--- title: "Monthly application maintenance and monitoring | WIP" description: "Monitoring and alerts, backup checks with scheduled test restores, in-scope updates, and a monthly health report." url: https://workinprogress.company/services/maintenance-and-monitoring updated: 2026-10-27 lang: en --- WIP Care · Monthly contract # Monthly care for your application, with alerts and tested backups WIP Care is a monthly care plan for small applications and early-stage digital businesses. We monitor the system and receive its alerts, check backups with scheduled test restores, handle updates and maintenance within the agreed scope, and send you a monthly environment health report. starting at US$ 185 per month Updated on October 27, 2026 ![A server with a steady heartbeat, a backup copy beside it and a calendar with regular checks.](https://workinprogress.company/_astro/servico-care.D-0B4DZR_ZpCXVV.png) ## How does monthly care work? WIP Care works as a routine: monitoring is automatic and continuous, alerts go to the WIP team, backups are checked, updates follow a schedule, and at the end of the month you receive a health report. Alerts are handled within the scope and hours set in the contract. At the start of the contract, we assess the environment: what monitoring exists, where the backups are, which versions are in use, and who has access. If something essential is missing, we propose it before we begin. After that, the monthly routine includes: - **Monitoring and alerts:** automatic checks for availability and for warning signs, such as a disk filling up or a certificate about to expire. - **Backups:** confirming that they ran, plus scheduled test restores, with the time measured. - **Updates:** applying security fixes and maintenance within the scope, with testing and a way back. - **Report:** a summary of the month, in plain language, with what needs attention. Issues outside the scope, such as a new feature or a major infrastructure change, are reported with a separate proposal. Nothing is charged without prior agreement. ## What does the monthly health report include? The monthly report shows, in a short read, whether the system is healthy, what happened during the month, and what needs attention. It’s written for decision-makers, with the technical details kept separate for whoever needs them. The report covers: | Section | What it shows | | --- | --- | | Availability | Whether the system went down, for how long, and why | | Alerts and incidents | What fired, what was done, and what is still pending | | Backups | Whether they ran, when the last test restore happened, and how long it took | | Updates | What was updated and what is pending, with the reason | | Security | Certificate and domain expiration dates, access review, and dependencies with known vulnerabilities | | Recommendations | What to do in the coming months, in order of priority | The report also serves as a history. Over the months, it shows trends that a one-off look misses: a database growing faster than expected, restores taking longer, a disk filling up a little more each month. These trends become recommendations before they become incidents. ## Why test restoring backups instead of just taking them? Because a backup that has never been restored is a hypothesis, not a guarantee. A restore test is the only way to know that the copy is complete, that it can be read, and how long it takes to bring the system back. The problems only a test reveals are exactly the ones that show up at the worst moment: - the backup runs but leaves out part of the database or the files uploaded by users; - the copy is corrupted or incomplete; - the backup’s password or encryption key has been lost; - the restore requires a software version that no longer exists on the server; - the process takes much longer than the business can afford to be down. In WIP Care, test restores are scheduled: the copy is restored to a separate environment, the application is checked against the restored data, and the total time is measured and recorded in the monthly report. If something fails, fixing it becomes a priority. How often the tests run is set in the contract, based on the size and importance of the data. The principle doesn’t change: only a backup that has already been restored successfully counts as a backup. ## What does WIP Care deliver? - Uptime monitoring, with alerts sent to the WIP team. - Backup checks and scheduled test restores. - Security updates and maintenance within the contracted scope. - A monthly environment health report, in plain language. ## Who is WIP Care for? - Small applications and early-stage digital businesses. - Creators who have launched their product and don't want to handle operations. - Businesses without a technical team that need someone keeping an eye on their system. ## What is not included in WIP Care? - 24/7 support: support hours are set in the contract. - Development of new features. - Periodic performance and cost reviews and change management, which are included in WIP Managed. - Costs of infrastructure, licenses, and third-party services. ## How much does WIP Care cost? WIP Care starts at US$ 185 per month. This is a reference monthly price: it varies with the number of applications, environments, and included hours set in the contract. Infrastructure, licenses, and third-party services are paid for separately. ## Frequently asked questions about WIP Care ### How much does monthly application maintenance cost? WIP Care has a reference price starting at US$ 185 per month. The final price depends on the number of applications, environments, and included hours set in the contract. Infrastructure, licenses, and third-party services are listed separately from WIP's fees. ### What happens when an alert fires? The alert goes to the WIP team, which checks the cause and acts according to the scope and hours set in the contract. Anything outside the scope is reported to you with a proposed solution, and nothing is charged without prior agreement. ### Does WIP Care include 24/7 support? No. WIP Care has support hours set in the contract. For systems that need incident response at any hour, the right option is WIP Mission Critical, when it's contracted and the operational structure can sustain it. ### What is the difference between WIP Care and WIP Managed? WIP Care covers the foundation of a healthy operation: monitoring, verified backups, updates, and a monthly report. WIP Managed includes all of that, according to the contracted scope, and adds periodic performance and cost reviews, deployment and change management, and technical planning meetings. ### Does WIP have to be the one that deployed my system? No. Before starting, we assess the existing environment. If something essential is missing, such as backups or monitoring, we propose adding it before the contract begins. ## Related services Managed operations ### [WIP Managed](https://workinprogress.company/services/managed-operations) Your systems run the business, but nobody is there to oversee them, plan ahead, and make changes safely. starting at US$ 470 per month Deploy to production ### [WIP Launch](https://workinprogress.company/services/deploy-to-production) Your software works on your computer, but you don't know how to launch it safely and without surprises. starting at US$ 470 Technical diagnosis ### [WIP Check](https://workinprogress.company/services/technical-diagnosis) You don't know if your system is secure, if your backups work, or where to start improving it. starting at US$ 150 ## Start with a diagnosis Before investing in changes, understand the risks, bottlenecks and waste in your system. WIP Check delivers an executive report and a prioritized action plan. [Request a technical diagnosis](https://workinprogress.company/diagnosis)