Payload CMS Audit

Know exactly what is wrong with your Payload CMS codebase.

A structured technical review of your existing Payload CMS project. Not a sales call. Not a vague assessment. A written report that identifies the data model problems, query issues, migration risks, and the three most critical issues in your codebase — in priority order.

Request an Audit

What the audit covers

The audit is a technical review of your existing Payload CMS codebase. Every review covers the same five areas, plus a prioritized list of critical findings. The output is a written report — not a presentation, not a Zoom call, not a list of suggestions. A document you can act on.

Data model review

Collection structure, field types, relationships, and globals. Whether the schema supports where the system needs to go — or will require expensive rework.

Query patterns

How data is fetched, filtered, and paginated. N+1 patterns, missing indexes, and query structures that degrade as data volume grows.

Performance risks

Admin UI slowdowns, frontend rendering bottlenecks, hook chains that block requests, and background job configurations that will fail under load.

Migration setup

Whether database migrations are configured correctly for production — or whether the project is running push mode where it shouldn’t be.

Top 3 critical issues

Every report surfaces the three issues most likely to cause production failure, data loss, or expensive re-architecture. These are prioritized, not buried in a list.

Recommended next steps

Concrete recommendations for each finding — what to fix, in what order, and whether the scope requires a structured engagement.

The deliverable

The audit is fixed scope and fixed price. There is no discovery phase, no workshop, no ongoing commitment required. You get codebase access to me, I review it, you get a written report.

Written report delivered within 5 business days of receiving codebase access

No kickoff call required — the work is asynchronous

Covers data model, query patterns, migration setup, performance risks, and critical issues

Three most critical issues explicitly ranked and explained

Concrete recommendations for each finding

Optional 30-minute walkthrough call available after report delivery

Fixed price

$2,500 – $3,500

Price depends on codebase size and complexity. Confirmed after a brief description of the project.

This is for the written report. If you want a structured advisory engagement to act on the findings, that is a separate conversation.

Related resources

Next.js + Payload CMS Advisory

The natural next step after an audit. Senior architecture direction for in-house teams — weekly sessions and async review.

Open resource

Payload CMS Developer

If the audit findings point to a rebuild, see how a full principal-led Payload CMS engagement works — from architecture through launch.

Open resource

Payload CMS Live Demos

See what well-architected Payload systems look like in practice — multi-locale and multi-tenant examples with live frontends.

Open resource

Request a Payload CMS Audit.

Mention “Payload CMS Audit” in your message and briefly describe the codebase — framework version, approximate collection count, and the primary concern driving the review.

Get in Touch

Payload CMS Audit

Know exactly what is wrong with your Payload CMS codebase.

Request an Audit

What the audit covers

Data model review

Collection structure, field types, relationships, and globals. Whether the schema supports where the system needs to go — or will require expensive rework.

Query patterns

How data is fetched, filtered, and paginated. N+1 patterns, missing indexes, and query structures that degrade as data volume grows.

Performance risks

Admin UI slowdowns, frontend rendering bottlenecks, hook chains that block requests, and background job configurations that will fail under load.

Migration setup

Whether database migrations are configured correctly for production — or whether the project is running push mode where it shouldn’t be.

Top 3 critical issues

Every report surfaces the three issues most likely to cause production failure, data loss, or expensive re-architecture. These are prioritized, not buried in a list.

Recommended next steps

Concrete recommendations for each finding — what to fix, in what order, and whether the scope requires a structured engagement.

The deliverable

The audit is fixed scope and fixed price. There is no discovery phase, no workshop, no ongoing commitment required. You get codebase access to me, I review it, you get a written report.

Written report delivered within 5 business days of receiving codebase access

No kickoff call required — the work is asynchronous

Covers data model, query patterns, migration setup, performance risks, and critical issues

Three most critical issues explicitly ranked and explained

Concrete recommendations for each finding

Optional 30-minute walkthrough call available after report delivery

Fixed price

$2,500 – $3,500

Price depends on codebase size and complexity. Confirmed after a brief description of the project.

This is for the written report. If you want a structured advisory engagement to act on the findings, that is a separate conversation.

Related resources

Next.js + Payload CMS Advisory

The natural next step after an audit. Senior architecture direction for in-house teams — weekly sessions and async review.

Open resource

Payload CMS Developer

If the audit findings point to a rebuild, see how a full principal-led Payload CMS engagement works — from architecture through launch.

Open resource

Payload CMS Live Demos

See what well-architected Payload systems look like in practice — multi-locale and multi-tenant examples with live frontends.

Open resource

Request a Payload CMS Audit.

Mention “Payload CMS Audit” in your message and briefly describe the codebase — framework version, approximate collection count, and the primary concern driving the review.

Get in Touch