Refero — Changelog
What's new in Refero, the service marketplace.
[2026-07-04]
- Approve new agents before they can work. A new "Approve new agents first" toggle (Settings → Portal & sign-ups) makes self-signed-up agents land as Pending — they see an "awaiting approval" notice, can't sign in yet, and appear under Agents to approve on your Home screen until you approve them from the Agents list. Off by default, so nothing changes unless you turn it on.
[2026-07-03]
- In-app tutorials. Six short, step-by-step guides — from your first vendor to agent payouts and share links — now open right inside the app.
- Promotional kit. A sales proposal plus ready-to-send email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and SMS copy for anyone sharing Refero.
[2026-06-19]
- Refero is now a multi-vendor marketplace. Add as many service vendors (dry cleaners, AC techs, plumbers…) as you like, set the areas you cover, and pick the preferred vendor for each area.
- Two ways to book, both routed automatically. A vendor's own link books straight to them (their services preselected). An agent's link lets the customer pick their area, and the job routes to that area's preferred vendor. No more racing to claim — each job goes to one vendor, who gets a flashing "new job" alert.
- Payments run themselves. When a vendor finishes and enters what the customer paid, Refero shows the fee breakdown, charges the vendor's card on file for the agent commission + your cut + the platform fee, and transfers the agent's commission to their bank — all automatic. No card on file? It falls back to a manual settlement that shows you the agent's bank details.
- Your own cut. Set your commission on top of the platform fee; it's collected on every paid job.
- Vendors keep a card on file (added once via Paystack) and get their own dashboard: jobs, "enter amount → see fees → charge", and account.
- Agents can be platform-wide (route by area) or tied to a specific vendor; new sign-ups can need your approval.
- Customers still see exactly what they were charged and can gently flag a wrong figure — which alerts the agent and you.
- Rebuilt mobile-native throughout — the admin back-office too — in the simple, big-button amber style.
Internal
- Replaced the single-company "providers claim referrals" model with vendors + area routing. New tables: vendors, areas, vendor_areas, vendor_services, affiliate_links; reworked orders (booking→job→payment in one record). Added Paystack
charge_authorization (saved-card charge), card capture, balance check and a signed webhook. Platform meter unchanged (25% of each paid job).
[2026-06-18]
- Refero launches. Run your own agents and providers in one app: agents share a personal link and bring you referrals, providers grab a job the moment it lands, do the work, collect the money, and everyone gets paid — agents on commission, freelance providers on a cut, straight to a wallet you pay out with one tap.
- Refer a customer form — a clean, big-button public page anyone can fill in (or an agent can fill on a customer's behalf). Built for everyone: bold icons, large taps, one clear "Send request" button. A customer who comes through an agent's link is theirs forever.
- Real-time claim alerts — the instant a referral lands, every provider's phone flashes an amber banner with a siren and a big "GRAB IT" button. First to grab it wins; latecomers get a gentle "already claimed by …" message. Add-to-home-screen providers also get a background push even with the app closed.
- Free-form pricing — the provider who grabs a job prices it however they like in front of the customer: add items, set any price, give per-item or whole-order discounts. No fixed price lists.
- One-tap "collect & mark paid" — when the money is in hand, the provider marks it paid; the agent's commission and the freelance provider's cut drop into their wallets, the company's share is recorded, and the order is locked.
- Internal vs external providers — salaried staff are tracked (no per-job pay), freelancers earn a set cut per job with their own wallet and bank payouts.
- Customer portal — customers sign in to see their orders and exactly what they were charged, with a quiet "this figure doesn't look right" flag that alerts the agent and the company — a gentle check against under-reporting.
- Payouts — pay any agent or external provider by Paystack transfer, run a weekly sweep (with an optional holding period), or record a cash payout offline.
- Agent & provider dashboards, services catalog, reports, activity log and settings — all rebuilt for the referral → order flow, in a warm amber theme, installable as a phone app (PWA).