Backup and disaster recovery setup, with a tested restore
I set up encrypted offsite backups of your database, uploaded files and configuration, then prove they work by restoring them into a scratch copy of your app. It’s for small SaaS teams and agencies who have never tested a restore. From $390 ($300 founding), done in 1–2 weeks. Email me your stack.
See a sample report, proposal and weekly update- Price
- from $390
- Founding
- from $300
- Timeline
- About 1 week
- Format
- Fixed scope, fixed price
- Hours
- US Eastern Time, async
Who this is for.
A good fit if
- Apps whose only backup is a snapshot on the same provider, or a dump on the same server
- Teams that have never restored a backup
- Apps with encrypted data, where losing the key means losing the data
Common triggers
- A near miss: a deleted table, a failed disk or a bad migration
- A customer or investor asks “how do you back up our data?”
- Moving hosts and not wanting to trust the old provider’s snapshots
Not a fit if
- You need guaranteed recovery times in a contract
- You need high availability or automatic failover (I don’t build clusters)
- You want mailbox backup (not offered)
What I do, and what you get.
What I do
- Find everything that can’t be rebuilt from code: database, uploads, .env and encryption keys
- Take consistent database dumps without locking writes
- Send encrypted backups offsite to storage in your account, with a retention policy
- Store encryption keys separately from the backups (a backup and its key in the same bucket is one breach, not two)
- Add a heartbeat alert so a backup that stops running is noticed
- Restore into a scratch environment and check the app actually works on the restored data
- Standard and Plus: point-in-time recovery, a second backup target and a timed rebuild drill
What you get
- Scheduled, encrypted, offsite backups
- A restore drill report: what was restored, how long it took, what was checked
- A recovery runbook a developer can follow without me
- Handover notes with storage accounts, key locations and retention
Your part
- An object storage account in your name (S3-compatible, Backblaze B2, Google Cloud Storage and so on)
- A safe place for the backup password, separate from the server
- Server and database access, and a window for the restore drill
Included
- Database, uploads, config and keys
- Encryption, retention and an offsite copy
- One restore drill and a runbook
- Backup-failure alert
Not included
- Mailbox or SaaS-tool backups
- Storage fees
- Guaranteed recovery times
- High availability or failover
Fixed prices, agreed before work starts.
Encrypted offsite backups, one restore drill, runbook
Starter plus point-in-time recovery and a second target
Standard plus a recovery plan for split setups and a timed rebuild test
Build your scope
- Timeline
- About 1 week
- Payment
- Paid in full before work starts
- Earliest start
- Oct 5
Founding price: 3 of 7 spots left, until Mar 31, 2027 — one-off work, in return for a testimonial. How it works
Prices are in USD, paid by bank transfer against an invoice. Work under $1,000 is paid upfront; larger work is 50% to start and 50% before handover, or monthly milestones. How working together works
Variations
- Single server
- One backup job, one target, one drill.
- App and database on separate servers (Plus)
- A recovery plan per node and a timed rebuild of the whole setup.
- Encrypted data
- A key backup and a check that the restored app can read it.
How it runs.
- 01
Send your setup
You email your stack, database size and current backups.
- 02
Fixed quote
I reply within one US business day with a fixed quote.
- 03
Invoice and access
You pay the prepaid invoice, then grant access.
- 04
Backups and drill
I set up backups, then run the restore drill with you informed.
- 05
Handover
You get the drill report and the recovery runbook.
Where I have done this before.
WordPress Hosting Control Panel
Encrypted restic backups to eight storage providers on schedules.
Read the case study →SaaS backend · Cloud marketplaceLicensing & Entitlement Platform
A written backup and restore guide for a service with 19 encrypted columns.
Read the case study →Healthcare · Patient booking · Bilingual webHospital Website & Serial Booking System
Server runbook with a restore drill (built; not yet live).
Read the case study →Questions buyers ask.
My host already takes snapshots. Isn’t that enough?
It’s a start, but it lives with the same provider and usually isn’t tested. I add an independent copy and a real restore.
How often will backups run?
Usually nightly; Standard adds point-in-time recovery for the database.
Can you promise how fast we’d recover?
I measure it during the drill and write it down. I don’t promise a number I haven’t measured.
Who holds the keys?
You do. I document where they are and remove my access at handover if you want.
Do you keep testing restores afterward?
Care Plans include a monthly restore check.
Ask about Backup & Disaster Recovery.
Tell me what you have and where it hurts. I reply within one US business day with either a fixed quote or the entry step that makes a fixed quote possible.
Helpful to include
- Stack and database (engine, version, size)
- Where uploads live
- Current backups
- Encrypted fields or keys
- Hosting
- Deadline