The BENE Mobile App – A Case Study

The Development of BENE

It is a fortunate thing to be able to work on projects we’re passionate about. Often, the most successful projects stem from a place of passion and service. This is certainly the case with BENE. BENE is a mobile app that connects employees who rely on tips to the modern, cashless age.

In recent years, the average consumer has all but stopped carrying cash altogether. This has made it difficult, in certain circumstances, for professionals and consumers to easily tip staff. There are many situations in which tipping is necessary. Not only that, but there are even more situations in which tipping may not be necessary, but is acceptable and earned.

The Goal:

BENE aims to eliminate awkward tipping situations and was conceptualized by Anna Skvortsova and her husband, Mike.

Seeing The Problem

Both Anna Skvortsova and Mike are active travelers. As such, they spend a lot of their time on the move. However, with such an active lifestyle that seems to always be moving, they seldom carried cash.

Carrying paper cash is becoming a trend of the past for a variety of reasons. There is, of course, innate risk with carrying cash. Not to mention, that with the recent status of things, people are much more wary of passing things back and forth. Cash included. All of this paired with the rise of the virtual market place, ecommerce, and virtual banking apps, cash is nearly all but extinct.

While a cashless world seems more streamlined and more convenient, there are still a lot of market segments that rely on physical paper money.  One of the largest of these segments, is the service-worker segment. Workers and staff members that rely heavily on the tips that they acquire throughout their shifts.

The impact of a cashless society on the tip-based market was driven home to Anna and Mike one evening as they were traveling. After a meal out with colleagues and friends alike, the couple were waiting for the valet to pull their car around. As the valet approached – a moment of panic flew into the couples hearts. It dawned on them, in that moment, that neither of them had any cash on hand in order to tip the valet.

After 100’s of “I’m sorry’s” and a trip to the nearest ATM, the couple was able to tip the valet. Finally. With a sigh of relief, and the awkward moment behind them, they moved on with their evening. However, the moment stuck with them. So much so that the couple continued to discuss the interaction.

The problem:

As society continues moving toward a cashless era with the majority of transactions occurring electronically, service workers and tip-based employees suffer.

Conceptualizing BENE

After the interaction with the valet, Anna and Mike developed a hyper-awareness to similar circumstances that occurred along their trip. More and more they realized how many service workers and tip-based staff were missing out on significant portions of their funds due to a cashless era that they weren’t equipped to operate within.

Hence, the beginning of BENE. The name, BENE, comes from the french word for blessings, and its simple design offers an elegant solution to a real-problem faced by consumers, travelers, and tip-based staff all alike. This started the journey of bringing BENE from conceptualization to reality.

Development Roadblocks and Hurdles

Like with many great stories, they wouldn’t be worth telling without a little adversity. Before BENE was built and developed in part with NS804 and our mobile app development teams, it started in another development shop.

Excited about their new brain-child, Anna and Mike began work with a mobile app developer. As the relationship continued, it became clear that the fit wasn’t good. Not only was the developer missing deadlines, but suddenly, BENE didn’t feel like BENE anymore. At this point, the developer was over 6 months behind, and faith that BENE would ever be finished was wearing thin.

However, in a moment of serendipity, NS804 reached out to Anna about shouldering the rest of the development. Just like that, the project had new life, and there was an entirely new pool of hope for Anna, Mike, and BENE.

Additional Setbacks:

After conceptualizing BENE and bringing it to the initial development house, Anna and Mike were beyond disappointed by missed deadlines and continual delays. At the point of nearly losing faith altogether, Anna and Mike found partnership in NS804, and the project was revitalized. 

Finishing The Job

Once NS804 came onto the project, BENE had a totally new life. Suddenly, the project had completely new legs and was back on track in no-time. After only a few months of working with NS804 Anna and Mike had a real time-line for delivery on the application. Shortly after, NS804 finished developing BENE. Then it hit the app open-market.

BENE has been live for about two months on both the apple and google play store. Since BENE went live, it has quickly been integrated into the hospitality market. The application is a fit for the hospitality industry as it connects service staff, like maids and housekeepers, to the consumers they serve. This finally bridges the disconnect between consumers and the service workers that earn tips, but don’t get face-time with consumers.

The Nuts and Bolts

BENE is a mobile app that aims to eliminate situations in which consumers are unable to tip staff or employees who deserve it. The application takes the core functionality of other banking and fintech applications in order to create a streamlined consumer-to-staff channel. Similar to Venmo or Paypal, the staff member simply creates an account, links their bank, and receives a QR code.

The QR code is so that staff members can print the QR code on their business card or leave-behind. This is material that the employee leaves in the room they served, or with the consumer. With the addition of the QR code, the consumer can then use their smartphone to scan the QR code. After scanning, the consumer is lead directly to that staff members BENE account, and is able to tip them for however much they see fit.

On the consumer side of things, the transaction is just as simple. BENE understands that tipping shouldn’t be awkward in any sense, and that means it should be as streamlined as possible. After setting up an account and linking a debit card or bank account, consumers are ready to tip service workers with ease. Keeping that in mind, BENE allows consumers to tip staff and employees in as little as three taps.

BENE brings more awareness to the tipping culture in America. The application allows hospitality workers, and service workers to have easier, more convenient access to tipping channels. Not only does BENE encourage consumers and travelers to tip appropriately and generously for a job-well-done, however, it also helps connect service workers to the cashless era.

The Solution:

NS804, Anna, and Mike worked together to create BENE, the mobile tipping app that connects tip-based staff and service workers directly to the customers they’re serving, even in a cashless society or non-face-to-face transaction.

Bringing It All Together

NS804 is proud to be a partner on the development of BENE with Anna and Mike. The power couple who conceptualized the idea comes from humble beginnings, and is clearly passionate about giving back to the community, and helping everyone find fair opportunity in the modern world.

As a mobile app developer, NS804 is dedicated to making mobile app development services more accessible to the everyday person. Visit the apple store or the google play store today to download BENE and join the tipping revolution.

NS804 is the premier source for information and knowledge on every and anything mobile app development. Visit NS804 today and get in touch with the mobile app developer of the next generation, ready to take your idea to reality.