Background

In 2014, Develux was contracted by a U.S. based company that aimed to enter the freelance industry with a revolutionary new platform. Their service would pair customers with independent contractors, who would assist with a variety of tasks.
To meet these goals, our client required a custom CRM solution that could handle a variety of complex workflows, with a particular emphasis on ease-of-use.

Challenge

In this case study, we will describe the development of the first two features of the CRM, the customer, and freelancer modules.The main goal of their system was easy-of-use. This created unique challenges because, unlike static products, these orders would have a variety of complex workflows and inputs such as subject, word count, attached media files, descriptions, and much more.
To meet this challenge, the project was divided into several stages.The development and implementation of the following features:
Customer and Freelancer Modules in the CRM

• Administrator’s Module in the CRM

• Dashboards and Metrics Calculation Model

• Internal Chat System

• Billing System

• Notifications, Which Integrates With Various Features

Solution

To meet our client’s needs, our team developed an intuitive and user-friendly auction-style solution.

A brief description of the process is as follows:

Customers will place orders for custom tasks, and authorized freelancers can then bid on the project on the internal marketplace. If the customer accepts the proposed price, the system will pair the two parties and begin their contract. Although this process may seem linear and straightforward, the Develux team developed unique features for each user across the CRM.

Functionality designed for customers:

• Order creation, i.e., an order’s lifecycle on the CRM. This includes developing forms for order details and organizing them into a single database.

• Freelancer selection. As described above, the selection works on the principle of an auction, where specialists review customer submitted projects and place bids for creating the final work. Customers can select the appropriate pro based on the freelancer's bid, rating, and specialty.

• Exchange of files between the customer and the freelancer. This includes a variety of media, reference materials, and the final product.

Functionality designed for freelancers:

• Order creation, i.e., an order’s lifecycle on the CRM. This includes developing forms for order details and organizing them into a single database.Application process. To become a freelancer, an applicant needs to demonstrate their skill level. Develux has developed and implemented this process into the platform. The procedure includes several steps, such as providing proof of academic degrees, experience, etc.

• Selection of orders based on the relevant talent and skills of the specialist. The system automatically sorts the order requests based on a freelancers rating, specialty, success rate, and other factors.

• The process of creating a bid for a specific job. In other words, this functionality allows pro to set a set price for a particular order.

• Performance work management system.

• Exchange of files between the freelancer and the customer. This is a two-way function.

Results

The first stage of the CRM project produced very positive results. Our team successfully designed and developed easy-to-use, customer, and freelancer modules. These essential features effectively handled complex, user-generated workflows. In addition to this powerful functionality, our team simplified the process for the end-user with intuitive UX/UI. With the help of Develux, our client is now the most popular and highest user-rated platform in the freelance industry.