Case study

TablesReady

TablesReady is a paging system that uses your guests' cell phones instead of expensive pager systems.

Background

At the moment we started our collaboration more than 7 years ago, the client had an idea, a product vision, basic designs, and the architecture plus code that needed optimization and integration of new concepts. The first Valor-built app version utilized PHP and AngularJS, but as time went by, we implemented several crucial modernizations. Also, we've reached a great deal of success with analytics that help track average wait times, busy hours, and walk-ins.

Key Features List:
– Guests can join a waitlist or make reservations, also book services with a TR link or by SMS registration
– TablesReady sends automated SMS reminders about the upcoming bookings
– Line management functionality, ability to create and manage guests’ profiles
– Analytics and statistics of peak hours, wait times, and service delivery timelines

Technologies & services:

Frontend

Backend

Hosting & Database

Services

Deliverables

In time, we felt the necessity to breathe new life into the platform – boost its ability to scale and serve bigger audiences. Moving TablesReady to newer frameworks would give our clients more opportunities to develop the product and quite effortlessly integrate new features into it.

Migration to Node.js and Angular

We migrated the code of the application from PHP to Node.js, and from AngularJS to Angular correspondingly, which brought greater flexibility and many more benefits listed below. Another part of this big transformation was switching from the MongoDB database to PostgreSQL, which was a bit challenging but worth every effort.

Challenge:

As we had to move the application from a non-relational database to relational, accurate work with data was a must. We had to make sure nothing got lost because of the transition, and this consumed time and required domain expertise.

Solution:

Even though the major part of the transition was automated, we also applied manual schema mapping to ensure accurate data migration.

Impact

Increased performance of the TablesReady platform
Simplified integration of new features
Clear and manageable codebase
Improved error handling

New functionality

Our client wanted to give more freedom and flexibility to the TablesReady audience in terms of managing subscriptions and getting the most out of the platform for every particular business. Initially, users had two plans to choose from: a paid subscription and an enterprise plan, both with a free trial period. Valor’s team has added new functionality to the admin panel that allows users to subscribe to a free plan or pick the most suitable among several Premium plans depending on their guests’ turnover. Also, users now can set up the subscription types and switch between plans on their own!

Impact

Greater customization as users can pick optimal subscription plans and switch between them at any moment
Higher clients’ satisfaction with the app as they can manage their expenses more efficiently

Updated UI

We reworked the user interface to make the app more user-friendly, and up-to-date. Our goal was to make the user flow throughout the system more smoothly. Also, we add a dark mode feature to give an option to users to choose which mode they are comfortable using.

Impact

Improved user experience with the platform
Intuitive interface that saves time for managing orders and lines

Aspects

type

Travel and hospitality

Startup

country

USA

technology stack

Node JS

MongoDB

Angular

Twilio

Recurly

D3 JS

Redis

WebSocket

services provided

Frontend

Backend

filter technologies

Node JS

MongoDB

Angular

Twilio

Recurly

D3 JS

Redis

WebSocket

Future

Among numerous plans for the future, the reorganization of the accounts structure is possibly the biggest and the most substantial one. Currently, there is a one-to-one relationship between accounts and locations, but we will make that a 1-to-many relationship. This will bring business accounts the opportunity to have multiple points of sales, with each having its own subscription model. Looking forward to this new feature, and to describing it in the next reviews!

Feedback

Mike Errecart

The owner and CEO of TablesReady

I’ve been very impressed with the quality of the developers Valor is able to find. They write good code, communicate well in written English, and have been very easy to work with. And despite the war, there’s been absolutely no downtime or lost productivity, except for those first 2 days after the invasion. (Not that this was something I asked for – it wasn’t – but it’s just a testament to the team and culture.)

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