS stops invoicing, the day a customer reports a breach, that is the day this partnership pays for itself. Once you are in, you see the response speed. Fast. Real. Senior.
Frequently asked questions.
What is a monthly developer retainer?
A monthly developer retainer is a fixed fee that reserves a senior developer's time for your business, instead of a new quote for every task. The Year With Me is my retainer: you pay monthly, every six months or yearly, and send development, maintenance and urgent work as it comes up.
How much does the retainer cost?
There are 3 tiers: On Retainer at $799 a month, Embedded at $999 a month and Reserved at $1,599 a month. Paying every six months or yearly costs less per month than paying monthly, and each tier card shows its exact saving. Seats per tier are limited, so a tier can fill up.
What work does the retainer cover?
Anything in my skill set: WHMCS modules and integrations, SaaS products, custom CRMs, AI agents and chatbots, websites, mobile app backends, servers and hosting infrastructure, security reviews and code reviews. If something is outside my skill set, I tell you and help you find the right person.
How fast do you handle urgent issues?
Urgent work goes to the front of my queue, ahead of project clients, on every working tier. The higher tiers move you further up: Embedded adds WhatsApp priority, and Reserved adds a direct phone line and help on evenings and weekends within reason.
Who is the retainer for?
Founders, agencies, hosting companies and product teams who need an ongoing development partner for WHMCS, Laravel, SaaS, CRM, AI or server work, without negotiating every task as a new project. It suits a business with a steady flow of work better than a single one-off build.
How does billing work?
You pick a tier and a billing cycle: monthly, every six months or yearly. With PayPal or a card, the subscription renews automatically at the end of each cycle. With Razorpay or crypto, each payment covers one period and you get a renewal link by email a week before it ends. The six-month and yearly cycles cost less per month than monthly billing.
Can I cancel my retainer?
Yes. Cancel at any time from the Billing page of your account, or by emailing life@shahidmalla.com. Automatic renewals stop at once, and your retainer stays active until the end of the period you have paid for.
What is the difference between a retainer and project-based work?
Project work is quoted per scope and paid once, which suits a single build such as a new CRM or SaaS product. The retainer gives you continuous access instead: faster turnaround, no quote for each task, and priority over project clients during your retainer period.
Take the seat
Apply.
Tell me about you. I read every message personally and reply within 24-48 hours.
If we already know each other, just say "we already know each other", that's enough.
I have been doing this for more than 13 years. The people who started with me are still with me. That isn't luck, that is the whole point of this.