Changelog

Version 2.4.1: Requiring Accreditations

Jan 2024

Feature: Clients have the option to set mandatory accreditation requirements when listing a job. These jobs will be visible to all suppliers but will be locked to those that lack the required accreditation.
Feature: Users new 'Notification preferences' menu on the users dashboard. Here users can turn notifications on and off.
Feature: Automatic application of required accreditation: Safe Contractor for certain automated inbound job flows
Improvement: Workflow of invoicing has been improved and is faster than before
Improvement: Notification delivery has been increased to specific emails

‍

Version 2.4.0: Ratings and rejections‍

Dec 2023

Feature: Feedback and ratings feature added for both clients and suppliers. After a job is completed, clients are prompted to provide feedback on the job. Similarly, at the completion of a job, a supplier is prompted to provide feedback.
Feature: Confirmation screen added for clients where the can review job information alongside the invoice and subsequently approve or reject the completion request. Rejection requires a reason, which is forwarded to the supplier via the project chat. At this point, the job status is changed from "Pending" back to "Ongoing".
Feature: Users can set an out of office status to automatically reply to new messages/invites
Improvement: Inbox chats can now be filtered. Options include:
- Unread: all chats with messages that have not been seen by you set,
- Active: project chats related to incomplete jobs AND "general chats", which are chats direct to suppliers and not connected explicitly to a job.
- Incomplete Jobs: all project chats relating to jobs that are either ongoing or pending approval
- Archive: all project chats for completed / cancelled jobs or otherwise there the last message was a long time ago
Improvement: Renamed "Complete Job Option" to "Approve/Reject"
Improvement: Inbox loads faster
Improvement: General chats shown in the Inbox are now visually differentiable as they are denoted with a "#general".
Improvement: Invoice documentation processes streamlined to rely less on third parties resulting in a faster and more reliable processing of invoices.
Improvement: [ADMIN] Design updates the jobs and logs table

‍

Version 2.3.3-hotfix1

26 Oct 2023

Fix: mock data shown on proposal reply messages
Fix: in some cases, attached invoices were not shown in Project Chat

Version 2.3.3: Speeding up replies and conversations

Oct 2023

Feature: clients can now "quick reply" to a message send with a proposal
Feature: if a quick reply has been sent, it is indicated in the proposal row for clients. In this case, the client can click to open the conversation in the inbox
Feature: added user guide for suppliers (Settings > Support > User Guide)
Improvement: inbox conversation loading improved by up to 15x on large accounts and 2x on small accounts
Improvement: now when any job is cancelled, clients are required to provide a reason
Improvement: user logging shown in admin panel for internal users
Improvement: added pagination to log reports

Version 2.3.2: Empowered Proposals

Sept 2023

Feature: Suppliers can now add a message/cover letter to job proposals. In addition, they can attach a file directly to the proposal
Feature: Clients can view additional information (message & attachments) sent by supplier in proposals. This is seen their job detail page along with the price and supplier information.
Feature: when submitting a proposal, a suppliers can now enter the amount they would like to receive and the price to client is reverse calculated, taking into account taxes and fees

Mobile version:

Feature: Suppliers can now add a message/cover letter to job proposals. In addition, they can attach a file directly to the proposal
Feature: Clients can view additional information message/cover sent by supplier in proposals.
Feature: When submitting a proposal, a suppliers can now enter the amount they would like to receive and the price to client is reverse calculated, taking into account taxes and fees

Version 2.3.1: Auto-message and Offices

May 2023

Feature: Clients can now set an "Auto-message"; this is a message that is automatically sent to the supplier once they are accepted for a job. This is helpful for clients with general instructions and requirements for each job (for example, help numbers, how to sign off, etc). Clients can add both a text-based message and file attachments.
Feature: Businesses can now set "Office locations". This allows suppliers to list all locations they have engineers based in & helps better inform clients and assists in the targeting of jobs to suppliers based on location.
Feature: InstaENG app download links can be accessed from the settings page in "Download the app".
Improvement: when posting a job, a budget value is required. We have now added a "Requires estimation" for cases where budget is not yet known.
Improvement: improved searching for job listings page (find work)
Improvement: updated design for job detail page
Improvement: updated design for send a proposal dialog
Improvement: updated design for job listings (find work), specifically to become more responsive
Improvement: updated design for client onboarding pages, specifically to become more responsive
Improvement: added visibility on profile pages for both supplier and client about platform activity (when joined and when last active on the platform)
Improvement: updated design for supplier hiring consent screen
Fix: jobs summary table in the admin panel not showing correctly
Fix: Dashboard bug which kept a notification icon showing for an already archived job

‍

Version 2.3.0: The move to app.instaeng.com

Feb 2023

The characteristic trait of this version is not a feature or improvement, but an administrative point. We have moved all platform based urls from "instaeng.com/page" to "app.instaeng.com/page". Redirects have been setup so any bookmarking is uninterrupted and otherwise navigational experience remains the same. This was done to better optimise the platform for the mobile applications, and to better set us up for marketing objectives and future product plans.

Feature: Overhaul to the signup procedure where the user selects between Client/Supplier, and separation of sign up page from login page for clearer access
Feature: Suppliers now can add company specific details during the account onboarding (company type, company number). This is a required field.
Feature: automated company details checking & verification directly with Companies House.
Feature: Billing details: a new menu option allowing users to input payment details and company VAT number
Feature: if the user doesn't have up-to-date billing details, a pop-up message will be shown when the supplier clicks on “Send to approve”. This message re-directs the user to the settings page to edit the missing billing details.
Improvement: Job approval menu, login page, Signup page, Supplier type, Settings page left side menu, and the password reset page have had UI/UX improvements.

‍

Version 2.2.2: Dashboard, a visual update

Feb 2023

Feature: button on dashboard to easily filter jobs that require action
Feature: Job activity section now has a timeline and stats relating to jobs
Feature: Once a job is completed, the job’s post and completion dates are shown
Feature: New alert box added to the right side of each proposed jobs
Feature: The alert box now shows the amount of unread and read messages
Feature: When hovering over a job without notifications, the whole row will be highlighted blue
Feature: When hovering over a job that has a notification, the whole row will be highlighted red
Feature: Total price appears when the total price is different from the accepted proposal price
Feature: Newly designed section: Offers which allows users to attach and see attachments of proposals.
Improvement: redesigned left-hand menu including new section division
Improvement: redesigned job status button
Improvement: redesigned jobs dashboard table
Improvement: added columns to jobs dashboard table & made all sortable
Improvement: new search box implementation with improved search facility (by title, reference, or supplier)
Improvement: Project chat button has been moved to the top right corner
Improvement: Re-designed Job references, Job titles, and Sections (now collapsible)
Improvement: Suppliers can sort their proposals by dates and prices
Improvement: Updated the design of Job Post details
Improvement: Project files now have a count on the title
Improvement: Offer and Payment sections now show file and dates for updated invoices
Improvement: Improvement: If the accepted price is differentfrom the total price it will now be flagged up
Improvement: Implemented an Options button,
Improvement: Edit Project button changed to Edit Job button and moved to Options menu
Improvement: Cancel Project button changed to Cancel job and moved to Options menu
Improvement: Invite button changed to Invite supplier and moved to Options menu
Improvement: Complete project button renamed to Complete job and moved to Options menu
Improvement: Send to approve button now located in Options menu

Version 2.2.1: Workflow improvements

Feb 2023

Fix: added welcome page for un-approved accounts
Fix: the plus menu in the chat not opening after an attachment was sent is fixed
Fix: notification indicator on the Inbox label in the nav bar would not show if an attachment was send. This is fixed
Fix: When an attachment is sent, the last message shown on the inbox was not updated.
Improvement: made all settings pages responsive (Info Overview, User Settings, Services provided, Equipment Supported, Technology, Region, Blocklist, My team, Job archive, Documentation)
Improvement: reduced lag on phone number input field and improved validation
Improvement: hide left menu on small screens and show options in hamburger menu instead
Improvement: removed tabs on the project chat. Now all attachments and invoice are shown on the same page.
Improvement: added horizontal scroll for attachments in the project chat if there are to many to show
Feature: notifications older than 4 months and clicked = yes will move to the low-access archive database.
Feature: notifications that are removed will move to the low-access archive database.

‍

Version 2.2.0: Revamped App & Inbox

Jan 2023

‍

Milestone: Revamped mobile app

Feature: added push notifications (New Project Message, New General Message, New Job Invite, New Proposal, Proposal Accepted, Proposal Declined, Job Completed, Additional scope requested, Additional scope accepted, Additional scope rejected, Cancelation request requested , Cancelation request accepted, Cancelation request rejected)
Feature: redesigned Inbox
Feature: Inbox new unread indicator
Feature: project state shown directly in the chat page
Feature: chat messages now show unread indicator
Feature: the date is only shown for notification older than a day. For notifications sent today, the time is shown
Feature: added read indicator for alerts (Alerts == Notifications on desktop)
Feature: added profile tabs for business profile (user profile, documentation, support)
Improvement: updated design on bottom menu
Improvement: updated design on Profile
Improvement: updated design on Find Jobs
Improvement: updated design on Alerts (Alerts == Notifications on desktop)
Improvement: updated design on My Jobs
Improvement: updated design on Login Screen
Improvement: updated design and functionality of Splash screen
Improvement: updated bottom menu icons
Improvement: updated unread indicator on My Jobs
Improvement: updated unread message count on My Jobs
Improvement: updated error copy when login failed
Improvement: made button text non selectable

Milestone feature: New Inbox

Feature: all project chats and general chats are shown in Inbox
Feature: completely redesigned chat elements
Feature: redesigned input area
Feature: added notification indicator to inbox tab in menu
Feature: chat selector (left) shows the last message in the chat
Feature: chat selector (left) shows the status of the project
Feature: chat selector (left) shows a notification indicator (if the last message is unread)
Feature: added a "Utility Cupboard" to the chat, showing quick access information related to the chat and the project. This includes: attachments, invoices, job information, supplier/client information and more depending on the state of the chat and project.
Feature: "Re-upload" invoice feature added to Inbox. Suppliers can use this if a mistake bas been made on an invoice.
Feature: A client has the ability to complete the project directly from the chat window.
Feature: A client has the ability to send a cancellation request directly from the chat window.
Feature: if a chat is a "general chat" (no project associate to it), the Utility Cupboard describes this.
Improvement: when the page is refreshed the selected conversation remains
Improvement: message input area grows if the message typed is long

Milestone: Updated project chat

Feature: completely redesigned chat elements
Feature: tab system between Chat, Attachments and Invoice, each with existing related functions (e.g. upload attachment or re-upload invoice)
Feature: redesigned input area
Feature: read and sent indicators
Feature: new menu for actions: added scope, attachment upload, send to approve
Improvement: message input area grows if the message typed is long
Improvement: updated design for actions dialogs (added scope, cancellation request, upload invoice, re-upload invoice)
Improvement: workflows surrounding the "Re-upload" invoice feature improved
Improvement: removed added scope button for clients (it was never clickable)
Fix: all choice objects in the chat (e.g. accept/reject added scope) are made inactive if the job reaches a finished state (completed OR cancelled)

Milestone feature: Notifications updated

Feature: all notifications now have a colour state so it is easy to see what needs attention at a glance. If the notification is unclicked, it is shown in colour: green for positive and orange for negative. When a notification is clicked, it is turned grey to show it has been acted on.
Feature: removed chat message notifications (as these are now in the Inbox)
Feature: action dialogs (added scope, cancellation request, upload invoice, re-upload invoice) now all trigger push notifications, desktop alerts and are added to the affected users notification list.
Improvement: each notification now has a unique icon for easy recognition
Improvement: updated copy for all notifications and linked to dynamic data (e.g. job name, user name)
Improvement: the date is only shown for notification older than a day. For notifications sent today, the time is shown
Improvement: added go-to actions for all notifications - taking the user to the appropriate page.

Other improvements

Feature: redesigned supplier profile page
Feature: added Marker.io "send feedback" button
Improvement: report page now full width to include more information on a single page
Improvement: previously, added scope modified the proposal price. Now they are kept separate, the original proposal price is immutable and added scope can be seen in a different field along with the total price.
Improvement: new unread indicator for jobs (shown on job category and on individual job items in the table)
Improvement: when the My Jobs page is refreshed, the selected menu stays the same
Fix: when a proposal is accepted, any other proposals to the same job are now automatically rejected. Notifications are sent out to related suppliers.
Fix: bug stopping suppliers from completing the onboarding is resolved ("?step=")

‍

Version 2.1.3: Update of updates

Oct 2022

There were no "big" additions this update, instead we focussed on smaller improvements that improve the day-to-day usage of the platform.

Feature: Project chat read receipts
Feature: Notification sent to Client when bid by date reached
Feature: Proposal information is now always visible
Feature: Suppliers now get notifications when their proposal is declined
Feature: Cancellation dialog: when cancelling, a reason is now required
Improvement: Document update notifications
Improvement: Document expiry notifications
Improvement: Supplier profile page rebuilt with responsiveness in mind
Improvement: Find Suppliers page rebuilt with responsiveness in mind
Improvement: Navbar rebuilt with responsiveness in mind
Improvement: Navbar (text environment) rebuilt with responsiveness in mind
Improvement: account menu improved with navigation
Improvement: removed the ability to add additional scope when the job is complete.
Improvement: optimised database field usage to improve speed
Improvement: changed copy shown on some dialogs (e.g. hire supplier)
Improvement: updated button styling to be more consistant (e.g. reduced saturation on offer declined button)
Improvement: removed edit and cancel project buttons when the join is ongoing (though these were there previously, they were not clickable)
Bugfix: auto-cancelled jobs were not cancelled if before feature was implemented
Bugfix: if a user is removed from a team, they could not be readded ("This user is already a member of a team")
Bugfix: readded users now showing up in the team section of the settings
Bugfix: supplier documentation notifications
Bugfix: jobs not showing in archive if the user has less than 200 jobs
Bugfix: after uploading a file, the filename does not change to the new one

‍

Version 2.1.2: Auto-archive & Blocklist

July 2022

Milestone Feature: Auto-archive

Feature: Users now have access to a Jobs Archive in their Settings page. From here, they can see a list of old completed and cancelled jobs.
Feature: Users can search their archive by job title or order reference
Improvement: The table used in the archive is now updated for better searchability and sorting.
Improvement: The completed folder in the dashboard now only holds the 200 most recent jobs. Users who have had over 200 can expect significant speed improvements

Milestone Feature: Blocklist

Feature: Users are now able to add other users to a Blocklist. This is accessible via the Settings.
Feature: The Blocklist stops the user from seeing selected users on the platform. Exceptions exist in the case of past or existing jobs. For example, a client / engineer will be able to see a blocked engineer / client when looking at a job completed by them in the past.
Feature: Users can remove other users from their blocklist via a removal button in the Settings
Feature: If a client has blocked a supplier and posts a job with auto-invitation turned on, blocked users will not get an invite

Other improvements

Feature: Clients sent a notification when a new engineer is approved
Feature: Clients can be notified when an engineer updates their documentation (opt in / out)
Feature: Bid-by date. In the posting a job flow, a client can now specify a "bid-by date". This is shown to engineers in the job detail page.
Improvement: The job allocation algorithm now takes into account whether or not an engineer has uploaded a safe contractor document. Engineers who have are now more likely to receive job invitations.
Improvement: Improved internal automation for sign ups
Improvement: Admin users can now select a permission level when inviting a user (admin, member)
Improvement: When jobs sent via the SMART app integration are labelled so to not use the auto-invite feature, they are also set to invite-only
Improvement: Job detail screen updated so that key information is more easily readable
Improvement: Dashboard search improved
Improvement: Changed order of Settings menu & renamed sections
Improvement: Copy updated for various email notifications to clients, engineers and internal team
Fix: All admin users can now add a user to their team, stopping the issue some users faced that meant that the invitation dialog did not open
Fix: Fixed a workflow interruption that meant that sometimes auto-invites were not sent out
Fix: Fixed a workflow interruption that meant that sometimes auto-cancellations were not sent out (in the event that an engineer does not reply to a client).

Version 2.1.1: Apple App & Client Reports

April 2022

Milestone Feature: Apple App

The InstaENG app is available on iOS! 🍏🚀
Improvement: The Android app has been restructured to provide a better user experience
Fix: Mobile Project chat scroll improved

Milestone Feature: Client Reports

Feature: Clients of InstaENG are now able to see reports by clicking the “Reports” button in the top navigation menu.
Feature: The Overview Report shows a high level view of jobs and hired suppliers over time and split by region.
Feature: The Transactions Report shows a list of all completed jobs with names, suppliers, budget and actual spend along with a link to the invoice

Other improvements

Feature: Job Cancellation Procedure. Now, after a cancellation is sent by a client, if there is no response from the supplier within 12 hours, the supplier recieves a secondary notification (after the original one they recieved at the point of cancellation). If another 12 hours passes (so 24 hours from the time of cancellation) without a response from the supplier, the cancellation request is automatically accepted.
Feature: Auto-invite suppression support for SMART app integration
Improvement: Integration of new auto-invite algorithm taking into account more than just the location.
Improvement: When supplier accreditations are missing, we now show an improved placeholder describing so.
Improvement: Users can update profile images directly from settings
Improvement: Add country indicator for mobile number in Supplier sign up
Improvement: Add country indicator for mobile number in Business Settings editor
Feature: [Admin dashboard] Ability to export data to csv
Fix: All profile images are now centred and are not cropped so that the entire image is visible
Fix: Project chat & Inbox chat scrolling direction is as expected on desktop (and not reversed, like on mobile)
Fix: New chat messages appear at bottom without additional scroll needed
Fix: suppliers can now no longer submit the same job offer to the same job

Version 2.1.0: Supplier Documentation

Feb 2022

Milestone Feature: Supplier Documentation

Supplier onboarding includes a new page: "Documentation"
Suppliers can view, add and update their documentation in a new "Documentation" section, accessible in their settings.
Supplier profiles now has a documentation section including Insurance and Health and Safety & the ability to view these documents.
The accreditations within supplier profiles now include links to their uploaded documents.
Instead of files, document links can be provided. Solves cases where policies exist on the web.
Admins can now view & update supplier documentation

More improvements

Feature: Supplier profiles only show documentation to users logged in as clients and not to other suppliers or unauthenticated users.
Feature (beta): Reporting dashboard linked to client data accessible via the "Reports" menu button. This is currently being trialled with a small number of clients whilst we refine the experience.
Feature: Jobs Archive. The "Cancelled Jobs" folder has been removed from the dashboard. Jobs that are cancelled are now found in the Settings page, under "Jobs Archive"
Fix: Admin profile now includes all onboarding data
Fix: A bug fixed where in some cases not all team members were shown in the Team section.
Fix: email notifications are no longer sent for users whilst in the test environment
Fix: Dashboard name no includes “v2”
Improvement: The offers dropdown in the job detail page is better described when empty
Improvement: dashboard initial loading time reduced by loading less information per object
Improvement: add close button to inbox

Version 2.0.0

Dec 2021

Added support for organisations.

Version 1.0

InstaENG has been released!

‍