Full-Stack Developer Needed – Restaurant Booking, CRM, SMS & Gift Card SaaS Platform

# Full-Stack Developer Needed – Restaurant Booking, CRM, SMS & Gift Card SaaS Platform We are looking for an experienced **Full-Stack Developer / SaaS Developer** to build an affordable restaurant booking and customer management platform. The software will initially be used for our own two restaurants in Brisbane, Australia. However, the system must be developed from the beginning so that it can later be offered to other restaurants as a subscription-based SaaS product. Our target market in the future will mainly be small and independent restaurants that want an affordable alternative to expensive restaurant booking platforms. ## Phase 1 – MVP Initially, the system will be tested in our own two restaurant locations. ### 1. Online Restaurant Booking Customers should be able to: * Select restaurant location * Select booking date * Select available time * Select number of guests * Enter name * Mobile number * Email address * Add special requests * Select occasion such as: * Birthday * Anniversary * Business dinner * Other Restaurant administrators should be able to control: * Opening days * Booking hours * Available time slots * Maximum guests per time slot * Maximum booking size * Block specific dates * Block specific times * Special trading hours * Public holidays ## 2. Automatic SMS & Email Notifications After a booking is made: Customer receives: * Booking confirmation SMS * Booking confirmation email * Reminder before the reservation * Booking cancellation or modification confirmation The system should also allow optional: * Same-day reminder * "We are looking forward to seeing you tonight" SMS * Post-visit thank-you message * Review request * Promotional messages to opted-in customers We would like integration with an affordable SMS provider such as Twilio or another suitable Australian SMS service. ## 3. Booking Management Dashboard Restaurant staff should have a simple dashboard showing: * Today's bookings * Upcoming bookings * Guest name * Guest number * Booking time * Phone number * Special requests * Occasion * Booking status Booking status examples: * Confirmed * Arrived * Seated * Completed * Cancelled * No-show Staff should be able to: * Add booking manually * Modify booking * Cancel booking * Move booking time * Add customer notes ## 4. Customer Database / Simple CRM Every customer should automatically build a customer profile. The restaurant should be able to see: * Customer name * Mobile number * Email * Number of visits * Previous bookings * Last visit * No-show history * Birthday * Anniversary * Favourite location * Customer notes * Marketing consent This database will eventually be very important for restaurant marketing. ## 5. Gift Card System Customers should be able to purchase restaurant gift cards online. Example values: * $50 * $100 * $150 * $200 * Custom amount After payment: * Customer receives digital gift card * Unique gift card/code generated * Gift card can be emailed to another person * Restaurant can verify balance * Staff can redeem full or partial value * Remaining balance must be visible Admin dashboard should show: * Gift cards sold * Gift cards redeemed * Remaining balances * Expiry date if applicable Payment integration could use: * Stripe * Square * or another suitable payment gateway We currently use Square, so experience with Square APIs would be highly valuable. ## 6. Offers & Promotions Restaurant administrator should be able to create offers such as: * Happy Hour * Tuesday Dinner Offer * Birthday Offer * Special Set Menu * Mother's Day * Valentine's Day * Christmas * Restaurant anniversary promotions Offers could optionally appear during the booking process. Example: **Tuesday Special – Book a table and receive our Tuesday dining offer.** We would also like the ability to send promotions to opted-in previous customers by SMS or email. ## 7. Multi-Location Support Initially we have two restaurants. The system must support: * Restaurant Location A * Restaurant Location B Each location should have separate: * Opening hours * Booking capacity * Offers * Staff/admin access * Customer bookings * Reports However, the business owner should be able to view both locations from one main account. ## 8. Future SaaS / Multi-Restaurant Structure This is very important. Although Phase 1 is for our restaurants, the software architecture should allow us to later create accounts for other restaurant businesses. For example: **Restaurant Business 1** * Location 1 * Location 2 **Restaurant Business 2** * Location 1 **Restaurant Business 3** * Location 1 * Location 2 * Location 3 Each restaurant business must have its own secure account and must not be able to access another restaurant's data. We eventually want to offer subscription plans such as: * Basic * Standard * Premium Therefore, experience developing **multi-tenant SaaS applications** is very important. ## 9. Restaurant Booking Widget We want to be able to place the booking form on a restaurant website. For example: **Book a Table** The booking system could either: * Be embedded into an existing website * Open as a booking page * Or operate through a simple booking widget The system should work properly on: * Mobile * Tablet * Desktop Mobile experience is extremely important. ## 10. Admin / Super Admin There should eventually be three levels of access. ### Super Admin For us as the software owner: * Create restaurant accounts * Suspend accounts * View subscription plans * Manage restaurants * View platform usage * Manage system settings ### Restaurant Owner Can manage: * Locations * Bookings * Customers * Gift cards * Promotions * Staff * Reports ### Restaurant Staff Limited access to: * Bookings * Guest details * Booking status ## 11. Reports Basic reports required: * Total bookings * Guests booked * Completed bookings * Cancelled bookings * No-shows * New customers * Returning customers * Gift card sales * Booking source Future reporting can be expanded later. ## Development Approach We do **not** expect every advanced feature in Version 1. We prefer to build this project in stages. ### Phase 1 Working MVP for our own two restaurants. ### Phase 2 Improve the platform based on real restaurant usage. ### Phase 3 Convert it into a commercial SaaS platform and onboard approximately 3–5 external restaurants for testing. ### Phase 4 Launch publicly and introduce monthly subscription plans. ## Important Requirements Please apply only if you have experience with at least some of the following: * SaaS development * Multi-tenant architecture * Restaurant booking systems * CRM systems * Stripe or Square integrations * SMS APIs * Email APIs * Gift card systems * React / Next.js or similar frontend technology * Node.js / Laravel / Django or similar backend technology * Database architecture * Secure authentication * Cloud hosting We are open to recommendations regarding the best technology stack. ## When Applying Please send: 1. Examples of SaaS platforms you have previously developed. 2. Examples of booking or appointment systems you have developed. 3. Your recommended technology stack. 4. How you would structure the system so it can support multiple restaurants in the future. 5. Your estimated fixed price for the Phase 1 MVP. 6. Estimated development stages/milestones. 7. Whether you provide source code and full ownership after project completion. 8. Your availability for ongoing development after Phase 1. ## Important We are not looking for someone to simply build a basic WordPress booking form. We want to develop a real software product that can initially solve the booking, customer communication and gift card requirements of our restaurants and later become an affordable SaaS product for other independent restaurants. If Phase 1 works well, this can become a long-term development project.