Knot Platform
CH Studios · Full Business Operating System
Overview
Knot is a full business operating system for small businesses — one Node/Express API, one Supabase database, and every operational surface a business needs. Menu changes, orders, and staff schedules propagate across all five surfaces without a redeploy. The architecture is multi-tenant by design: every table carries a tenant_id, and onboarding a new client is one database row and a frontend deploy.
The Problem
Small businesses run on fragmented, expensive tools. Toast charges $200–500/month. Square takes a cut of every transaction on top of monthly fees. 7shifts bills per employee. None were built for the independent owner who needs everything to work together — without a developer on call every time something breaks.
Platform Components
Customer Website
Fuzzy search via Fuse.js, Stripe checkout, loyalty rewards, gift cards, subscription ordering, and coupon validation. Zero commission per order.
Admin Dashboard
18-section business backend covering orders, revenue analytics, inventory, menu CMS, staff management, coupons, gift cards, subscriptions, and more. JWT-verified on every route.
KnotEmployee iOS
Drag-and-drop scheduling, clock-in/out with break tracking, shift swaps, time-off requests, and APNs push notifications. Supabase Realtime for live status updates.
iOS POS
In-person card payments via Stripe Terminal. Every sale lands in the same orders table as web orders — visible immediately in the admin dashboard.
iOS Customer App
Native ordering on the same backend as the website. Same API, same data, same menu. Another HTTP client against the same REST endpoints.
MCP Server
A production Model Context Protocol server with three tools: menu search, hours, and checkout. AI assistants can browse the menu and place a Stripe-backed order without touching the website.
Live Site
Deployments
The Wellness Co.
Booking and memberships for solo wellness practitioners. Replaced a $100–200/month Mindbody subscription with owned infrastructure.
The Bakery Co.
Ordering, subscriptions, loyalty rewards, and gift cards. First full five-surface platform deployment.
The Salon Co.
Marketing and booking site. A custom alternative to Squarespace with zero recurring software cost.
The Sports Bar Co.
Table reservations, database-driven event calendar, and party inquiry routing. Replaced phone reservations and social posts.
iOS POS
Native iPad point-of-sale on Stripe Terminal. Every in-person sale lands in the same orders table as web and app orders — unified inventory, unified reporting, no separate system.
KnotEmployee
Dual-surface iOS scheduling and workforce management — manager and employee views in one app. Drag-and-drop scheduling, live clock-in status via Supabase Realtime, and APNs push via Deno Edge Function.
Business Impact
- $0 commission per order — vs. 15–30% on DoorDash or Uber Eats. On a $50 order, that's $7–15 back in the owner's pocket every time.
- Replaces $200–500/month in SaaS tools — Square, Toast, scheduling apps, and POS software are all replaced by one platform the business owns.
- One source of truth — an order placed through the website, the iOS app, or the POS lands in the same table, deducts from inventory, and appears instantly in the admin queue.
- Ready to scale — onboarding a new client is one database row and a frontend deploy. No backend changes, no schema migration.
Outcome
Four live deployments across wellness, bakery, salon, and hospitality verticals. The architecture handles the full surface area of a real software business: frontend, API design, relational database, real payments, mobile development, background jobs, push notifications, and AI integrations — all on a single multi-tenant backend.