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Case studyMarketplaces9 min read

FixKaro: a home services marketplace that plumbers and electricians actually liked working with

A home services startup connected households with plumbers, electricians and carpenters, but struggled with no-shows, pricing disputes and professionals leaving the platform. We built FixKaro: fixed-price service catalogues, smart job matching, a partner app in local languages with fast payouts, photo-based quotes for bigger jobs, and ratings that worked both ways.

20
Features shipped
3
Apps & platforms
6
Team members
18
Weeks to rollout
FixKaro customer booking and partner job app
FixKaro: fair prices for customers, fair work for professionals.
01

Losing the professionals who do the work

FixKaro's founders had customers, but kept losing professionals. Plumbers and electricians complained about unpaid travel for jobs that turned out bigger than described, payment delays and customers haggling at the door. Customers, in turn, complained about no-shows and surprise prices.

“A marketplace with happy customers and unhappy workers isn't a marketplace for long.”

— FixKaro's co-founder
02

Listening to both sides

We spent time with professionals on jobs and interviewed customers. Professionals wanted predictable pay, less travel between jobs, fast payouts and respect. Customers wanted clear prices, punctuality and quality. Most disputes came from jobs that were described badly at booking.

What each side needed
  • Customers: fixed prices and on-time arrival
  • Professionals: fair pay, fast payouts, less travel
  • Both: accurate job descriptions before arrival
  • Both: ratings that go both ways
Technicians in a workshop
Time on jobs with professionals shaped the partner app.
03

Fixed prices, honest scoping, fast pay

Common jobs have fixed prices; bigger jobs start with photos so professionals can quote before travelling. Matching considers distance, skills, rating and each professional's day, so they spend less time on the road. Professionals are paid daily to their bank account, and customers rate professionals while professionals rate customers.

04

The team

A two-sided product team with a data scientist for matching.

1
Engagement lead

Two-sided research and city launches.

1
Product designer

Customer and partner apps.

2
Mobile engineers

Customer and partner apps.

1
Full-stack engineer

Operations console and payments.

1
Data scientist

Matching and route-aware scheduling.

6 people in total, working as one team.

05

Decisions we made

Agreed with the founders and operations lead.

01

Quote on site or before?

  • Quote at the door
  • Fixed prices, photo quotes for bigger jobs

Our call: Fixed prices, photo quotes for bigger jobs. Knowing the price in advance ended haggling and wasted trips.

02

Weekly or daily payouts?

  • Weekly payouts
  • Daily payouts

Our call: Daily payouts. Daily pay was the single biggest reason professionals stayed.

03

One-way or two-way ratings?

  • Customers rate only
  • Both sides rate

Our call: Both sides rate. Respect for professionals improved behaviour on both sides.

06

Every feature, module by module

Everything that shipped for customers, professionals and operations.

Customers
Clear prices, on time.
  • 01Service catalogue

    Fixed prices for common jobs.

  • 02Photo quotes

    Bigger jobs quoted before travel.

  • 03Slot booking

    Choose a time window.

  • 04Live arrival tracking

    See when the professional arrives.

  • 05UPI payment

    Pay after the job.

  • 06Service warranty

    Rework if something goes wrong.

Professionals
Fair work, fast pay.
  • 07Partner app in local languages

    Marathi, Hindi and English.

  • 08Route-aware job offers

    Jobs that fit the day's route.

  • 09Daily payouts

    Earnings to bank every day.

  • 10Earnings dashboard

    Daily and weekly earnings.

  • 11Customer ratings

    Rate customers too.

Operations
Balancing the marketplace.
  • 12Matching engine

    Distance, skill, rating and schedule.

  • 13Partner onboarding

    Verification and skill checks.

  • 14Dispute resolution

    Photos and chat history.

  • 15Demand and supply view

    By area and hour.

Platform
Trust and safety.
  • 16Background verification

    Identity checks for professionals.

  • 17In-app chat

    Masked communication.

  • 18Marketplace analytics

    Fill rate, no-shows and ratings.

  • 19Role-based access

    Customers, partners and operations.

  • 20Audit trail

    Jobs, payments and disputes recorded.

FixKaro partner earnings and schedule
The partner app: today's jobs, earnings and daily payouts.
07

Launch

FixKaro relaunched in two cities with existing professionals invited first. Daily payouts and photo-quoted jobs brought professionals back, and customer ratings improved as no-shows fell.

  1. Weeks 1–3
    Discovery

    Time on jobs; customer interviews.

  2. Weeks 4–5
    Design

    Both apps and pricing model.

  3. Weeks 6–14
    Build

    Apps, matching, payouts and operations.

  4. Weeks 15–16
    Partner onboarding

    Existing professionals invited back.

  5. Weeks 17–18
    Two-city launch

    Relaunch in two cities.

08

What we learned

Take care of the supply side. Professionals' loyalty determined customer experience.

Scope before travel. Photo quotes ended most disputes.

Built with
  • React Native
  • Next.js
  • NestJS
  • PostgreSQL with PostGIS
  • Matching engine
  • UPI payments and daily payouts
  • WhatsApp Business API
  • AWS Mumbai
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