Software project rescue for UK teams whose app stalled.
Your freelancer stopped replying, the agency went quiet or went under, or the AI-built prototype fell over. We take over the code you have already paid for, tell you plainly what state it is in, and get it launched.
Four situations we take over.
The freelancer left
Your freelancer or agency left mid-project
They stopped replying, moved on, or the contract ended with the app half built. We work from your repository, find what is finished, what is mocked and what is missing, and carry on from there.
The agency went under
The agency is in administration or liquidation
Code, hosting and domains in the agency’s name now sit with an insolvency practitioner. We help you list exactly what to ask for back and what can be rebuilt if it never comes.
AI-built or no-code
The AI-built app breaks past the demo
It was quick to start in Lovable, Bolt, Replit or Cursor, then logins, payments or real data stopped working. We make it hold up with real users. The dedicated page covers this in depth.
Inherited code
You bought a company and its code
An acquisition, a management buyout or a departing CTO left you with a system nobody can explain. We read it, write down how it works and what is risky, and make it safe to change.
We ship and maintain our own products.
These are our own apps, not client rescues, and we do not list client names. Each public listing names Acefina LLC as the developer.
Android app
LocatAlert
A GPS location alarm that rings as you approach your stop, per its site. On Google Play; its site says the iPhone version is waiting for App Store review.
Android app
BillsClear
A bill tracker built around your pay schedule. On Google Play and the App Store.
Android app
Pagehour
A reading tracker with a timer and streaks. On Google Play and the App Store.
On the web, we also run VisualSentinel, a website monitoring product with a free plan of 3 monitors. For how we scope a first release, see MVP development services.
Get a free reviewWho owns the code? Check before the handover.
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, software is protected as a literary work, and the first owner of the copyright is whoever wrote it. Code an employee writes in the course of their job belongs to the employer. Code written by a freelancer or an agency starts out as theirs.
It becomes yours through an assignment, and an assignment only counts if it is in writing and signed by the person or company handing it over (section 90(3)). Paying for the work is not the same thing. If your contract has no assignment clause, ask for a signed assignment as part of the handover, before the relationship ends. A solicitor can confirm where you stand; we cannot give legal advice.
The developer left mid-project. Here is what we do first.
A freelancer who stops replying, or an agency contract that ends with the app half built, leaves code nobody can describe. The first job is to find out what state it is in, in writing, before anything is changed.
Recover access before touching code
We list every place your product lives and who controls it. Accounts in the former developer’s name cause the most delay, so we sort those first.
- The repository, and whether the latest work is actually in it rather than on one laptop
- Hosting and cloud accounts, the domain registration and DNS, and whose name each is in
- App store developer accounts, if the product is mobile
- Third-party services such as payments, email, maps and analytics
If the agency has gone under
Once an administrator or liquidator is appointed, they take control of the company’s property (Insolvency Act 1986, Schedule B1 paragraph 67 and section 144). That can include code it never assigned to you and accounts in its name. Companies House shows whether the company is in administration or liquidation, and The Gazette publishes the appointment notices. Write to the practitioner with a specific list: the repository, the accounts and a signed assignment of the code. We give you that list.
Separate what is built from what is faked
We run the product end to end and mark each feature as working, partly working, mocked or missing, so the remaining work is priced from facts.
Prove you can ship without them
We check that someone else can build and deploy the app from a clean checkout. If not, that is the first item in the plan.
Eight risks we look for before we plan a fix.
Each is a way a stalled project can hurt you while it sits there.
- Ownership: whether the code is assigned to you, and whether the domain, cloud and store accounts are in your name
- Secrets: passwords, API keys or tokens committed to the repository or pasted into a tool
- Data safety: whether a backup exists and whether anyone has tested restoring it
- Access control: whether one customer can reach another customer’s data
- Personal data: who can reach your customers’ personal data, and whether a written contract covers each company that processes it, as UK GDPR Article 28 requires
- Dependencies: outdated packages with known security problems
- Deployment: whether the app can be released repeatably, with a way back if a release fails
- Third-party lock-in: services running under someone else’s account or an expired trial
What we need from you to start.
For the free review, a link and a few lines are enough.
- The code
- Read access to the repository on GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket, or a zip of the code if that is all you have.
- Where it runs
- The live URL and which hosting or cloud account it is deployed to.
- Your contract
- The contract or statement of work with the previous developer, so we can see what was agreed about ownership and handover.
- What happened
- A few lines: what was agreed, what exists, what stopped, and what finished means.
- Not needed
- We do not ask for production passwords, secrets or customer data for the audit, and you should not send them through the contact form.
A low-risk path from stuck to launched.
Free review
You send the repo or app link and tell us what went wrong. We read it and reply in writing, in plain English: what we see, and whether we are the right people to fix it. There is no sales call. You decide whether to book the audit.
Fixed-scope audit
We go through the code, the data model, the deployment and the security basics, and give you a written report: what works, what is broken, what is risky, and the order to fix it in. US$399 fixed for one app, with the report in 3 working days.
Fixed quote, then the work
You get a written plan and a fixed quote to stabilise or finish the app. You approve it, or you take the report and go elsewhere. Either way you keep everything we produced.
Tell us where it is stuck.
Send the repo link or app URL and a few lines on what happened. You get a straight answer in writing on what we would do and what we would not.
One audit, one price, a report in three days.
US$399
Fixed, for one app and one repository.
- Turnaround
- Written report in 3 working days after we have access
- If you go ahead
- The full US$399 is credited to the fix if you book it within 30 days
- Payment
- Pay by card online in US dollars (your card provider converts it to pounds), or ask first. If the app turns out to be more than one app and one repository, we refund in full before starting
What the audit includes
- We read the repository and run the app, not only the code
- A written report: findings ranked by risk, each tied to the file or area it affects
- A prioritised fix list you can hand to any developer
- A clear verdict for each area: keep it, fix it in place, or rebuild that part
Unusually large codebase, or several services? Ask first and you get a fixed quote before you pay. If you already paid and it turns out larger, we refund in full before starting.
Three steps, each with a fixed price before you commit.
- 1. Free review
- Free. We reply in writing within 1 UK working day with what we see, what we would do and what we would not.
- 2. Audit
- US$399 fixed for one app and one repository, charged in US dollars. The written report arrives 3 working days after we have access.
- 3. Fixed quote and work
- Priced after the report, with a schedule based on your code, not a standard duration. You approve it or take the report elsewhere. The full US$399 is credited to the work if you book it within 30 days.
Only want the report? The audit is also sold on its own as code audit services for UK teams. See what the report looks like in a sample code audit report.
A working app and a clear picture, not a pile of promises.
- A plain-English picture of what exists, what does not and what is risky
- A prioritised plan: what to fix first so the app stops breaking
- A fixed quote for stabilising or finishing the work, before you commit
- Work done in your repository and your accounts, so you stay in control
- Ownership of the code we write, yours once it is paid for, as our terms state
Founders and small teams across the UK.
This is for a founder with a product that is mostly built, or a small team that lost its developer. You do not need a technical co-founder to talk to us. We work remotely and reply in writing within one UK working day. If you want a call, we agree a time inside UK office hours.
Want to see what we have built? Browse our selected work.
Outside the UK? Software project rescue for the US, EU and Australia has the same process and the same price.
What we have delivered since 2019.
These are totals from Acefina’s delivery record under Rai Ansar, a developer and DevOps engineer since May 2019. We do not list client names. The site counts run higher than the project count because one project often covers several sites.
Questions we get before people start.
Who owns the code under UK law?
Whoever wrote it, unless they wrote it as your employee or assigned it to you in a signed document. That is the rule in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, sections 11 and 90(3). Check your contract for an assignment clause, and ask a solicitor if it is unclear. For the code we write, ownership passes to you once it is paid for, as our terms state.
The agency went into administration. Can we still get our code?
Your request now goes to the administrator or liquidator, because they control the agency’s property. Find them through Companies House or The Gazette and ask in writing for the repository, the hosting and domain accounts and an assignment of the code. Send us whatever you already have, even a deployed site, and we tell you what can be recovered or rebuilt.
Can you work with our existing repo, or do we have to start again?
We work with what you have. Where the existing code is sound, we stabilise and finish it. If part of it cannot be saved, the audit says so and shows which part, and you decide.
How does pricing work for UK clients?
The review is free. The audit is US$399 fixed for one app and one repository, paid by card in US dollars, so your card provider converts it to pounds. The written report arrives in 3 working days. After it you get a fixed quote for the work, and the US$399 is credited to it if you go ahead within 30 days.
Will you sign an NDA and a data processing agreement?
Yes. Send your NDA before you share anything sensitive, or ask for ours. Where the work touches your customers’ personal data, we can sign a data processing agreement, which UK GDPR expects whenever another company processes personal data for you. The audit itself needs no production data.
What about time zones?
We work remotely and reply in writing within one UK working day. If you want a call, we agree a time inside UK office hours, and written updates carry the work between calls.
What is a software project rescue?
It is a takeover of a project that has stalled, failed or been abandoned. We find out what exists, what is broken and what is missing, then stabilise the code and finish the work against a fixed quote so the product can launch.
How do I take over a software project from a previous developer?
Secure access first: the repository, hosting, the domain registration and any third-party accounts, all in your company’s name. Get a signed assignment of the code if your contract lacks one. Then have the code reviewed before anyone changes it, so you know what state it is in.
How much does it cost to fix or finish an unfinished app?
There is no standard price, because it depends on what is built. The review is free, the audit is US$399 fixed, and the fix is a fixed quote you approve after reading the report. The audit price is credited to the work if you book it within 30 days.
Stop paying for a project that is not moving.
Free review first, a written reply within one UK working day, and a US$399 audit credited to the fix.