1st Choice Insulations

About 1st Choice Insulations

1st Choice Insulations is a comprehensive business management platform designed specifically for the UK insulation industry. This sophisticated web application serves as the central hub for managing all aspects of an insulation business, from initial customer enquiries through to job completion and invoicing. The system handles complex workflows including customer relationship management, job scheduling, surveyor coordination, installation tracking, budget management, and regulatory compliance reporting.

The platform consists of two primary interfaces: an administrative portal for internal staff operations and a customer portal for client interaction and transparency. The admin system manages the complete business lifecycle including lead generation, survey scheduling, quote generation, job management, team coordination, and financial reporting. The customer portal provides clients with real-time visibility into their projects, budget tracking, document access, and direct communication channels with the company.

Built with modern web technologies and following enterprise-grade architectural patterns, the system supports multi-team operations, complex permission structures, automated workflow management, and comprehensive audit trails. The platform integrates with external services for SMS communications, document generation, and mobile surveyor applications, creating a seamless end-to-end business management solution that scales with growing operational demands.

My Role

This project had been inherited by Netmatters, with decent documentation and tests. The previous developer had followed good coding standards.

As the Technical Backup Full-Stack Developer on this project, I had been responsible for maintaining and enhancing the existing codebase to ensure smooth operational efficiency. My responsibilities encompassed the complete software development lifecycle, from initial system design through deployment and ongoing maintenance. My responsibilities included:

• Laravel and PHP upgrade - Laravel 5.8 to Laravel 10, PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.2
• KPI Tracking - Designed and implemented KPI tracking systems, automated reporting dashboards, and financial analytics tools for management decision-making
• Dashboard Speed Improvements - Implemented caching strategies, database query optimization, and deferred loading techniques to significantly improve dashboard load times
• Automated SMS Reminders - Built automated SMS reminder systems for surveyors and customers using Twilio API integration, with complex conditional logic for tailored messaging and customized content based on scenarios
• Testing & Quality Assurance - Established comprehensive testing suites including PHPUnit unit tests, Laravel Dusk browser tests, and feature tests covering critical business workflows
• Job Letter Templates - Created dynamic job letter templates with conditional content using the TipTap editor, allowing for customized messaging based on job status and requirements
• GeoTagging Image Uploads - Developed geotagging functionality for image uploads, extracting GPS coordinates from images and associating them with job locations for improved data accuracy
• Survey History Status - Implemented survey history tracking with status updates and notifications, ensuring transparency and accountability in the survey process

Technologies I worked with

• PHP / Laravel / Composer
• Vue.js
• MySQL / Redis / Predis / SQLite
• Laravel Mix / Webpack / Sass / SCSS
• Docker / Docker Compose / Nginx
• PHPUnit / Laravel Dusk
• JWT Authentication / Google2FA
• mPDF / DomPDF /Maatwebsite Excel
• Twilio SMS / Laravel Mail / Broadcasting / Queue Management
• Bootstrap / Chart.js
• TipTap Editor
• Axios / jQuery / Lodash / Moment.js
• Laravel Pint / PHP CodeSniffer / Rector
• Bitbucket / Bitbucket Pipelines
• Node.js / NPM / Cross-env
• Laravel Clockwork
• QR Code Generation / Revisionable
• Beanstalkd / Laravel Tinker
• Mailtrap / Mailgun