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Case Study • 2026
ZATO – Car & Expense Tracker
A cross-platform car management app for tracking expenses, service reminders, and odometer logs — with smart reports, a multi-car garage, and driver-by-plate messaging. Built with Flutter and Supabase.
FlutterSupabaseiOS & AndroidMobile App
Client
ZATO
Industry
Automotive · Consumer Mobile App
Timeline
2026
Team
Core team of 3, plus a wider testing group
Share:
ZATOOverview
ZATO is a consumer car-management app built for drivers who want every cost, document, and service date for their vehicles in one clean place. The founder came to us with a clear product vision and needed a partner to take it from concept to a polished, store-ready app across both iOS and Android. The scope covered the full mobile product — expense tracking, a multi-car garage, service reminders, odometer history, smart spending reports, an on-device document vault, and a standout feature: the ability to message any driver by their license plate. Everything had to work across 18 languages and multiple currencies, with a strict privacy-first stance — no location tracking of any kind.
The Challenge
Most drivers track car costs in scattered notes, spreadsheets, or not at all — and the existing apps were either bloated, ad-heavy, or quietly harvesting location data. The goal was a single, fast, genuinely private app that a non-technical driver could set up in under a minute, yet powerful enough for someone managing several cars. On top of that, the product had to ship to a global audience from day one — 18 languages, multiple currencies, and both app stores — all on a lean budget and a tight three-month window.
- Deliver a complete iOS + Android product from a single codebase on a lean budget
- Localise the entire app across 18 languages and multiple currencies
- Enforce a strict privacy-first stance — no GPS or location access, ever
- Make setup effortless for non-technical drivers, yet support up to 3 cars
- Build a novel "message any driver by license plate" feature from scratch
- Keep documents (insurance, registration, MOT) stored on-device and offline
Our Approach
We built ZATO with Flutter for a single, high-performance codebase across iOS and Android, backed by Supabase for authentication, database, and secure storage. A thorough planning phase up front mapped every screen, data model, and localisation string before a line of production code — which is exactly what let the build and launch phases move quickly. The result is a clean, fast app with a multi-car garage, categorised expense tracking, smart spending reports with one-tap CSV export, service reminders, odometer history, an on-device document vault, and driver-by-plate messaging — all fully localised, with zero location tracking.
- Single Flutter codebase shipping natively to both iOS and Android
- Supabase for auth, Postgres database, and encrypted file storage
- Multi-car garage with per-car expenses, odometer, and reports
- Driver-by-plate messaging — contact any driver, no account needed on their end
- Full localisation across 18 languages and multiple currencies
- Privacy-first architecture: no GPS, no ads, no data selling
Development Process
From discovery to launch
1
2 weeksDiscovery & Planning
Product scoping, screen-by-screen UX mapping, data modelling, and localisation planning across 18 languages.
- Product Scope
- UX Flows
- Data Model
- Localisation Plan
2
2 weeksDesign
Clean, fast mobile UI design for the garage, expenses, reports, reminders, and driver chat.
- UI Design
- Design System
- Prototype
- Icon & Branding
3
6 weeksBuild (Flutter + Supabase)
Flutter app development, Supabase backend, expense engine, reminders, reports, document vault, and driver-by-plate messaging.
- Flutter App
- Supabase Backend
- Reports & CSV Export
- Driver Chat
4
2 weeksTesting & Launch
Localisation QA across all languages, wider group testing, app store preparation, and the marketing site at getzato.com.
- QA & Localisation
- Group Testing
- Store Assets
- Marketing Site
Results & Impact
ZATO shipped as a polished car-management app — fully localised, privacy-first, and delivered on time within a lean three-month build. It's now live on Google Play, with iOS following shortly. The founder's thorough planning process translated directly into a fast, seamless deployment.
2
Platforms
Native iOS and Android from one Flutter codebase — Android live on Google Play, iOS launching soon
18
Languages
Fully localised for a global audience from day one
3
Cars per garage
Each with its own expenses, odometer, and reports
0
Location tracking
Privacy-first — no GPS access, foreground or background
30-day
Free trial
Full access to every feature, no credit card required
Tech Stack
We built ZATO on Flutter for a single cross-platform codebase, with Supabase powering authentication, database, and secure storage — plus a Next.js marketing site at getzato.com.
Flutter
Mobile Framework
Dart
Language
Supabase
Backend
PostgreSQL
Database
Supabase Auth
Authentication
Supabase Storage
File Storage
Next.js
Marketing Site
Vercel
Hosting
"
"Working with the Zira Team on our ZATO mobile application was a game-changer. His planning process was incredibly thorough, which made the entire deployment phase move faster than I thought possible. Everything was seamless and professional, delivered exactly as promised—highly recommended!"
AZ
Alex Z.
Founder
ZATO
Services Provided
Strategy & Design
- Product Scoping
- UX Mapping
- UI Design
- Localisation Strategy
- Branding
Development
- Flutter App
- Supabase Backend
- Expense & Reports Engine
- Driver-by-Plate Messaging
- Document Vault
Launch & Growth
- Localisation QA
- Group Testing
- App Store Preparation
- Marketing Site
- Ongoing Support
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about ZATO.
What is ZATO?
ZATO is a car-management app for tracking expenses, setting service reminders, logging odometer readings, and messaging any driver by license plate. It is live now on Google Play, with the iOS release coming soon, fully localised in 18 languages.
What platforms does ZATO run on?
ZATO is built with Flutter for native iOS and Android from a single codebase, with a Supabase backend handling authentication, the Postgres database, and secure file storage. Android is live now on Google Play, with iOS following soon.
How many cars can a driver manage?
Up to 3 cars per garage. Each car has its own expense log, odometer history, service reminders, and spending reports — all accessible from the main screen.
Does ZATO track location or GPS?
No. ZATO never accesses location — not in the foreground and not in the background. It only stores what the driver enters manually, encrypted in their account, and never sold or shared with third parties.
What languages does ZATO support?
ZATO is fully localised in 18 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Spanish, Hungarian, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Polish, Thai, Indonesian, Hindi, and Vietnamese.
Is ZATO free?
ZATO offers a free 30-day trial with full access to every feature — no credit card required. After the trial, service reminders for one car and driver chat stay free forever, while expense tracking, smart reports, and multi-car support continue on the Pro plan.
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