We needed an e-charger app - so we built one
🚗 How it all started
It all began with a few e-chargers in our office parking lot and a classic DIY mindset: Why not just build it ourselves?. Instead of going an off-the-shelf solution, we rolled up our sleeves and created our own e-charger management app. What started as a small internal tool quickly turned into a rewarding journey of learning, testing, and growing something much bigger than we imagined.
⚡ The first spark
About a year and a half ago, we installed our first e-chargers at the Budapest office. At first, they were only used by our company’s electric car fleet, and we didn’t pay much attention to data like usage patterns, charging sessions or costs. But soon, we realized that valuable data was being lost.
If we wanted to open up charger access to all employees, we needed a smarter way to manage both the chargers and the charging data. So, we asked ourselves: Why not build our own app? And just like that, we dived into development—with a healthy dose of curiosity and our signature DIY spirit.
🛠️ Building the pilot
In a few months we had our pilot application. Even at this early stage, the app could already handle most of the key messages defined by the OCPP protocol — the main communication standard used by e-chargers. It allowed us to manage users, their RFID cards used for charging, and their vehicles. We could configure chargers directly through the application, and all charging session data was neatly stored and visualized on various dashboards.
🔌 Testing and tuning
We connected a few chargers to the app and started testing. And guess what? It worked – well, mostly. Like any good pilot, it gave us plenty to improve, but it was a solid start.
E-chargers can be a bit… temperamental. Say the wrong thing, and they simply won’t respond. But after some fine-tuning in how our app communicated with them, we finally got things running smoothly. We could control the chargers, monitor usage, and track who was charging what and when, company-wide.
📈 Expanding the feature set
We needed more features — like charger booking, cost calculations, and reporting tools. So, it was back to the drawing board for us, with even bigger goals in mind. Still, we weren’t quite ready to roll it out.
After a bit more development, we were finally good to go live. We added parking layouts so users could easily select and book chargers. Charging costs were calculated automatically based on admin-set tariffs, and the data could be exported into clear, structured cost reports.
📱 Going mobile
We also made sure the app worked smoothly on mobile devices — because let’s face it, no one wants to wrestle with a desktop screen in a parking lot. With all the key features in place, our e-charger app was ready to roll out.
🚀 Company-wide rollout
Once we rolled out the app, our colleagues jumped right in — and everything ran smoothly. Booking a charger was simple, users could easily track their charging sessions and associated costs, and administrators had all the tools they needed to export cost reports and share them with the finance department.
🌍 From internal tool to SaaS platform
What started as a small internal project quickly became the go-to solution for managing e-chargers across the company. But we didn’t stop there. We figured —if we needed a solution like this, chances are other companies might too. So we kept developing. 💡 Smarter, scalable, and market-ready
That’s how our app evolved into a full-fledged multi-tenant platform, complete with a fresh, simplified design and extra host of new features. To name a few: the smart charging function, which balances the load across the entire charger infrastructure by monitoring power intake and sending real-time limits to each charger. Another is automatic cost calculation, now powered by energy prices from HUPX, the Hungarian Power Exchange —making billing more accurate and transparent than ever.
📣 What’s next?
Today we have pilot customers actively testing the app, and we’re gearing up to launch it soon as a full-fledged SaaS solution.
If you’re in the market for an e-charger management application — and our story sparked your interest—don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to hear from you!
