Thoughtworks supports hipages with all-in-one tradie platform

Online renovations marketplace provider hipages has enlisted the support of global technology consultancy Thoughtworks on a new app to help tradespeople manage and grow their businesses.

Global technology consultancy Thoughtworks has hooked up with Sydney-based platform provider hipages, which operates Australia and New Zealand’s largest online marketplaces for tradespeople along with workflow management SaaS (software-as-a-service) platform Tradiecore.

The partnership has seen the development of an app combining both offerings under the one umbrella.

Co-founded by former PwC senior auditor Roby Sharon-Zipser in 2004 as a means to connect homeowners and commercial customers with reputable tradespeople, hipages last year posted revenues of above $60 million, with some 35,000 industry members and more than 10 million job postings made to date. The company acquired Kiwi counterpart Builderscrack at the end of 2021.

According to hipages, its new platform will feature a range of functionalities designed to help tradies run their businesses efficiently and save time while providing further opportunities to increase revenue and retain customers, with tools to support materials sourcing, scheduling, payments and customer leads management among the inclusions along with self-service calls, texts and emails.

“One of our primary goals is to help more tradespeople win the right work and grow their business,” said Jeremy Burton, who was appointed hipages’ chief technology officer in July. “Our partnership with Thoughtworks delivers a one-stop, single source of truth for tradespeople. It equips them to manage and run their business and gives them the tools to deliver the best customer experiences.”

Of particular note was the development of a new payments solution to address the challenges tradespeople face in collecting payments from customers, commonly still via bank transfers, and so then managing cash flow, with the new Stripe-based system delivered in just three months. Further features are set to be added in the future, including around finance, insurance, education and advice.

“The next phase of our partnership with hipages cements our collective purpose of using technology to transform the way our customers do business,” commented Thoughtworks A/NZ managing director Karin Verloop. “The one-stop platform is an exciting milestone hipages and one we believe truly highlights the company’s vision to become a true partner for tradespeople.”

Incidentally, both Thoughtworks and hipages have been lauded as among Australia’s best workplaces. The latter has placed in the top three of the WRK+ ‘Best Places to Work’ study for the past three years, while Thoughtworks, which has a 400-plus local headcount across Australia, has achieved six podium finishes in the ‘Top Graduate Employers’ rankings since 2013, and is also recognised as a top employer for women.