Launching a new SaaS Web Application using SvelteKit - MenuRSVP.com

MenuRSVP.com Launch

During the Christmas break of 2023, I started a new software product, MenuRSVP.com, based on a Software as a Service (SaaS) e-commerce model. It's for the event planning and catering industry. In this article, I'll provide details of its main features, the user experience, back-office administration and some insights into creating it.

MenuRSVP helps event organisers collect information from their guests about their attendance, menu choice (or not eating), allergies, dietary requirements and supplementary information, such as whether they want a seat on the mini-bus back to the hotel at the end of the evening.

It's a simple idea and will be very useful to anyone wanting to organise their event with considerably less hassle. Nonetheless, it still requires the full complement of SaaS features such as user management, security roles and permissions, performance, SEO, communications, e-commerce, reporting, database, and modern UI/UX, to name a few.

One of the best things about being a software developer is taking new software products to market based on an idea. I have worked on a dozen such projects in the last year using various leading-edge technologies. Part of it is staying current and keeping skills up to date, especially with AI, and part is working on something new that will get to see the day of light as an actual product.

Quick Plug: If you have an idea and want to develop it into a software product using a SaaS model or something similar, please contact my office at 01206-848428. I have a proven track record, all the necessary skills, and full software engineering lifecycle experience to create, design, and successfully deliver a software product for your business. I cater for both established businesses and startups. All our methods come from years of successfully delivering commercial software solutions for clients across many industries, from Banking to the NHS.

Benefits

Benefits fall into two areas. Firstly, MenuRSVP provides an elegant method to collect what people want to eat, their allergies, dietary requirements and supplementary information. Secondly, it helps event organisers quickly gather the necessary information, assisting with costings, food inventory, reducing wastage, good governance, and food safety.

Creating an Event

Using MenuRSVP.com, organising an event is a straightforward process, requiring you to provide just a few details to get started:

• the date of the event,
• its title and description,
• RSVP deadline,
• menu options,
• and supplementary questions.

Adding other features like a map and directions are already in the pipeline.

Add Menu Courses

Now that we have created an event, we can add one or more menus. We can offer various menu options, including meat/fish, vegetarian, and vegan. Each menu includes one or more food courses, such as different starters, main meals, and desserts. Alternatively, offering a simple menu with only a brief description without allowing the guests to choose from a set of menu courses is possible.

Event organisers can utilise MenuRSVP to manage a single event or multiple events, making it ideal for a wedding couple on a budget who is organising their guests' RSVP and menu options or for caterers and restaurants managing dozens or even thousands of events each year.

Guests Choose their Meal and RSVP

The process for guests is straightforward and consists of four simple steps. Firstly, they need to scan a QR code or visit a link containing a unique event code. After that, they provide their email address for guest confirmation. Then, they add the guests mentioned in their invitation and complete the menu options form for each guest. It takes just a few minutes, and the job is done.

Managing the Event

The event organiser has four main features to help them plan and manage their events efficiently. These are as follows:

1. Event Management: This feature allows event planners to create, manage, and customise their events. They can set the date, time, location, and other event details.
2. Guest Management: This feature enables event planners to manage attendees' information, such as their contact details, menu choices, dietary preferences, and supplementary information, such as who they would like to sit near or why they cannot attend the event. They can also send attendees invitations, reminders, and important information. Magic Links replace guest accounts, dramatically simplifying user management.
3. Menu Management: This feature helps event planners to create and manage the event menu. It facilitates both simple and complex menus, and very importantly, it collects information on dietary restrictions, allergies, and other preferences.
4. Notifications & Reports: This feature allows event planners to track their progress. They can receive real-time notifications about RSVPs, menu changes, and other essential updates. They can also generate reports for costings and catering planning.

With these administrative functions, event planners can easily organise their events and ensure a seamless experience for their attendees.

Core SaaS Features

Technologies in Play

I implemented the solution using Svelte/SvelteKit, Supabase, Firebase, Stripe, MailChimp, Twilio, SendGrid and various popular libraries, including Playright and Faker, for test-driven development. SvelteKit is perfect for creating performant web applications with fantastic SEO features. If I were to repeat the implementation, I would use Drizzle ORM and Shadcn/UI, which have been great to work with in other projects. This project started to host just one event and has now grown into a commercially viable product.

Roles and permissions

With SaaS solutions, user roles and permissions determine the access to content, features, and actions. MenuRSVP has four roles: public (anonymous), guest, event organiser, and back office administrator. These roles map to a set of permissions to constrain information and actions on the client, edge functions, e-commerce, database and communications such as email, push notifications and SMS.

E-commerce using Stripe

I have used the Stripe payment gateway in two ways for the e-commerce capability. For individual users who require MenuRSVP for a single event like their wedding, they can make a one-time payment. On the other hand, businesses that host multiple events simultaneously can opt for a subscription plan.

Database using Supabase

Supabase offers a PostgreSQL database as its core, complemented by additional features such as real-time subscriptions, authentication, storage capabilities, edge functions and an auto-generated API to interact with the database.

SMS Messaging & Push Notifications

Twilio and Firebase deliver SMS messages and Push Notifications. These help to provide reminder features for guests that need chasing - there will always be a few! It's easy to send out notifications, and the response rates to SMS and WhatsApp are very high. The event manager can decide how often to chase. I will look into the analytics and best methods to encourage guests to RSVP promptly.

Testing, CI/CD

The development environment is fully localised, making it easy for a team of developers to create feature branches to work on independently of the production version. Using Faker and Playright and our internal testing tools, I can work on the solution independently of what's live and released using Github actions that perform all tests that must pass before it goes live. After all, no one likes the stress of production problems!

About the Hospitality Sector

MenuRSVP sits in the hospitality sector. Although there may be similar competitors, I have yet to encounter any that offer the same features. The ones with more advanced features look like they all have £M+ budgets, and even then, they don't focus much on the menu and RSVP management. Most revenue seems to come from aggregator-style solutions connecting customers with various suppliers. Therefore, I believe MenuRSVP sits in a unique position in the market - as a service to the suppliers.

Revenue

MenuRSVP has four main revenue streams:

• Individuals: Pay per event for low-volume event management service that enables individuals to collect RSVPs and menu options from their guests, such as a couple planning their wedding.
• Subscriptions: Subscription plans are available for high-volume event management, such as wedding planners, caterers, gala coordinators, and restaurants, to accommodate dozens of events simultaneously.
• Content Plans: Our content plans aim to connect our website visitors with other businesses in the hospitality industry more effectively. With every event, our website will attract more people than SEO/SEM can, spreading our content even further with less effort.
• Whitelabel: Whitelabel solutions are perfect for businesses that want a MenuRSVP variant. For instance, a chain of restaurants can use it to manage their bookings efficiently. Adding table management and payment options can further streamline the process, including features like tips and menu splitting. By helping restaurants manage their food stock, they can deliver better service, reduce food wastage, and ensure that the right ingredients are always in stock.

What Next?

MenuRSVP is currently a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) at this stage. I'm keen to work with organisations that can see the benefits of MenuRSVP and integrate the system into their event workflows or white label it and make changes to it to suit their needs. It will only succeed if it gets good enough feedback to warrant the commitment needed to help it reach more traction. So we will see in the coming quarter.

Some additional features will include reminder notifications via SMS/WhatsApp and a seating plan feature.

What next: MenuRSVP.com is already at the soft-launch stage, having a few active events running through the system and handling approximately 450 RSVPs. When these events have finished, I'll collect feedback, make adjustments and cut a new version. The full go-live will be in April, with a seating plan feature if all goes well.