A senior-led delivery team you can trust, without the agency guesswork.
For founders and startups in the UK and Ireland: technical direction, a vetted team, and one accountable partner from assessment to release.
Senior judgment and a team that delivers, from one accountable place.
Hiring a team can take months. With an agency, it is hard to see who does the work or what it costs. Contractors need someone to lead them. We give you a vetted team, a technical lead who answers for the outcome, and itemised pricing you can check.
We sell outcomes. We do not sell hours, and we do not sell a job title.
Who you work with
Our principal leads an engineering team day to day. The judgment you get comes from someone who does the job now.
We have shipped delivery into NHS-supplier environments, where healthcare rules are strict and every decision needs a written reason.
Every contractor on our bench went through our vetting pipeline, with scored paid trials, before we listed them. Our principal personally vetted and trained them.
We suggest you start with a technical assessment. Then we both know the state of your system before you commit to anything monthly.
How it works
Start with an assessment, so we both know where you stand. Then we put a led, vetted team on the work, or advise your own team on the decisions. Every price is shown here, so you can decide before you talk to us.
Step 1
Technical assessment
€5,000fixed
Two to three weeks. One-off.
Who it is for
Founders who want an honest, written read of their technical operation before they spend more on it, or before a team takes it over.
If you start an engagement within 30 days, the full assessment fee is credited against your first month.
Start with an assessmentWhat you get
- A review of five areas: architecture and codebase, infrastructure and operations, baseline security posture, team and delivery, and spend and vendors
- Every area rated solid, risky or breaking
- A prioritised fix list, with an estimated cost to fix each item
- A 90-day plan that tells you what to do first
- If a team engagement follows, an agreed baseline: we both know the state of the system before the team takes over
What it does not include
- Fixing the problems we find. That is a team engagement, or your own team.
- Compliance reviews or certification of any kind, including NHS assurance (DTAC, DSPT, DCB) and SOC 2
- Investor due diligence
Step 2
Managed delivery team
A pod is a vetted team scoped to your work, led by a technical lead, with one accountable partner for you. We assemble every pod through the PunterDigital Panel, our own platform.
Reference configuration
Core pod
€15,000/month all-in
One full-stack developer and one QA engineer, with leadership included.
Reference configuration
Full pod
€20,450/month all-in
Two full-stack developers and one QA engineer, with leadership included.
Reference configuration
Extended pod
Day rateper added contractor
Add contractors from the bench at their day rate, chosen in the Panel. Scale up or down month to month.
These pod prices are reference configurations. The Panel produces the real quote for the team you choose.
How we build your pod
1.
Vetted before listed
Every contractor went through our vetting pipeline, with scored paid trials, before we listed them.
2.
Browse the directory
In your own client area, you can see contractor profiles, day rates and availability.
3.
Pick your team, or ask us
Choose your own team, or ask us to suggest one against your requirements. The final choice is yours, and so is the accountability for who you pick. The Panel then produces the real quote for that team.
Example pricing
How a contractor's day rate and our margin add up.
- Software developer
- €264 a day
- QA engineer
- €264 a day
€240 day rate + €24 coordination margin (10%)
€240 day rate + €24 coordination margin (10%)
These figures are an example. Each contractor's real day rate is on their profile in the directory, so you see it before you pick. Your quote shows the day rates, our 10% coordination margin and the leadership fee as separate lines.
What the leadership covers
About 11 days a month of lead time: technical direction, review, architecture calls, release oversight and incident coordination.
Day-to-day ceremony, such as standups and sprint planning, follows the team's own rhythm.
Every pod includes
- The team: contractors matched to your stack
- Technical direction and architecture, included and not invoiced separately
- Code review and quality standards enforced on every pull request
- Delivery ownership: timelines, releases and outcomes are ours to answer for
- Good team practices, built into how the team runs
- Transparency: you own the repos and accounts, pricing is itemised, and a monthly written report covers what shipped, what moved and what is next
What it is not
- A body shop. The team is led, reviewed and accountable, and the lead answers for outcomes.
- A lock-in. We plan the exit from day one: a clean handover if you hire in-house, or a step down to a smaller pod or advisory when things are steady.
Step 3
Advisory retainer
€4,500/month
About 15 hours a month.
Who it is for
Founders who keep their own builders but want senior judgment on the decisions. You make the calls. We make sure they are good ones.
Ask about advisoryWhat you get
- A weekly 60 to 90 minute working session on your most important technical decision
- Async access, with replies on the same business day
- A written review every month
- Hiring support
- Vendor and build-vs-buy recommendations, each with a written rationale
- Senior review of load-bearing pull requests
- A delivery health check every quarter
What it does not include
- Making the calls for you. You keep them.
- A delivery team or delivery ownership. That is a managed delivery team.
Hear what our clients have to say
These clients hired us to build things. Their words show how we deliver.
"Trustworthy, fast and reliable. Working with Shay from PunterDigital has been one of the easiest and laid back things I have encountered so far. After a brief call and countless expectations, Shay delivered a website that far surpassed what I was looking for. I highly recommend working with PunterDigital for your next big, small, or even fun-sized website."
Connor S.
CEO of ConnorsConnections
"The team at PunterDigital are excellent, right from start to finish they was very attentive to detail and was always keeping me up to date on how things are coming along with the website. Would recommend them for your website any day!"
Jamie E.
Business Development Manager @ Digital Property Tours
"Working with PunterDigital on our website has been an outstanding experience. Their team delivered remarkably fast, without compromising on quality. The professionalism and skill they brought to the table were evident in every aspect of the project."
Jeremy J.
CEO @ Team Visionary
Past delivery work
Projects we built and shipped for clients. They show the standard of work we hold delivery to. View our GitHub
Questions founders ask
What does a managed delivery team cost?
A core pod is one full-stack developer and one QA engineer, with leadership included. It costs €15,000/month all-in. A full pod is two full-stack developers and one QA engineer, and costs €20,450/month all-in.
If you need more people, we add contractors from the bench at their day rate, and you can scale up or down month to month. Our 10% coordination margin is a separate line in every proposal. For example, a software developer or a QA engineer at €240 a day costs €264 a day with our margin.
These pod prices are reference configurations. We assemble every pod through the PunterDigital Panel, our own platform, and the Panel produces the real quote for the team you choose.
How is this different from an agency?
With many agencies, you buy a project and cannot see the team or what each person costs. With us, you see the contractors before they join, their day rates and our margin. You own the repositories, cloud accounts and contractor contracts.
It is also not a body shop. You do not get contractors and a timesheet. A technical lead directs the work and reviews every pull request, and we answer for timelines, releases and outcomes.
What happens during the technical assessment?
The assessment costs €5,000 fixed and takes two to three weeks. We need read access to your code and infrastructure, and time with the people who build and run them.
We look at five areas: architecture and codebase, infrastructure and operations, baseline security posture, team and delivery, and spend and vendors. We rate each area solid, risky or breaking. You get a written report with a prioritised fix list, an estimated cost to fix each item, and a 90-day plan. At the end, you know where you stand and what to do first.
If a team engagement follows, the assessment is the agreed baseline. We both know the state of the system before the team takes over.
Do you write code?
The team writes the code. Our job is to lead it: technical direction, architecture calls, and review of every pull request against agreed quality standards. We answer for what the team ships.
On the advisory retainer, your own team writes the code and we review your load-bearing pull requests: the changes that are hard to undo if they go wrong.
Can we choose the people on our team?
Yes. In your own client area, you can browse the contractor directory: profiles, day rates and availability. Pick your own team, or ask us to suggest one against your requirements.
The final choice is always yours. The lead gives you an honest recommendation and manages whoever you pick as well as possible, but you are accountable for the people you choose.
Every contractor in the directory went through our vetting pipeline, with scored paid trials, before we listed them.
Who owns the code and the contractor contracts?
You do. You own all repositories, cloud accounts and contractor contracts. We plan the exit from day one, so if you hire in-house, the handover is clean.
How does the assessment credit work?
If you start an engagement within 30 days of the assessment, we credit the full assessment fee against your first month. You do not pay twice for us to learn your system.
What if we already have a team?
Then the advisory retainer may be the right fit. You keep your builders and your calls, and we bring senior judgment on the decisions.
If you need more hands, a pod can work beside your team. In that case, we never review our own bench's work. The independent verdict comes from your senior person or a third party, agreed in writing before we start.
Is this the same as hiring a part-time CTO?
You may have searched for a fractional CTO. We do not sell a job title. We sell outcomes: senior technical judgment and a team that delivers, from one accountable place.
If you only need senior judgment and already have builders, the advisory retainer is the closest fit.
What happens when we are ready to hire in-house?
We plan for that from day one. You get a clean handover to your new team, or you step down to a smaller pod or to advisory when things are steady.
Tell us where you stand
Use the form to book a technical assessment, or to ask about a delivery team or advisory. Tell us a little about your company and what you need to ship.
