Booking
Time-slot booking and the full order lifecycle.
Work
Case study 01 · Car care marketplace · Saudi Arabia
Ashal: a car-care booking marketplace in Saudi Arabia
A marketplace where car owners book paint protection, heat insulation, ceramic coating and polishing, and service centres get paid automatically, with commission and VAT handled by the system.
- Role
- Lead backend developer & system architect
- Dates
- 05/2026 – 09/2026
- Users
- Car owners · providers · branch managers · consultants · admin team
- Stack
- Laravel 12 · PostgreSQL · Redis · Next.js
1 · The problem
One platform, three sides, money that must split correctly.
Ashal needed one platform where customers book car care services, providers receive and complete orders, and the business takes its commission.
Payments had to split correctly between providers and the platform, including VAT and promo codes.
2 · My role and approach
I led it end to end, specification first.
Specification first
I wrote the requirements, the data model and the architecture rules before building, so scope and data were agreed up front.
OutputRequirements document · data modelClear boundaries
The system is split into five separate parts of the business, so each can change without breaking the others.
OutputArchitecture rulesMoney handled safely
Built so a payment can never be charged or paid out twice, even if a request is sent again.
OutputPayments flowDocumented and repeatable
The API documented in OpenAPI for the mobile teams, and every change shipped through Docker and GitLab CI/CD.
OutputOpenAPI · CI/CD
3 · Architecture
One system, five business areas, four kinds of app users.
Clients
- 4 mobile roles
- Next.js admin
API
- Laravel 12 modular monolith
- One API for every app and the admin
- Bilingual AR/EN
- OpenAPI
Business areas
- 5 separate business areas
Services
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- Payments: split payouts · VAT
- FCM push
- Reverb chat
Delivery
- Docker
- GitLab CI/CD
The payments flow carries the business: split payouts to providers, platform commission and VAT.
4 · What was delivered
Everything customers and providers use every day.
Payments
Split payouts, platform commission, VAT and promo codes.
Loyalty
Warranties, loyalty points and referral links.
Communication
Real-time chat (Laravel Reverb) and FCM push notifications.
Access
OTP login and a bilingual Arabic/English API.
Admin
A Next.js dashboard with permission-based access.
5 · Result
Delivered, from the first document to the system the apps run on.
I took Ashal from a written specification to a delivered system: four kinds of users and an admin team on one platform, with payments that split themselves.
Ashal's mobile team built the apps on this system.
Building a marketplace?
I've already solved the hard parts: roles, bookings and money that splits correctly. Let's scope yours.