Mobile and offline apps

What problems it solves

Field staff work where the signal is weak or missing: out in the fields, in a barn, in a basement, on the road between two villages. If the app stops working without a connection, the technician goes back to paper and the office retypes it later. Retyping is exactly where parts, hours and signatures get lost.

The second problem is closing the job. The work is done, but until the sheet reaches the office nobody invoices it and the parts are not written off from stock. Days pass, and sometimes the sheet never arrives.

The third problem is maintenance. Separate Android and iOS apps mean every fix has to be made in two places, and every new version waits for app store review. People in the field are left with the old version and a bug the office fixed long ago.

How it works

Here is an example from a service company that repairs machines at the customer's site. The same pattern fits deliveries, installations and inspections.

1. The manager assigns jobs by technician and by day. The technician gets a notification on the phone and sees their schedule.
2. At the customer, the technician taps "Arrived" and the arrival time is recorded.
3. The technician describes the work done, scans the fitted parts with the camera and takes the required photos if the repair needs them.
4. The customer signs with a finger on the screen. The signature closes the work order, writes off the parts and sends the card to invoicing.
5. Without a connection, the signed card waits in a queue on the phone. The app uploads it on its own as soon as there is internet. The profile shows how many cards are waiting, and the "Upload now" button sends them straight away.
6. The card arrives in the office complete. Nobody retypes it and nobody chases the paper.

The signature closes the job

We make sure every action happens at one clear moment. The customer's signature is not a picture attached somewhere. It is the button that closes the card, writes off the materials and sends it for invoicing. If a dispute comes up later, you can say when the job was closed and who signed.

A safeguard stops the same card from being written off twice. This matters most when working offline: if the signature was sent but the connection dropped halfway, uploading it again does not create a second write-off.

One codebase and updates without the app store

We write the app once and release it for Android and iOS, and as a web app where needed. A fix is made in one place and reaches everyone.

We upload screen changes to our server and phones pick them up the next time the app opens, with no new release in Google Play or the App Store. If a change needs new native code, the app tells the user a full update is required and does not run half-working. Fixes reach the people in the field the same day.

What you get

• An app that works offline and catches up on its own once the connection returns.
• Work orders closed at the customer with an on-screen signature rather than in the office days later.
• Parts written off at the moment of signing, with no separate stock entry.
• Notifications on the right person's phone: new job, approval, reassignment, overdue task.
• A barcode scanner using the phone's camera, with no extra device.
• Team locations on the map, during working hours only and on company phones only.
• One app for Android and iOS that updates without going through the app store.
• The source code and the rights to the app, with no licence and no per-user fee.

What it connects to

The mobile app is one more screen onto the same system the office uses. So customers, machines, stock and invoices are the same everywhere.

• CRM and service system: customers, tasks, schedules, work orders.
• Warehouse: parts scanned in the field are written off from the same stock.
• Invoicing: a closed work order appears in the list for invoicing.
• Maps and navigation: a job opens directions to the customer.
• Push notifications through Firebase Cloud Messaging.