A two-sided marketplace connecting skilled sole traders with the customers who need them. We designed and built it end to end: worker signup, a live booking calendar, escrow payments, verified reviews and a sole trader tax wizard, across web, iOS and Android.
A job described, matched, booked and paid for, with the money held until it is done.
Simple enough from the customer side: describe the job, pick someone, pay. The complicated part sits underneath, holding the money safely until the work is signed off. That is the bit that had to be built.
Old Hands is the clearest example of the bespoke side of what Veris Labs does. Almost none of it could have been bought off the shelf: escrow payments that release only when a job is finished, a booking calendar that two sides rely on at once, and a tax setup wizard for people going self-employed for the first time.
The pages below are the original product brochure, kept as it was. If you are weighing up a build of your own, it is a fair picture of the scope and the moving parts involved. Where a problem is common enough, we productise it, as with Veris Growth. This is what happens when a problem is specific to one business.
Worker signup
Trade or skill
Transaction fee
iOS & Android
The essentials to run a solo trade business, at no upfront cost.
Workers set their availability and customers book directly from open slots, with no back-and-forth needed.
A public-facing profile page with photo, skills, location, services, pricing and a verified review score.
Customers pay upfront at booking. Funds are held in escrow and released to the worker once the job is complete.
Only paying customers can leave reviews. Star ratings plus written feedback build each worker's public reputation.
Customers search by trade, location and availability. Workers are ranked by rating and proximity.
A full website platform plus iOS & Android apps for booking, calendar management and job tracking on the go.
Step-by-step guidance for new sole traders, so getting set up legally and properly is painless:
One platform covers every trade, with no sector restrictions.
An automated mini-website in one click. Workers upgrade to a full sub-domain site under oldhandsapp.com, built automatically, with no tech skills needed.
Branded portals for businesses & agencies. Companies create their own branded version of Old Hands, with a managed pool of workers underneath.
A simple, transparent model: the platform earns only when workers earn.
| Account type | Who it's for | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Solo Worker (Free) | Individual sole trader, free signup | 8-10% |
| Solo Worker (Premium) | Worker with website builder upsell | 5-7% |
| Company Portal Worker | Workers under a company portal account | 3-5% |
Case study · a Veris Labs build
Old Hands started as one problem nobody had packaged. If that sounds like something in your business, tell us what it is. If it is marketing that is eating your week, Veris Growth may already cover it.
