Most clients prefer fixed-price projects ($499–$50k+ depending on scope) where I commit to an outcome rather than billing time. Quotes always include the scope, deliverables, and milestones in writing — you don’t pay until we both sign.
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Should I do fixed-price or hourly?
Fixed-price when scope is clear: a Magento upgrade, a Hyvä migration, a specific extension build, a performance audit. You know exactly what you’ll get and pay. I take the risk on time overruns.
Hourly retainer when scope is fluid: ongoing maintenance, exploratory R&D, integrations where requirements shift weekly, multi-month builds where priorities re-shuffle. Lower rate, you keep flexibility, no per-task quoting friction.
If unsure, start with a fixed-price audit ($299–$999) — that gives me the data to recommend the right structure.
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When can you start?
Typical lead time is 1–3 weeks. Booked-out slots show on the page hero. For emergencies (broken checkout, security incident, post-deploy regression), I can usually start same-day on a 4-hour fire-fighting block at the emergency rate.
I run my calendar in 2-week sprint cycles. If your project needs continuous attention, the hourly retainer model gives you guaranteed weekly hours rather than queuing behind fixed-price work.
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Where are you based and what timezones do you work?
Based in Ahmedabad, India (IST, UTC+5:30). My core hours are 9 AM – 7 PM IST, but I shift 2–4 hrs/day for clients in EU/UK/US timezones. Calls are scheduled in your timezone, never mine.
Time-zone overlap with the major paying-client regions: UK 4–6 hrs/day, EU 4–6 hrs/day, US East Coast 2–3 hrs/day, US West Coast 1–2 hrs/day, AU 5–6 hrs/day. For US-only async work I lean on Loom + written briefs — works better than 6 AM standups.
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Do you sign NDAs and what’s the contract structure?
Yes — I sign your NDA as standard, before any commercial discussion. I also have a short mutual NDA template if you don’t have one.
Contracts are simple: a one-page Statement of Work with scope, deliverables, milestones, payment schedule, IP ownership (yours), and a 14-day post-launch bug-fix clause. Everything in writing, signed digitally (DocuSign or PandaDoc). For projects > $25k I use a 30/40/30 milestone payment split: 30% upfront, 40% mid-build, 30% on launch.
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Who owns the code I pay you to write?
You do. 100%, no exceptions. Every line of code I write under contract is your property — full IP transfer in the SoW. You get the GitHub repo, the deploy keys, the documentation, the database, the CI/CD config. I don’t hold infrastructure hostage.
The only exception: any open-source extension I publish under mage2sk/* or mage2kishan/* stays open-source (MIT or AGPL). If you commission custom work that I think the community would benefit from, I’ll ask permission before open-sourcing — never assume.
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What kind of projects do you turn down?
Honesty: I turn down ~30% of incoming briefs. Common reasons:
Magento 1.x maintenance. The platform is EOL since 2020. I’ll happily migrate you to M2.4.9, but I won’t patch M1 indefinitely.
"Just clone Shopify" briefs. If the right answer is Shopify, I’ll tell you so — but I won’t pretend Magento is the right tool when it isn’t.
Pure design work. I write code, not Figma files. I’ll partner with your designer or recommend one.
Adult / gambling / regulated grey-area. Personal preference, no judgment.
Sub-$500 budgets for non-trivial work. The math doesn’t work and I can’t do good work at that price.
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Are you a solo developer or do you have a team?
I’m the founder of Panth Infotech — a 24-person team in Ahmedabad. For most engagements I’m your direct point of contact and lead engineer. For larger builds (B2B, multi-store, M1→M2 migrations) I bring in 1–3 senior team members under my management. You always have one person to email.
This is the hybrid model: solo-developer accountability with team-grade delivery capacity. Smaller projects ($499–$5k) are usually 100% me; bigger builds ($5k+) flex to 2–4 hands as needed. The SoW always names who’s on the project.
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How do you accept payment?
Multiple options:
Wire transfer / SWIFT — preferred for > $5k
Stripe / PayPal — credit card / direct debit, 3–4% fee passed through
Wise (Transferwise) — best FX for EU/UK clients, no markup
Razorpay — for Indian clients, GST invoice provided
USDC / crypto — for international clients who prefer it
Invoices in USD by default, but I can quote in GBP / EUR / AUD / INR if you prefer. Net-15 payment terms standard.
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Can I see references or talk to past clients?
Yes — happy to put you in touch with 2–3 past clients in your industry / similar project size. Send your brief through the form, I’ll match you with the most relevant references at the proposal stage.
