Now we have a gig economy where many people are holding down several jobs at once. The whole concept of a 40-hour week makes people under 30 laugh. — Katrina Onstad, Canadian journalist.
You can find apps like TaskRabbit, Freelancer, Thumbtack, and many apps that encourage self-employment, allowing people to find the job they are good at doing. With the similar concept, a service marketplace platform is rising from Singapore is iTask, which is growing like a wildfire. I bet, after understanding its business model, you will be more competent to start your service marketplace app development.
So, iTask App is a gig-economy marketplace app that has revolutionized the way people work and earn money. This new-age business model of short-term job opportunities (called “microjobs”) is an excellent way to give anyone with a smartphone and internet connection an opportunity to earn income, take care of their families, or even start their own businesses.
Speaking of iTask, the company aims at streamlining the way people engage services in daily life. But more importantly, it empowers local service providers to monetize the potential of their skills. Put it simply, iTask lets people get their chores done by hiring the right people. It creates opportunities for people to earn extra with their skills. This brings us to the below question:
Why make an app like iTask?
Well, it’s well known that freelancer services are growing fast these days, and that this is an up-and-coming service industry. As opposed to a regular business, freelancer services are more loosely structured, more difficult to manage, and don’t necessarily have a central hub for their industry.
As a result, people who are providing freelancer services and the clients who need them both have a hard time getting what they need. The market is fragmented and poorly organized. This is where iTask comes in, a service marketplace and gig economy app. By using mobile technology, such B2C marketplace applications create a more efficient and profitable gig economy.
According to a research,
- Almost 40% of the US workforce now earns at least 40% of their total income through gig work.
- Over 75% of gig workers have made it clear that they wouldn’t leave their current freelance work for any full-time opportunity.
- 55% of the US gig workers also do have a secondary full-time employment.
Consequently, from TaskRabbit to Lyft and Uber, the gig economy marketplace is on a tear right now. Moreover, many people are involved in such marketplaces and many more are thinking of joining in. Given there are numerous freelance work opportunities available at present. So, if you’ve been wondering how to get into the gig economy, we’re here to show you how.
We will get you insights into iTask, Singapore-based popular gig economy apps and explain how it works. Hopefully, this can help you head start your journey of building a marketplace app.
So, to begin with,
What does the Business Model of iTask look like?
Sharing an economy-based marketplace platform, iTask’s business model is very different from TaskRabbit. The company comprises of two primary segments:
- iTask Service Marketplace:
In this segment, people with diverse skills register themselves and select their area of expertise. Next, they elaborate on their skill and wait for requesters to find them or respond to available task requests on the platform.
In contrast, the requesters, who want to get something done, will create requests that taskers can see and communicate with each other.
The app makes money through transaction fees on task completion when the requester pay to the tasker.
- iTask Delivery.
As the name suggests, here customers can get their parcel delivered through iTask drivers. All they need is to select the type of item, then enter Pick-up and Drop-off location and tap on “Book Delivery now.”
On the contrary, to earn extra in their convenient time, drivers can browse delivery requests available on the app, and accept the task they wish to fulfill.
For parcel delivery services, iTask charges from $5.9 to $54.9 depending on the distance and parcel weight.
After the business model, comes project requirements where you disease the functionality of the app. So, let’s dig into it.
Ideal features for iTask-like Service marketplace app development
Since there would be two types of target audience for gig economy-based online marketplace apps, you will need below features.
First, Common features:
- Registration and create profile
- Password reset
- Phone & email verification
- Notification
- Bank account details
- Review & ratings
Features for taskers
- Update skills
- Tasker verification
- Accept task request
- Negotiate price
- Choose time to work
- GPS for delivery address
- Collect feedback
- Payment receipt
Features for requesters
- Post a task request
- Communicate with taskers
- Track the task
- Reassign the task
- Task cancellation
- Enter pick-up and drop-off location
- Pay for tasks
- Leave review
USP feature of iTask
In addition to the above, iTask offers a special feature called Skillfit. It automatically matches the task with tasker skills and sends instant alerts so taskers get access to the task list.
However, to save time on job search with Skillfit, freelancers have to subscribe to this features. Its plans goes like:— 30-days Trial, $0.99 Monthly, and $9.99(Saving 1.98)Yearly.
How much does it cost to develop a service marketplace app like iTask?
Various influential factors are there that fluctuate the app development cost. So, let us go through the stages of service marketplace app development to understand and manage your budget structure.
Step 1: First and foremost, you will need a Business Analyst to create a Lean Canvas Model and Product Requirement Document. These are two fundamental documents that depict your business nature, purpose, and app specifications.
Step 2: Next stage is focusing on good app design. Depending on your audience preferences and app requirements, you need to create wireframes with your designer to map out user journey and visualize your app design.
Step 3: Then, select the tech stack for your service marketplace app development. It must consist of platform-specific programming language, frontend and backend technology, and technology for database, push notifications, maps integration, payment gateway, etc.
Step 4: After that, based on your chosen development method Native or Hybrid/Cross-platform, your developers will build your platform, aiming at the app performance that meets your end-users expectations.
Step 5: Finally, when the development and designing is achieved successfully, quality assurance will ensure the app is bug-free and ready for deployment.
Overall, it takes about 3 to 9 months to complete all the above 5 stages of app development.
- Business Analysis – 2 to 3 weeks
- UX/UI Design – 5 to 7 weeks
- Frontend Development 6 to 8 weeks
- Backend Development 6 to 8 weeks
- Testing and Deployment 2 to 3 weeks
The reason being, custom mobile app development cost varies depending on app features set, technology stack, development method, and developers hourly rate.
Speaking of app development hourly rate in different nations:
- US-based developers: $100 – $200/hour
- Eastern Europe-based developers: $100 – $180/hour
- India-based on-demand app developers: $20 – $40/hour
Putting it all together
You have made it this far. So, here is the bonus information specially for you. The cost to develop a service marketplace app like iTask will also differ depending on the app varieties. And we have deduced how the approximate cost varies as below:
For simple service marketplace apps, the cost goes upto $10,000;
With Primary database automotive apps may cost between $11,000 – $20,000;
Subtle functionality with multi-feature job marketplace apps cost around $30,000 – $50,000;
Lastly, sophisticated service marketplace apps can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000+, as per the quality and detail.
Contact Information