Handy new tech tool connects customers to handyman services

Getting help for your household projects has never been easier thanks to a new web tool designed by a Halifax-based tech company. Handyconnect is a new digital tool connecting customers in need of a helping hand with local, verified service providers. It was launched in February, and the hope is it will not only help service providers find work but also help busy customers who often don’t have time to tend to household tasks, such as a leaky pipe, cleaning, installations, painting, or an overgrown garden. “We discovered that a lot of nine-to-five workers find that they are always busy and they can’t get things done and that could lead to undesirable consequences over time,” said Jide Adesalu, president of Microhills, the company that created Handyconnect. “When they realize the urgent need to fix the issue, they spend valuable time searching for help and oftentimes end up with service providers without a background check, proven performance and pay more money due to absence of cost comparison.” That’s an issue Adesalu and his team set out to solve with Handyconnect. When a customer is seeking a service, they can post their casual jobs on the Handyconnect web app for free. Then, customers will automatically be matched based on geolocation with service providers who would in turn provide proposals. Customers can select the best fit based on job history, skills, capabilities, cost, and reviews. Moreover, Handyconnect project managers are always available online to monitor and facilitate the process from end to end. “We had to design the whole system from scratch. The current MVP release of Handyconnect is a secured, fully tested, and working collaborative platform, which consists of user registration and authentication and an account management system. The online payment platform is integrated with the Moneris payment platform for added security and user data protection. It also includes a job browser, with a search engine and a job portal tool for posting, editing, canceling and awarding jobs,” said Adesalu, adding there’s also an integrated messaging system to facilitate effective communication among users and Handyconnect administration. Handyconnect takes data security seriously, hence the compliance with Canadian data privacy law and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) among others. Currently, Handyconnect is working with more than 30 service providers in Halifax Regional Municipality alone. The handy platform has been in the works since 2019 and is now the only web app of its kind locally developed and available in Atlantic Canada, said Adesalu. “I feel a sense of achievement and a sense of fulfillment. We want to add value to other people’s lives and to our society, and through this we’re able to make people’s lives easier and help Canadians live a better life,” he said. “We are really proud of where we are right now.” Handyconnect was recently featured at the 2023 Volta DemoCamp, an innovative technologies showcase for founders in Atlantic Canada. “We feel joy and we feel the excitement,” said Adesalu. “As long as there is a service to be provided, we will find a skilled individual or service provider to get it done.”