Dispatch board
Today's jobs, who is free, and assignment by drag rather than by phone call.
CASE STUDY
Example buildMobile AppField Service Job App
Dispatch, on-site checklists, photo proof and an invoice raised before the technician leaves.
- Type
- Mobile app + dispatch web
- Build time
- About 8 weeks
- Platforms
- Android and iOS, offline-capable
- Starts at
- ₹20,000*
This is an example build. HumansOfCoding is a new studio with no client work to show yet. This page describes how the project would be scoped and built — the same thinking you would get on a real one. Nothing here is a past client, and no number on this page is a result.
THE SITUATION
What's actually broken.
A service business — appliance repair, AC servicing, pest control — runs a team of technicians. Jobs are assigned over the phone, completion is reported by WhatsApp, and invoicing happens later from memory. Payment slips by days for no reason other than paperwork.
Like the delivery app, this lives or dies on working without signal. Technicians go into basements, lift shafts and buildings with no coverage, and the job still has to be recorded.
Jobs are assigned by phone call and forgotten
Proof of work is a photo in someone's personal WhatsApp
Invoices go out days after the job is done
Nobody knows which technician is free right now
VERSION ONE
What we'd build first.
Every item here earns its place by being something a real user would miss on day one.
Technician app, offline-first
The day's jobs download in the morning. Everything recorded on site syncs when signal comes back.
On-site checklist
Per job type, so the work is consistent and the parts used are captured while the technician is still standing there.
Proof of work
Before and after photos, plus a customer signature, timestamped and attached to the job permanently.
Invoice on completion
Generated from the checklist and parts, sent by WhatsApp before the technician leaves the site.
DELIBERATELY NOT IN V1
What we'd leave out.
Not because these are bad ideas. Because each one is designed better once the first version has told you something.
- Route optimisation across the whole team — buy it from a specialist API when the volume justifies it.
- Parts inventory across a warehouse. Start with what is on the van.
- Customer self-service booking, until the dispatch side is steady.
UNDER THE HOOD
How it's put together.
- Technician app
- React Native with an on-device database and a sync queue — the bulk of the engineering
- Dispatch board
- React, used on a desktop at the office
- Backend
- Node with Postgres
- Photos
- Compressed on the device before upload
- Invoices
- GST-compliant, generated server-side so numbering can never collide
HOW IT RUNS
Week by week.
-
01
Week 1
Ride along with a technician for a day. This changes the design more than any meeting will.
-
02
Weeks 2–5
Technician app, offline storage and sync.
-
03
Weeks 6–7
Dispatch board and assignment.
-
04
Week 8
Invoicing, then two technicians run it live for a week.
BEFORE YOU START
Worth knowing.
Offline sync is the expensive part and the reason the app gets used. If the budget forces a choice, cut features rather than cutting offline — an app that needs signal will be abandoned in the first basement.
MVPs start at ₹20,000*. Final pricing depends on features and project scope. Third-party costs — cloud hosting, domains, external libraries, APIs, app-store fees and any other paid service — are billed separately and are not included.
KEEP LOOKING
Other example builds.
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Menu, cart, live order tracking and a simple kitchen dashboard for a multi-outlet restaurant.
Read the case study Web AppCoaching Management Platform
Batches, attendance, online tests and fee payments in one dashboard for students and staff.
Read the case study Web AppBusiness Automation Dashboard
Replaces daily spreadsheet work with automated reports, alerts and role-based access.
Read the case studyWant this built for your business?
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