When people look at a marketplace app, they usually only think about the customer screen. But a two-sided platform with real money in escrow cannot survive launch day without two things: real-time coordination while the job is happening, and an internal admin portal that gives operations staff total visibility when something goes wrong.
Real-Time WebSockets: Live Chat & En-Route GPS Tracking
Once a job is funded in escrow, communication moves fast. Customers need to send gate codes, photos of the faulty breaker box, or voice notes explaining directions. Artisans need to broadcast their live location as they travel.
- Live In-App Chat: Built the real-time messaging interface with date-grouped dividers, job status banners, image attachments, voice note playback bubbles, and interactive location cards.
- Live Artisan GPS Tracking: Wired WebSocket location feeds into the customer's job screen so when an artisan taps 'I am on my way' (status: 'en_route'), the map renders a live route line and updated arrival estimate.
The Platform Admin Portal (/admin)
On the operations side, I rebuilt the /admin portal so platform managers aren't flying blind or querying raw database tables to answer basic business questions.
- Live Platform Metrics: Real-time top-level counters for Total Users, Pending Artisan Verifications, Active Jobs in progress, and Open Disputes requiring intervention.
- Artisan Subscriptions & Plans: A dedicated management view tracking subscription tiers, renewal dates, and active/expired plan counts.
- Financial & Escrow Ledger Overview: High-level visibility into total funds currently locked in Caste Escrow, gross transaction volume, wallet payouts, and frozen dispute queues.
By connecting the customer booking flow, artisan mobile workflow, and admin dispute portal around the same source of truth, the platform doesn't just look good in a demo—it can actually be operated by a real team in production.