Solution
A marketplace built around one rule: zero phone calls
We packed the whole ordering process into a three-step wizard: service type, provider selection, service address. It looks simple, yet underneath runs the most complex part of the platform: a dynamic form that adds data dependent on previous choices at every step. This logic turned out to be the hardest part of the entire build.
Step one: a service matched to the tank, not to a price list
The customer picks a municipality and a town, then the type of service. The platform was designed from day one to go beyond septic services alone, which is why the wizard already shows further waste categories ready to be switched on: electronics, rubble, bulky waste and scrap metal.
The wizard leads from location to service. Septic pickups are live, further waste categories await activation.
Next, the customer describes their tank: type and capacity. This information is key, because all pricing in Tidly is based on tank size rather than on cubic metres of collected waste. The price for a 5 m³ tank already includes travel and the service itself, so the customer knows the full amount before ordering, with no surcharges and no surprises.
Tank type and capacity are set once. The summary on the right grows with every step of the wizard.
The price matrix: pricing the way companies really calculate it
The most important design decision of the marketplace concerned the pricing model. Instead of one flat rate per service, each company builds a matrix in the system: it adds the municipalities and towns it serves, and for every town it enters prices for specific tank sizes. This model mirrors how the industry really works, because the cost of a run depends above all on the distance between the town and the treatment station where the waste is delivered.
As a result, when the customer picks a town and a date, the calendar shows only the companies genuinely available on that day, with ready prices computed from the matrix. The decision is made on real offers, not guesswork. The system additionally highlights the best offer, and next to platform companies it also lists the other providers operating in the area.
Why this works commercially for both sides. The customer gets a comparison engine familiar from hotel booking. The company gets a sales channel where it sets the rates for its towns once, and the system sells its services at exactly the prices it chose, with no haggling over the phone.
Step three: an address with a map and details nobody has to ask about
In the final step the customer enters their details and the service address. Under the hood runs the Google Places API together with a map where the pin can be adjusted, so the driver arrives at the right gate without calling to ask for directions. This is also where the customer picks extra services, for example a longer hose when the tank sits far from the road.
The adjustable pin saves the driver from getting lost and the customer from a phone call about directions. The wizard shows sample data.
Checkout: discounts, guest accounts and three payment methods
The order summary gathers every decision in one view: the service, the date, the provider, extra services and details such as contactless collection through a Euro quick-coupling. A system of stackable discount codes is in place. An order can be placed without creating an account, because the first contact with the platform should not require registration. An account adds order history, saved addresses and provider ratings.
The summary with discount codes. Service details include contactless collection and the Euro coupling.
Cash, online payment or a traditional bank transfer. The order also goes through without an account.
Sensor-driven automation: the moment the platform clicked
The biggest breakthrough of the project came after integrating a liquid level sensor, a physical device installed in the tank that connects over Wi-Fi and exposes an open API (we used a sensor from mojdomek.eu). Tidly reads the actual fill level from it and shows it in the app, so nobody ever has to look under the manhole cover.
On this foundation we built full automation. The customer sets a threshold, for example 80 percent full, picks preferred days and a company selection rule: the cheapest offer or a preferred provider. When the sensor reports the threshold, the system places the order by itself and can charge the card automatically, while the customer only receives a notification that the service has been booked. If the tank has a Euro quick-coupling routed to the fence, the driver performs the collection contactlessly, without entering the property. The whole loop looks like this:
1. The sensor keeps watch around the clock
A wireless device inside the tank monitors the waste level continuously. When it reaches the set limit, for example 80 percent, the sensor sends a silent signal to the system. No peeking under the cover, no guessing.
2. The system places the order
You do not have to remember anything. When the signal arrives from the sensor, the system creates a job with the cheapest or your preferred provider. It happens in the background, with no phone calls and no effort on your side.
3. The driver taps and drives
The selected company receives a ready job on the phone. The driver accepts it with one tap, arrives and empties the tank. If you have a Euro coupling in the fence, you will not even notice the visit.
4. Payment and full compliance
The system automatically charges the connected card and sends the invoice to your e-mail. You get an empty tank and paperwork in order in case of a municipal inspection.
You never have to think about your septic tank again. This sentence became the axis of the whole product. A homeowner can literally forget the tank exists: the sensor watches the level, the system orders, the driver collects and the invoice lands in a digital archive.
The other side of the mirror: where the marketplace gets its data
The marketplace does not operate in a vacuum. Prices, calendars and job statuses come from the provider panel, where the company manages price lists, trucks and drivers, while drivers work on a mobile PWA with a job list and navigation. Both parts of the ecosystem were built in parallel with the marketplace, because they are connected vessels, and we cover them in a separate case study.
The platform's business model assumed a commission of 10 to 15 percent on completed services, paid only for successful jobs. In the test phase online payments were not yet connected, but the architecture was prepared for a Stripe gateway with automatic revenue splitting between the platform and the septic service company.
