Bookings come in faster than you can assign them
Someone in the office is matching customers to technicians on a whiteboard, and every new order means three phone calls.
On-Demand Apps · Lucknow & Toronto
On-demand apps that hold up on a busy Sunday morning.
Your app works fine in the demo. Then Sunday at 10 a.m. arrives, two hundred people want a plumber or a cleaner at the same time, and half the bookings sit there with nobody assigned.
We build customer apps, provider apps and admin panels for on-demand businesses, with the dispatch, tracking and payouts that keep things moving when it's busy.
- Customer app, provider app and admin panel built to work as one system
- Jobs assigned automatically to the nearest available person
- UPI payments in, provider payouts out, commission worked out for you
300+
Projects delivered
200+
Clients served
6+ yrs
Building software
4 hrs
Response time
Live dispatch · Sunday 10:04
Live
Bookings
214
Assigned
198
Avg ETA
18 min
AC repair · Sector 21
Ravi K. · 1.2 km away
Deep clean · Gomti Nagar
Neha S. · 2.4 km away
Electrician · Hazratganj
Assigning to nearest…
UPI collected today ₹1,42,800 · Payouts scheduled for Monday 6 PM.
Tools we build with
Google Maps
Razorpay
Firebase
WhatsApp Business
AWS
Flutter
Node.js
Sound familiar?
Signs you need a proper on-demand platform
Many service businesses start with a phone number and a WhatsApp group. It works well up to a point. After that, it starts costing you customers.
Customers keep asking "where is he?"
The technician said 15 minutes forty minutes ago. The customer calls you, you call him, and nobody is happy.
Providers disappear after a few weeks
Payouts are late or unclear, they get jobs on the far side of the city, and the next platform offers them a better deal.
The app slows down when it matters
Festive season, weekend mornings or the first rain of monsoon bring a rush, and that's exactly when the app starts timing out.
Cash and commission don't add up
Some customers paid online, some paid the provider in cash. Working out who owes whom at the end of the week takes a full day.
A second city feels like starting over
Different prices, new providers, separate service areas. Your current setup was built for one city and it shows.
Why Softfix
How we work compared to a typical agency
Lots of companies sell an "Uber for X" clone. It looks complete in the demo, and then the real day-to-day work of an on-demand business shows where it doesn't fit.
| What matters | Softfix | Typical agency |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | We look at how your jobs actually flow, from booking to payment, and talk to a few of your providers too. | A ready-made clone with your logo on it. |
| Dispatch | Assignment rules that fit your service, whether that's nearest first, skill level, rating or a fixed area. | The same simple rule for every business. |
| Provider app | Designed for someone on a scooter with gloves on, using a budget Android phone on patchy 4G. | Tested on a new iPhone in the office. |
| Busy hours | Load tested against your expected peak before launch, with servers that scale up on their own. | Discovered on your first big Sunday. |
| Money flows | Online and cash payments, commission, tips, refunds and payouts all tracked in one ledger. | Payment collection only, with the rest left to Excel. |
| Ownership | You own the source code, so you can change anything later. | A licence to a platform you can't really modify. |
Who we build for
Different services, the same core problem
Whether you send out electricians or deliver medicines, it comes down to getting the right person to the right address quickly, and getting everyone paid properly.
Home services
Cleaning, AC repair, plumbing, salon at home and pest control, with time slots, skill-based assignment and parts billing.
Food, grocery & pharmacy
Ordering from local stores, rider assignment, delivery in tight time windows and prescription upload where needed.
Pickup & drop
Courier, parcel and bike-taxi style services with distance-based pricing, live tracking and OTP on delivery.
Laundry & car wash
Scheduled pickups, item tracking through processing, subscriptions and doorstep service in apartment societies.
Healthcare at home
Nurse visits, physiotherapy, sample collection and caregiver bookings, with verified professionals and visit notes.
Startups testing an idea
A focused first version in one city, so you can see whether people book and providers stay before spending more.
What we build
On-demand app development services
An on-demand business is really three apps that have to agree with each other all the time. We build all three, plus the parts in between that nobody sees.
Discuss your projectCustomer App
Pick a service, choose a slot, pay and watch the provider arrive on a map. Rebooking a favourite takes two taps.
Provider App
New jobs with a clear accept button, directions, a checklist, photo proof and earnings for the day, all in a simple app.
Admin Panel
See every live booking on one screen. Step in when something goes wrong, adjust prices and manage providers without calling a developer.
Dispatch & Matching
New jobs go to the right person based on distance, skill, rating and workload. If they don't accept in time, it moves to the next one.
Live Tracking
Customers see where the provider is and when they'll arrive. Admins see the whole city at a glance.
Payments & Payouts
UPI, cards, wallets and cash on delivery. Your commission is taken automatically, and providers get paid on the schedule you set.
Slots & Scheduling
Book now or book for Saturday at 11. Slots open and close based on how many providers are actually free in that area.
Ratings & Support
Two-way ratings, in-app chat and masked calling so numbers stay private, plus a simple way to raise and resolve complaints.
Maintenance & Support
After launch we stay on for monitoring, fixes and new features, with a closer eye during your first busy weekends.
Problems we solve
Where on-demand businesses struggle, and what we do about it
1. Jobs sit unassigned
The problem
A booking comes in, but the nearest technician didn't see the notification and nobody followed up.
What we build
- Automatic assignment to the nearest free provider
- A short timer before the job moves to someone else
- An alert to the admin if nobody picks it up
The result
Bookings get a provider in minutes, and very few fall through the cracks.
2. Customers cancel while waiting
The problem
They have no idea when someone will turn up, so they book a competitor just in case.
What we build
- Live location of the provider on a map
- Updates when the provider starts, nears and arrives
- Masked calling if they need to speak
The result
Fewer anxious calls to your support team, and fewer cancellations.
3. Good providers keep leaving
The problem
They don't trust the payout numbers and feel the app sends them jobs that aren't worth the trip.
What we build
- A clear earnings screen with every job listed
- Payouts on a fixed schedule, straight to the bank
- Service areas so jobs stay close to home
The result
Providers stick around longer, which means more capacity on busy days.
4. The app breaks during rush hour
The problem
Weekend mornings and festival weeks bring a sudden flood of bookings, and the app slows to a crawl.
What we build
- Servers that add capacity automatically
- Queues that hold bookings safely during spikes
- Load tests before your busiest season
The result
Your best days stay your best days, instead of becoming your worst reviews.
5. Weekly settlement is a headache
The problem
Cash collected by providers, online payments, refunds, tips and commission all need to be worked out by hand.
What we build
- One ledger per provider showing what's owed both ways
- Commission and GST worked out on every job
- Settlement reports ready for your accountant
The result
Settlement takes minutes, and disputes with providers drop sharply.
6. Opening a new city is slow
The problem
New prices, new providers and new service areas mean weeks of setup and a lot of copy-paste.
What we build
- Cities and zones drawn on a map in the admin panel
- Different pricing and commission per city
- Separate managers who see only their city
The result
A new city can go live in days once providers are signed up.
AI where it helps
Smarter features as you grow
These need a few months of real bookings to learn from. We usually add them after launch, once there's enough data to make them worth it.
Demand forecasting
Predicts which areas will be busy and when, so you can ask providers to be online before the rush starts.
Smarter matching
Learns which providers do well for which kinds of jobs and customers, and factors that into assignment.
Surge and offer pricing
Suggests price changes when demand is high or slow, within limits you set, so you don't lose customers to sudden jumps.
Fraud checks
Flags fake bookings, suspicious cancellations and providers marking jobs complete from the wrong location.
Want to know what your first version would cost?
Tell us your service, your city and roughly how many providers you'll start with. We'll send a written estimate and suggest what to leave for later.
How we work
From idea to your first busy weekend
Three apps, real money moving and people on the road. The process is built so nothing surprises you on launch day.
01
Map the whole job
1–2 weeks
We follow one booking from start to finish, from the customer tapping "book" to the provider getting paid. We also agree on how you'll make money.
02
Design all three apps
2–3 weeks
Customer, provider and admin screens as clickable prototypes. We test the provider app with a few real providers before building.
03
Build in sprints
8–12 weeks
Two-week sprints with a demo each time. Dispatch, tracking and payments get tested together from early on, not at the end.
04
Load test and fix
2 weeks
We simulate your busiest hour with hundreds of fake bookings and fix whatever slows down.
05
Soft launch in one area
1–2 weeks
Go live in a few neighbourhoods first, with real customers and providers, and adjust before opening up the whole city.
+
Grow and support
Ongoing
New cities, new services and new features, plus monitoring so we notice problems before your customers do.
Security & trust
Safe for customers, fair for providers
People are letting strangers into their homes through your app. That trust has to be backed up by how the system works.
Privacy
- DPDP Act 2023 for customer and provider data
- Masked phone numbers for calls
- Addresses visible only during an active job
- Option to keep data on Indian servers
Payments
- PCI DSS compliant gateways such as Razorpay
- Card details never stored on your servers
- RBI-compliant payouts to provider bank accounts
- GST invoices generated for every job
Provider checks & security
- Aadhaar and PAN verification at onboarding
- Background check partners where needed
- ISO 27001:2022 certified processes
- OTP at start and end of every job
Technology
Built to keep three apps in sync
Real-time location, instant notifications and payments that can't go missing. We use proven tools and size the setup to the number of bookings you expect.
Mobile
Flutter · React Native · Swift (iOS) · Kotlin (Android)
Web & Admin
React · Next.js · Vue.js · TypeScript
Backend
Node.js · Laravel / PHP · Python · .NET Core
Real-time
WebSockets · Firebase · Redis · Google Maps · Mapbox
Payments & Comms
Razorpay · Stripe · WhatsApp Business API · MSG91 · Exotel
Cloud & Data
AWS · Google Cloud · Docker · PostgreSQL · MySQL · MongoDB
Ways to work with us
Start in one city, then grow
Most successful on-demand businesses prove the model in a few neighbourhoods before spreading out. We plan the build the same way.
MVP
One service, one city
Customer app, provider app and a basic admin panel, with booking, assignment, tracking and payments for one city.
Typical timeline: about 3 months
Full platform
Scheduling, payouts & reports
Everything in the MVP plus scheduling, provider payouts, ratings, offers, reports and a richer admin panel.
Typical timeline: 4–5 months
Multi-city
Dedicated team
Zones, city managers, regional pricing and a team that keeps building alongside your business.
Typical timeline: Ongoing
Cost
What affects the cost of an on-demand app
Two "Urban Company-style" apps can be priced very differently. Here's what actually drives the number.
Instant vs scheduled
Booking for later is simpler. Matching someone right now, with live tracking, needs a lot more real-time work.
How jobs are assigned
Letting providers pick jobs from a list is quick to build. Smart automatic dispatch takes longer to get right.
Money flows
Online-only payments are straightforward. Cash, tips, wallets, refunds and split payouts add a proper accounting layer.
Number of services
One service with fixed prices is simple. Dozens of services with add-ons, parts and inspections take more setup.
Cities and zones
A single city is a lighter build than several cities, each with its own prices, managers and rules.
AI features
Demand forecasting or smart pricing add to the build, though they usually pay off once volumes grow.
About Softfix
We build the apps and help you get your first customers
We're 30+ developers, designers and testers in Lucknow, with a second office in Toronto. Our marketing team runs local SEO, social media and ads too. For a new on-demand business that needs bookings in its first city, having both under one roof saves a lot of back and forth.
Everyone is in-house, nothing is outsourced, and the code is yours from day one.
300+
Projects shipped
30+
In-house experts
15+
Industries served
ISO
9001:2015 · 27001:2022
FAQ
Questions we hear about on-demand apps
How much does an on-demand app cost?
It depends mostly on whether bookings are instant or scheduled, how jobs get assigned and how complicated your payments are. A focused MVP for one service in one city costs much less than a multi-city platform with smart dispatch. After a short call, we'll send a written estimate.
How long does it take?
An MVP with customer, provider and admin apps usually takes around 3 months. A fuller platform with scheduling, payouts and reports takes about 4 to 5 months.
Do I need three separate apps?
Usually, yes. Customers and providers need different things, and the admin side is easiest to use on a laptop. They all share the same backend, so they always show the same information.
Can you build something like Urban Company or Swiggy?
We can build the same kind of system, fitted to your business. We won't copy their design. We'd rather spend the budget on what makes your service different.
How do on-demand apps make money?
Most take a commission on each job. Others charge a convenience fee, sell subscriptions, offer paid listings for providers or use surge pricing at busy times. We'll help you pick a model that suits your margins.
Can it handle cash on delivery?
Yes. The system records cash collected by each provider and offsets it against what you owe them, so weekly settlement stays accurate.
Will it work for providers with basic phones?
Yes. The provider app is designed for budget Android phones and slow networks, with large buttons, Hindi support and very little typing.
Can we start in one city and expand later?
That's what we recommend. The platform supports multiple cities and zones from the start, so adding a new one is mostly configuration, not new code.
Who owns the code?
You do, fully. The source code, data and cloud accounts are yours, and we're happy to sign an NDA before you share your idea.
What happens after launch?
We stay on for monitoring, fixes and new features, and keep a closer eye on things during your first few busy weekends. Our marketing team can also help bring in customers and providers.
Book a free 30-minute call
Let's build an app that's ready for your busiest day.
Tell us what service you offer, where you're starting and how you handle bookings today, and we'll suggest a sensible first version.
sales@softfix.in
Phone
India: +91 81890 10044
Canada: +1 (647) 846-9494
India office
1st Floor, CP/140, Viraj Khand-4, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226010
Canada office
2 Bloor Street West, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4W 3E2