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The Skip app lets you order a coffee so its ready when you get to your cafe.
MAKING you life app-tastic is just a download away.
Some of the biggest apps in the world started when someone saw a need and a way to fill it.
The idea for Uber came when a bloke was stuck in the rain looking for a ride home while Airbnb began when two housemates came up with a plan to make some bucks by subletting to casual visitors.
Closer to home, there is a bunch of Aussie apps that can take the pain out of daily life, from finding someone who will love to put your new Ikea furniture together to getting a last minute babysitter for date night.
Many apps really do go to work for you.
From simplifying your routine to clearing your mind or just helping to bring you joy, clear out some storage space and take advantage of what these apps have to offer.
All are for iOS and Android phones, and all are free.
Skip (skip.com.au)
Skip General Manager Bill Bizos unveiling a new alliance with Qantas for its Skip app.Source:Supplied
The pitch for Skip is simple: order your coffee on your phone so it is ready to just grab and go when you get to the cafe.
Skip general manager Bill Bizos said the app also served as a loyalty card keeping count of purchases and offered people the option of paying for their coffee through the app.
“It saves time so you can do things with the day other than standing in a queue,” Mr Bizos said.
Along with making life easier for customers, Mr Bizos said it offered the cafes better efficiency and customer service.
It’s a free app and the cafe pays the service based on the number of transactions.
Since starting with coffee, Skip has branched out into letting people order something to eat and last year launched in all Qantas lounges.
At the Melbourne Cup last year, Skip launched an event service allowing people to order and pay for their beers at the bar.
SITTR (sittr.com)
The Sittr app lets parents book a vetted and qualified babysitter for a flat fee.Source:Supplied
In 2014, James and Samantha McKinnon sold up and took their three kids under five travelling around the world.
“We were in Japan and wanted to go out for dinner just the two of us, and the only option was to go through the hotel to get a babysitter and it was wildly expensive,” James said.
The penny dropped: why wasn’t there an Uber for childcare?
With Sittr, there is a flat fee of $26 an hour and no monthly membership fee.
The service is cashless, the babysitters are vetted childcare workers trained in first aid and the app offers public liability insurance.
“We have families that use us once a month when they want to go out for an evening and then we have a few families that use us three days a week for after school care,” Mr McKinnon said.
The app currently has about 11,000 users and 500 carers and there are plans for a possible expansion overseas.
“I think there is definitely been a decline in the neighbourhood babysitter being 14 or 15 and being left in charge of kids,” he said.
“Parents feel much better if their carer has a career in childcare — she works in childcare during the day and provides babysitting services at night”
Airtasker (airtasker.com )
Hollie Johnson, 28, has used Airtasker once a month for years. Picture : Ian CurrieSource:News Corp Australia
A few years ago when Tim Fung was moving apartments, he did what many of us do and rang his mate, Jonathan Lui, who had a truck.
That gave them the idea of bringing together people with a need and a willingness to pay with people who had the ability and willingness to do the job.
“We thought if there was a trusted platform to connect with people, then we could unlock this massive opportunity in the short-term labour area,” he said.
Airtasker now has 1.1 million community members and more than $105 million jobs have been created through the service.
Mr Fung said some members earned $5000 a month through the app.
Airtasker is becoming more popular in Australia.Source:Supplied
Many jobs on Airtasker require specific skills while others are just everyday tasks people are looking to outsource, from parents looking for someone to cover their kid’s schoolbooks to Apple fan boys willing to paying someone to line up for an iPhone.
Hollie Johnson, 28, of Richmond, uses Airtasker about once a month.
One of her best experiences with Airtasker came on a weekend when, on the way to work, she used the app to book two people to clean up her yard ready for a surprise party for her fiance.
“I got a lot of satisfaction for that because it all just seemed to work. They were uni students, they were broke and had time on their hands,” she said.
“We were very time poor because we had to go to our jobs so it was a good match. I could give them money and they could give me time and they were so thorough and enthusiastic.”
Beanhunter (beanhunter.com)
Proud Mary in Collingwood has been named one of Melbourne’s best cafes in Beanhunter. Picture: Janine EastgateSource:News Corp Australia
James Crawford and Al Ramsay were travelling for work when they head the idea for Beanhunter: a service that tells you where to buy a really good coffee.
First came the website in 2008 and then, a year later, came the app and the idea took off.
Now there are more than 150,000 reviews of more than 30,000 cafes around Australia and, with the help of flat white-loving expats, in international cities including London, New York and San Francisco.
“People are after the boutique solution,” he said.
How the Beanhunter app works and what it looks like.Source:Supplied
The free app works on the community of coffee lovers, with an algorithm that works to eliminate the chance of a cafe owner talking up his own product or malicious reviewers with an agenda.
People use the app to find a coffee shop in an area, with reviews and recommendations on the coffee bean used and quality of coffee.
The app ranks cafe in an area and has annual Beanhunter awards.
Clipp (clipp.co)
The Clipp app lets you manage a bar tab and book last-minute restaurant discounts.Source:News Corp Australia
Like many bright ideas, the inspiration for Clipp happened one night in a bar.
Greg Taylor, who had previously created the eCoffeeCard app, accidentally left his credit card in a bar after having handed it over to set up a bar tab.
Clip CEO Allan Evans said the idea of the app was simple: you set up a bar tab when you enter the venue and at the end of the night pay the bill through the app, eliminating the need to leave a credit card and ID behind the bar.
If you’re drinking with friends, everyone pays their share through the app.
“The genesis of the whole thing was to make the whole bar tab process better which it did by making it mobile,” Mr Evans said.
The Clipp App lets people manage a bar tab and find discounted meals.Source:Supplied
The Clip app expanded last year with a new feature that has venues offering last-minute discounted meals.
“It uses the theory of dynamic pricing — what the airlines have been doing for years,” he said.
“You take a very limited amount of inventory and you offer it at a discounted price but with conditions.”
For the average punter, it means you can get a cheap meal so long as you meet the minimum spend.
Mr Evans said Clipp was available in about 800 venues around Australia, had been downloaded about 220,000 downloads and a conversion rate of more than 40 per cent of turning those app downloads into users.