Developing a digital ecosystem for tradespeople in construction and HVAC in UK
CIGen collaborated with Attaro on a comprehensive digital platform for electrical, and HVAC trade businesses in the UK, connecting installers, business owners, and their customers. Leveraging .NET, React, Azure services, SQL Server, MongoDB, the project delivered scalable solutions for stock and customer management, quoting, invoicing, payments, scheduling, and financial workflows.
This collaboration resulted in a reliable and efficient business management ecosystem, including a web and a mobile app, that simplifies administrative processes, automates key workflows, and enables tradespeople to manage their business operations through a unified digital platform.
Tech stack
Aboutplatform
This is a comprehensive digital platform that helps tradespeople in plumbing, heating, electrical, bathroom installations and other service businesses manage their day-to-day operations more efficiently. The platform reduces manual processes and simplifies complex workflows.
Through continuous digital innovation and automation, the company is transforming how trade professionals manage their businesses, enabling them to save time, improve customer service, and maintain greater control over their operational and financial processes.
The challenge
Alongside our client, we embarked on a mission to develop a comprehensive business management platform designed to streamline daily operations, automate administrative processes, and simplify financial workflows for trade and service businesses. The focus was on creating a unified ecosystem that enables tradespeople to manage their processes through a single, efficient digital solution.
Collaboration goal
To modernize and extend an existing document-workflow platform with secure, extensible microservices for third-party invoicing and payments, appointment and calendar functionalities, stock management, automated compliance certificate generation, and regulation-compliant data retention, built for the UK electronics and HVAC trade.
Services we delivered
Team composition
CIGen filled the talent and knowledge gap in weeks where the company would have needed months to do so. The line-up included:
The result
Over the 7 productive years of our collaboration with Attaro, the initially basic platform was transformed into a fully-functioning feature-rich platform with a progressive web app as well as a mobile application in its ecosystem.
We extended it with dedicated microservices for payments, invoicing, and third-party financial integrations (connecting Stripe for payments and QuickBooks and Xero for invoicing), seamlessly linked to the existing architecture. Real-time stock management, automated product synchronization features enables smooth eCommerce experience for subscribers.
A tiered subscription model was introduced, with the new advanced integrations incorporated into paid plans, expanding the platform’s commercial offering and creating new opportunities for recurring revenue and product growth.
- The new capabilities were designed as abstract, extensible microservices rather than provider-specific implementations.
- Standardized integration layers and reusable components make it possible to connect additional payment, invoicing, and accounting providers in the future.
- Today the platform runs two invoicing providers (QuickBooks, Xero) and one payment provider (Stripe), proof the abstraction works, with the architecture ready to onboard more providers. Payments are handled directly through the platform, with sellers able to generate invoices and manage merchant accounts.
- Platform-wide capabilities like automated data retention, reinforcing the long-term scalability story.
- Real-time stock management functionality was developed: Suppliers can add products and observe inventory in real-time, reducing errors and duplication.
- Efficient search options capabilities. Homeowners can search for spare parts using part codes, keywords, or appliance types, ensuring a smooth user experience.
- The platform automatically identifies and synchronizes product data, keeping the online store organized and efficient.
Client about our cooperation
The features
- Reliable cross-service communicationImplemented asynchronous communication between services using message-based integration patterns, enabling reliable cross-service processing and reducing direct dependencies.
- Financial integration microservicesBuilt dedicated .NET services for payment, invoicing, and accounting integrations.
- Optimized data infrastructureLeveraged Redis for distributed caching and temporary integration data, with SQL Server supporting persistent transactional and business data.
- Secure multi-provider integrationsIntegrated Stripe, QuickBooks, and Xero through secure OAuth and API-based workflows for payments, invoicing, and accounting operations.
- Automated compliance certificatesBuilt a dynamic, schema-driven compliance certificate system (templates stored in MongoDB drive the in-app rendering) letting installers fill in on-site details and instantly generate signed, print-ready PDF certificates, replacing manual paper processes.
- Regulation-compliant data retentionImplemented a "hard delete" workflow that automatically cleans up all organization-related data across every microservice once a data retention period expires, using event-based (RabbitMQ, outbox pattern) messaging.
- Duplicate checkingThe system automatically checks for duplicates across the product storage, ensuring an organized and streamlined inventory.
- Background data exportAllows for background export of data archives, ensuring seamless management of large data sets.
- Turnover and financial reportingProvides detailed financial reporting for any selected period, helping store owners track their business performance.
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