Module
Bookings overview
Every booking across both sites, filterable by status, site, date and collection type.
Eastbourne · UK
/ Case study / Client workTwo sites, one portal — booking that runs itself.
Hobbs Recovery Services came to us to replace a COVID-era booking form with a purpose-built two-site collection platform. A mobile-first Progressive Web App for their customers, a full admin workflow for their team, single sign-on for staff login — self-hosted on their own server so the data, the database and the infrastructure stay exactly where they were.
01/ The challenge
A COVID-era booking form holding back a growing business.
The original site had done its job during lockdown. By the time HRS engaged us, it was actively costing the team time every day — and the limitations weren't the sort you work around with a plugin.
A system that wasn't built for the job.
The original site was a basic web form with limited logic, no real admin interface and no capacity to handle a two-site operation.
High call volume.
Despite having a website, staff were still spending a large part of their day fielding enquiries, confirming slots and chasing missing documents — none of which the old site could automate.
No centralised record.
Bookings were hard to track centrally. Double-bookings crept in, and nobody had a clean picture of the day's operations across both sites.
Inconsistent customer communication.
Customers got different information depending on who they spoke to. Missed appointments and complaints followed.
Two sites treated as one.
Polegate and Copthorne run independently — different hours, different capacity — but the old system treated them identically.
Document handling on the day.
Customers had to bring a seizure notice, driving licence and logbook to collect. Without upload in advance, missing paperwork only surfaced once they'd turned up.
02/ Customer booking journey
Six steps. Any device. No account.
A clean, step-by-step booking form delivered as a Progressive Web App — installable on any phone without going through an app store, optimised for the constrained mobile contexts most customers arrive from.
- Site selection — Polegate or Copthorne, each with distinct branding and availability.
- Collection type — vehicle collection or personal items retrieval.
- Details capture — contact information, vehicle registration, insurance details.
- Document upload — photograph and upload seizure notice, driving licence and logbook straight from the phone.
- Slot selection — a real-time calendar showing only genuinely available slots, respecting capacity and staff-blocked dates.
- Confirmation — an instant email with booking reference and the ability to cancel or request a reschedule.
Mobile-first, with large touch targets, clear progress indicators and no account creation required. The journey ends in a calendar-friendly confirmation email with the booking reference and a link to cancel or reschedule.
03/ Admin dashboard
Everything the team needs to run both sites from one screen.
A secure admin portal at a separate URL. Staff log in with single sign-on or email-and-password and see every booking across Polegate and Copthorne, with the tooling to approve, reject, reschedule and audit in one coherent place.
Module
Approval workflow
New bookings arrive pending. Staff review details and uploaded documents, then approve or reject via one-click email links — no portal login needed to action.
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Rescheduling
Staff move a booking to a different slot; the customer gets an automatic notification with the new details.
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Slot management
Block individual time slots or full days at either site, with an optional reason — for staff absences, closures or training days.
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Document viewer
Uploaded customer documents open directly inside the booking record. No re-downloading, no email attachments.
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Activity log
A full audit trail of every admin action — for compliance, dispute resolution and training.
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Site settings
Opening hours, booking windows and per-slot capacity are configurable per site. No code changes to adjust.
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Role-based access
Admin, Staff and View Only roles — read-only access for management oversight without handing out write permissions.
04/ Authentication & notifications
Two logins, one user model — and every booking event emits an email.
Customers never see a login. Staff get the choice of a one-click single sign-on or traditional email-and-password with a proper reset flow and temporary credentials for new joiners. Every step of the booking lifecycle emits a templated email sent from the company's own domain.
/ Sign-in
Single sign-on + local accounts, side by side.
- Single sign-on for staff via their existing identity provider.
- Email-and-password with a secure reset flow.
- Temporary passwords for first-time sign-ins.
- Three permission levels — Admin, Staff, View Only.
/ Email lifecycle
Every event, an email — sent from HRS's own domain.
- Customer booking confirmation with calendar details.
- Approval notification with appointment reminder.
- Rejection with reason, rescheduling and cancellation.
- Sent from the company's own domain for deliverability.
05/ What changed
Fewer calls, cleaner days, one picture of both sites.
24/7 self-service booking.
Customers book when it suits them, without needing to call during business hours. The phone stops being the default channel.
Staff out of the booking admin.
Confirmation, reminders and rescheduling are automated. The team stops working the inbox and starts working the yard.
No more double-bookings.
Capacity limits are enforced in real time, per site, per slot. The system won't let it happen.
Documents in before the visit.
Customers are prompted to upload required paperwork at the time of booking, cutting failed appointments to a trickle.
One operational picture.
Management sees every booking across both sites at a glance — filter, search, status — no reconciling spreadsheets.
Single sign-on, no extra passwords.
Existing staff accounts work immediately for admin access. No separate credentials to manage, no new password policy to enforce.
/ Related capabilities
The shape that made this build possible.
Three things came together on this one — a purpose-built application, the integrations that quietly connect it to everything else, and the engagement model that keeps it running afterwards.
/ Capability
Bespoke software
Mobile-first apps, internal tools and the operational software your team actually uses.
Explore / CapabilityAPI integration
The systems-talking-to-systems layer — single sign-on, email, storage, the bits that turn an app into an operating tool.
Explore / How we workOur approach
The engagement model, accreditations and trust framing the case study leans on.
Explore/ Start a conversation
Thinking about something similar?
Two sites, three sites, one team, a spreadsheet full of bookings somebody's frightened to touch — if the shape sounds familiar, we'd rather have an honest conversation about fit than send you a deck.