Software package

Service comparison package

A ready-to-configure comparison platform where plans carry structured terms as supplied by providers, users enter their details and get results with a published calculation and a disclosed ordering rule, hand-offs are tracked to a provider confirmation, and plan changes wait in an update queue until approved.

Custom build Concept demo

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Who it is for

Built for

A good fit

Comparison sites and switching services for plans and tariffs: energy, broadband, mobile, insurance quotes fed by providers, gym memberships, software subscriptions, anything where the right answer depends on what the user enters. It suits operators from a founder running one category with a dozen providers to a team with a provider manager and editors across several, provider managers who approve plan changes and chase missing terms, editors who write the category guides, and users who want to enter their situation once and see an honest ordering with a clear explanation of how the site earns.

Not the right fit

It is not for comparing attributes of physical products from retailer feeds; that is the product comparison package. It is not a broker that completes the contract and holds money, and it is not a lead-selling platform that sends a request to several providers for quotes, which is the quote comparison package in the service marketplaces group.

The operational problem it solves

How it runs, step by step

Friday morning.

The provider manager opens the update queue: a broadband provider submitted its monthly plan sheet overnight and the parser found four changed terms across three plans, a contract length and three setup fees.
Each change is shown beside the current value with the date the provider supplied it; she approves three and queries one with the provider through the platform because a setup fee has doubled and the covering note does not mention it.
Until she approves, the site still shows the previous term with its earlier date.
A new plan from a mobile provider is missing a required term, so it stays unpublished with a reason the provider contact can see.

At eleven a user enters a postcode, a household size and a usage estimate for energy.

The availability check removes plans not offered in that area; the calculation layer produces an estimated annual figure per plan using the published method; the results page lists them with the ordering rule written above the list, a commission label on the results where the site earns, and the disclosure block explaining how the site is paid.
The user saves the comparison and later clicks through to a provider; the hand-off records the click with a reference.
Two weeks on, the provider confirms the switch by file, the reconciliation screen matches it to the reference, and a review invitation goes to the user because the hand-off was confirmed.
At five the operator sees plans published per category, queue items awaiting approval, hand-offs clicked and confirmed per provider, and the inputs users enter most.

Features

What the package does

The package ships as modules that follow the comparison: term schemas and plan records, inputs and calculation, results and disclosure, hand-off and confirmation, the provider update queue, reviews, and reconciliation and reporting. Each module below lists what it does; the comparison table shows which package variant includes it.

Directory and reviews

Term schema per categoryEach category lists the terms a plan must state, with required terms and the date they were supplied.

Listings and search

Provider and plan recordsProviders and their plans have a publish state, and an unpublished plan carries the reason why.

Forms and requests

Input forms with branching and postcode availabilityUsers answer a short form per category that branches on their answers and checks availability for their postcode.

Workflow and tasks

Calculation layer with published methodResults are calculated from the plan terms and the method is explained on the site.

Compliance and records

Results page with ordering rule and disclosuresThe results page states the ordering rule, labels commission and carries a disclosure block.

Clients and records

Hand-off tracking and confirmationEach hand-off to a provider gets a reference, and the provider confirms it by file or portal.

Portal and access

Provider update queueChanged terms from a provider wait in a queue beside the current values until staff approve, query or reject them.

Content and editorial

User reviews tied to confirmed hand-offsOnly users with a confirmed hand-off can review, reviews are moderated and the provider can reply.

Accounts and permissions

Saved comparisonsUsers save a comparison and come back to it later.

Integrations

Provider API confirmation and plan sheet parsersProviders can confirm hand-offs by API, and plan sheets in agreed layouts can be read automatically.

Reporting and insights

Commission reconciliation and remindersConfirmations are matched against commission statements, and users can be reminded when a saved comparison ages or a term changes.

Roles and permissions

Who does what

Platform admin
- Define categories, term schemas and required terms
- Set the calculation method text, the ordering rule and the disclosure block
- Configure commission labels, any sponsored positions and their limits
- See plans published, queue backlog, hand-offs by provider and input patterns
Provider manager
- Work the update queue: approve, query or reject changed terms with a reason
- Onboard providers, their contacts and confirmation channels
- See plans missing required terms and chase providers through the platform
- Run reconciliation between confirmations and commission statements
Editor
- Write category guides and the explanations shown beside results
- Review disclosure wording changes before they publish
- See which plans and providers are viewed and clicked most
Provider contact
- Submit plan sheets or feeds for the update queue
- See their published plans, unpublished plans and the reason
- Answer queries from the provider manager on the platform
- Submit hand-off confirmations through the agreed channel
User
- Enter details once per category and see calculated results with the method explained
- Read the ordering rule and the commission labels on the results page
- Save a comparison and return to it
- Leave a review after a confirmed hand-off, subject to moderation

Example screen

Concept demo

Concept demo of a service comparison update queue showing changed plan terms beside current values, approve and query actions and a held plan with its missing-term reason.

The provider update queue: four changed terms from one broadband plan sheet shown beside the current values with supplied dates, approve and query actions, and a mobile plan held unpublished because a required term is missing, with the reason visible to the provider contact.

Scope and options

What is included and what is extra

In the base package

Term schema per category with required terms and supplied dates
Provider and plan records with publish state and reasons
Input form per category with branching and postcode availability
Calculation layer with the method published on the site
Results page with a disclosed ordering rule, commission labels and a disclosure block
Hand-off tracking with references and provider confirmation by file or portal
Provider update queue showing changed terms beside current values
User reviews tied to confirmed hand-offs, moderated, with provider reply
Saved comparisons

Common add-ons

Provider confirmation by API
Reconciliation against commission statements
Parsers for provider plan sheet layouts
Reminder messaging when a saved comparison ages or a term changes

Needs custom work

Completing the switch or contract on the platform
Calculations with regulated wording that must be reproduced exactly
White-label comparison embedded on partner sites

See the custom development service

Ownership, maintenance and pricing

After the build

Deployment and ownership

The package runs on your own hosting or on hosting we manage; users use the mobile web version and your team and provider contacts use a browser. You own the code and your data in either case. Plan records with their history, inputs, hand-offs, confirmations, reviews and reconciliation records can be exported at any time in standard formats, and nothing stops you moving the platform to another provider.

Maintenance

Maintenance is optional and scoped separately. When taken, it covers security updates, monitoring of feed imports, the update queue, hand-off recording and confirmation channels, backups, and a monthly window for small changes such as a new term in a schema or a changed disclosure wording. Larger changes, such as a new category with its own calculation, are quoted as change requests against the original scope.

Pricing model

Priced per proposal.

Sold as a one-off setup and customisation with optional monthly maintenance and hosting as separate recurring lines. The setup figure depends on the number of categories and term schemas, the calculation and its explanation, the provider data formats, the confirmation channels, the add-ons chosen and how many plans are migrated. Commission your platform earns from providers is your own commercial model and unrelated to what you pay us. Each line is itemised in the proposal so recurring costs are never hidden in the setup.

Software package

Custom build Concept demo

Variants

Custom Platform : quote for this variant

Term schema per category with required terms and supplied dates
Provider and plan records with publish state and reasons
Input form per category with branching and postcode availability
Calculation layer with the method published on the site

Priced per proposal. A written proposal is the only binding figure.

Get a quote for this package Prefer a fully custom build?

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can a provider change a plan on the site directly?

No. Submitted changes land in the update queue and the provider manager approves, queries or rejects each one with a reason. The site shows the previous term and its date until approval. Providers see the state of their plans and any query on their own screen.

How is the calculation explained?

The method is written once as a setting and shown beside the results and on each plan page, with the inputs the user entered restated. Where a figure is an estimate the page says so and names the assumptions.

What do the commission labels mean?

That the site earns if the user takes that plan through the hand-off. The label appears on each such result, the disclosure block explains how the site is paid, and the ordering rule above the list states what the order is based on, so a user can see that commission does not change it unless you have configured a labelled sponsored position.

Who can leave a review?

By default a user whose hand-off was confirmed by the provider, which is the signal that they became a customer. Reviews wait in moderation against the policy published on the site, the provider can reply, and the published rating rule says which reviews count.

Does the package handle the switch itself?

No. The user is handed to the provider with a reference, the provider completes the contract and confirms the outcome back. Completing the switch on the platform is custom work and depends on the provider offering a way to do it.

Is this a finished product I can see running?

Not yet. The readiness badge shows the real state: the package is a custom build assembled from our forms, directory, listings and content modules for each operator, and the screen on this page is a labelled concept demo rather than a live client platform. Anything beyond the listed options is scoped as custom service comparison platform development.

Get a quote for Service comparison package

Tell us about your locations, the people who will use it and the add-ons you need. We reply with a clear, competitive proposal.