42 changes shipped across 3 codebases last week. Not bad for a week that started on a Thursday...
Australia Day, then the kids going back to school. By the time I sat down properly it was halfway through the week. So I did what I always do when I'm short on time. I opened the code editor instead of the marketing plan.
Handl: out of the first round of QA
Handl is getting ready for a proper relaunch. This week it came out of its first round of QA, and most of what shipped was the design amendments from that round.
The biggest one is the project page. It got restyled to match the designs, and the Overview now has a real Recent activity feed... milestones started and completed, invoices sent and paid, files uploaded, with "Today", "Yesterday" and "3 days ago" style dates. Open a project and you can see what's moved without clicking into every tab.
Proposals, two ways. The "New proposal" button is now a choice:
- Create with AI opens the AI panel and drafts it with you.
- Manual setup gives you a blank draft to fill in yourself.
Same pattern as starting a new project. Some people want a head start, some people want a blank page... both are fine.
The proposal editor itself got split into three tabs: Project summary (with a rich text editor, so you can format the pitch), Milestones, and Terms for your legal and payment terms. It reads more like the document your client will actually see.
AI chat that remembers where you were. Chat history is now scoped to the project and the tab you're on. Ask a question on the Milestones tab and that conversation stays with milestones. Go to Proposals and you get the proposal conversations. Much less scrolling back through unrelated threads.
Smaller things:
- Invite team members straight from the app.
- Reactivate an archived client from the client list or the project overview.
Second round of QA is next. Then we start using it with our own clients.
→ See how it works: invoice automation · AI agent → Free: invoice aging and chase tracker → Start a Handl trial
Arbeo: CV first
We were hiring this week ourselves, so Arbeo got a proper workout from the other side of the desk.
Arbeo's application chat is an AI that walks a candidate through applying. This week it changed the order it does things in. It now asks for a CV right at the start. If the candidate has one, it reads it and only asks about what's missing. If they don't, it gathers their work history, skills and contact details through the conversation instead.
That's a better experience for both sides. Candidates with a CV aren't asked to retype it, and candidates without one can still apply. It also picks up phone, location, education and LinkedIn along the way, so the application lands in your pipeline more complete.
Also new this week:
- Password reset for hiring teams.
- Team invites accept whichever email your teammate signs up with.
- An account switcher in the sidebar, for anyone who hires for more than one business.
- Expired job ads now show applicants a clear message that the role has closed.
One thing I learned
Building is my green light. Marketing is my red light. So I'm hiring for the red.
This week was a good example. I sat down to write, thought "I'll just finish this one feature first", and then it was Thursday. Coding is where I find flow and hours disappear. Posting and engaging online is where I second-guess everything and lose an afternoon.
I used to think the answer was discipline. Just push through it. I don't think that anymore... I'm better at building, I enjoy it more, and the time's better spent there. So we've put up a part-time role for someone who genuinely likes being in the communities where our customers hang out. Not to write for me, but to get what we make in front of the right people.
Accepting what you're good at is a lot cheaper than fighting it.
See you next week.
— Daz
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