About

Background

At this time, the "us" of Net Profits is me. My name is Ben Kaap. I was born and raised in the Midwest, and I've been in front of a computer since I since the 80s. In the mid-90s I left home for the University of Illinois to earn my BS in Computer Science, and haven't left since. It was at the University that I found my calling, working online, which I've been doing for about 17 years now.

I am currently employed full-time by the University as a Information Technology, Web, and Database Specialist. I also work with several local organizations managing websites and developing online applications to suit their needs. In my spare time I organize a few family websites to make sure my parents have access to the latest photos of their grandkids 24/7.

Business Policies & Practices

There's a method to our madness. But since we don't always follow the norm, allow us to identify a few of the more important points.

By the Clock: We don't round our billing, not to the hour, not to the minute. Second-by-second; if nobody was working, nobody is paying. If we couldn't make an application that tracks such granularity, we wouldn't recommend working with us in the first place!
Keep it green to keep it clean.: As much as is possible, we like to keep our practices Green. From traveling by bicycle or public transportation to using Green Host services such as A2 Hosting as partners, we'll be doing our part to keep our environment healthy and sustainable.
Share and share alike: When you work with us, the code that was produced is yours to keep. The code is also ours to keep. We prefer to reuse code from a project in similar projects for other customers except in cases where proprietary business practices or information security may be compromised. You will benefit from work we've previously done, and others will benefit from our work with you. The technology simply moves too quickly to start each project from scratch. You may request that applications created for you be solely yours, however this generally increases the costs for a project as all code has to be written specifically for you.
Accessibility for all: The primary advantage of having any kind of web-presence is accessibility. No matter what location; no matter what time of day or night; no matter what computer brand, operating system, or web-browsing technology someone may be using the content of any web application should be available and fully functional. For this reason we choose to do our best to design & program to the available standards. The immediate impact of widening the range of potential audiences and the long-range impact of better stability and longevity make this a worthwhile consideration while planning your web project.

Service Rates

Our standard rate is $35/hr for meeting, planning, and research, and $65/hr for actual programming & development time. Fees can be negotiated for special cases or in times where project-based payments are more appropriate. Our initial meeting will be free, so if you don't like what we have to offer, you won't owe us a dime!

Requests for volunteer/discounted work, barter/trade payments, or pro bono work will also be considered, so don't be shy.

If you've read this far and simply don't have a guess at how long your project might take then you're obviously someone who thinks ahead, and we can appreciate that! Obviously, the amount of time a project will require varies from task to task. Here are a few generalizations that may help you estimate:

Project	Approx. Time
Update and exiting web site's content	generally under 1 working hour
Build a web site (3-5 pages) with only static content	1-2 working hours
Build a web site (3-5 pages) with dynamic content	3-4 working hours

As previously mentioned, we will be happy to meet with you to discuss options including estimates for billable hours and delivery dates.

About

Background

Business Policies & Practices

Service Rates

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