Case Study - A custom system instead of off-the-shelf software

Overview

Marion Mizzi Wellbeing is one of the largest wellness brands in Malta. Three locations, 50,000 clients in the database and a business model built over more than 50 years - combining long-term slimming programs with spa.

The company was running on an off-the-shelf system that couldn't be adapted to how it actually works. The goal of our collaboration was to replace it with software of their own. They deliberately didn't pick another ready-made product like Fresha - the Marion Mizzi client journey, combining slimming and spa, doesn't fit a standard salon tool.

A custom build made possible what no ready-made system would:

• Automatic therapist commissions. Previously calculated by hand, which took at least a full day every month. Now the system keeps a complete commission ledger - with per-therapist brackets, adjustments on refunds and a ready-to-send payroll PDF.
• Reports built around the business. Revenue and traffic per location, therapist utilization and performance, treatment and product sales - all from a single database.
• A content panel for marketing. Banners, promotions, surveys, articles and recipes on the public website are managed by the team themselves, no developer involved. Before, the website didn't reflect the current offer at all.

Owning the software also keeps the road open. The next planned steps - online booking on the public website, Shopify integration directly in the system and therapist working-hours tracking - will be built on the same data, without migrating to yet another platform.

What I did