Case study · Small business
Happy Hippo
A family-owned mobile treats business serving shaved ice, ice cream, bubbles, and foam parties across the DMV.
- What we did
- Brand · Website · Online booking · Business platform
- Year
- 2026
- Live site
- happy-hippo.fun ↗
The short version
Happy Hippo came to us for a website. We gave them the whole back office: one connected system that takes bookings, collects payments, schedules the crew, runs event day, tracks supplies, and powers school fundraisers. All of it carries their brand, and all of it lives in one place they control.
01 · Online booking
Booking a party that feels like ordering, not paperwork
Families build their event one step at a time and watch the price update as they go. Here’s a real booking. Tap any step to jump to it.
After they hit send
- The system checks which equipment is free, so the same cart is never promised twice
- The owner reviews and approves each request before it’s confirmed, then a payment link goes out
- Rain-outs, reschedules, and cancellations follow clear steps, and returning customers can rebook in a couple of taps
02 · The back office
One place to run the whole business
Behind the booking form is Happy Hippo’s own business platform: eight custom plugins that share one set of records, with a dashboard built around how the owner actually works.
Sixteen tools, one login
- DashboardToday at a glance: new requests, upcoming events, and anything that needs attention.
- BookingsReview and approve requests, or add a booking taken over the phone.
- CalendarEvery upcoming event and who’s working it.
- CustomersEvery family, school, and company, with their full booking history.
- Customer FeedbackSurvey answers, plus a heads-up when an event needs follow-up.
- Events & OrdersEvent-day menus, walk-up sales, prepaid passes, and treat counts.
- Event PhotosSetup photos customers send in, checked before the truck rolls out.
- CrewHiring, availability, open shifts, the time clock, and pay.
- InventorySupplies across the garage, vans, and carts, with low-stock alerts.
- Invoices & PaymentsBranded invoices, card payments, deposits, and refunds.
- Promo CodesDiscounts and seasonal offers that work right in the booking form.
- FundraisersCampaign pages, preorders, and payouts for schools and nonprofits.
- Reports & FinancialsBookings, revenue, staffing, and feedback in one view.
- MessagesEvery email to a customer, kept with their booking.
- My ProfileEach team member’s own account.
- SettingsPrices, packages, add-ons, and business rules in one place.
Everyone sees only what they need. Owners, managers, coordinators, crew, and finance staff each have their own level of access.
03 · Crew + event day
Tools the crew actually uses
A branded crew app built for their phones, from the day someone applies to the moment an event wraps.
- Staff apply online, set their availability, pick up open shifts, and clock in and out
- On site, a simple point-of-sale handles walk-up sales, prepaid packages, and QR-code Hippo Passes, and counts every treat served
- Checklists cover setup through cleanup, and a quick wrap-up compares what was planned with what happened
04 · Fundraising
Fundraisers that run themselves
Schools and nonprofits can run a fundraiser on their own, without Happy Hippo doing the paperwork.
- Each group gets a campaign page, a shareable link and QR code, preorders, and a live progress bar
- Every sale is credited to the right campaign, and payouts are calculated automatically
- It all flows into the same booking, payment, and event-day tools
05 · Brand + website
It all looks like Happy Hippo
One look carries from the homepage to the booking form, the crew app, emails, and social media.
By the numbers
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