Amy and Jacob Diaz own Diaz Handy Helpers, a company that caters to the busy professional by providing home services. Diaz Handy Helpers employs many Home Helpers, who will clean houses, grocery shop, make meals, walk dogs, pick children up at school, look after children and oversee home repairs. The introduction of Bill 148 has significantly changed how Diaz Handy Helpers schedules and pays their Home Helpers. Rather than rewrite their existing system, Amy and Jacob have decided to invest in the development of a new, customized system.
Amy and Jacob recently hired Ray Boyle to manage existing customers’ needs. Ray monitors the phones and email to ensure that customers’ needs are met. He follows up with customers making sure that the service from Diaz Handy Helpers works for them, and to see if they have any questions or concerns. Customers must give Ray 24 hours’ notice if they require a change in service.
Through follow-up conversations, Ray tracks what service types are popular. Dog-walking is always in demand, as are home repairs. He has noticed that there is growing demand for more service types, including computer repair and maintenance, vacation house-sitting, and others.
Amy focuses on advertising and meeting new customers while Jacob handles accounting. Jacob finds out from Ray what tasks have been completed and bills customers accordingly. Jacob then pays employees ensuring that taxes and insurance premiums are paid.
Customers would like to know when a Home Helper is on their way to the customer’s home, when they arrive and when they leave. Customers have also indicated that they would appreciate a more formal interface than simply writing emails. They would like an interface that allows them to select services, days and times that they would like the service to be completed by.
Amy would like to develop a web page to use for marketing and Jacob would like a computerized system to help with billing Customers and paying Home Helpers. The Home Helpers would like online schedules that would allow them to confirm which times of the day that they are available for work.
Finally, Jacob would like the system to be able to handle supplies. Although they do not have a large warehouse, Diaz Handy Helpers does stock some cleaning products, basic repair tools and equipment, and other requirements available for Home Helpers to take for service calls. Jacob would like to be able to track this, identify how much is being used during visits, and re-order more as necessary.
Diaz Handy Helpers has approached your company to develop an internal system and accompanying client-facing app that will allow their customers to complete the tasks outlined above. You would like the opportunity to develop this system and have full faith in your team’s ability to produce it completely and in the time allotted. Amy and Jacob are looking into a small business loan from Royal Bank to fund the project, and are keen to see that your quoted price fits into the loan amount.
