The Windows desktop app the Marshalls School of Fashion team uses to run admissions: payments, applications, programmes, enquiries and the website's own content, with encrypted backups and self-installing updates.
Client
Marshalls University College
Service
Desktop
Timeline
25 Sept 2026 – 15 Oct 2026
Stack
Tauri 2RustReact 19TypeScriptViteSupabase
One desktop app runs Marshalls admissions, payments and website content, with a sign-in for every administrator.
15pages in three groups: command, admissions, system
30 minbetween update checks, so every desk stays current
1 hridle before the app locks itself
Where they started
An online admissions system is only as good as the tool the staff use to run it:
One shared key was not enough. The admin API needed each administrator to sign in as themselves, so every change could be traced.
Applicants' documents are private, and so is the information in an application, so the tool needed strong access control.
Content changed by hand meant waiting on a developer for every programme, fee or intake.
Staff step away from their desks, but typing a long password again and again slows the work down.
Updates had to reach every installed copy without anyone visiting each computer.
What we did
We built Marshalls Admin as a focused desktop console in the school's gold and black:
Per-administrator sign-in replaced the shared key, with a password reset by a code emailed to the administrator.
A quick PIN for fast sign-in. It is checked by the website, not on the computer, and the app locks after an hour idle, but never while someone is using it.
Admissions tools: programmes and intakes (the website trusts these lists), applicants, applications with their private documents, payments and enquiries.
Site settings: the public pages' text, images, contact details and branding are edited here and appear on the website.
Encrypted backups, a notifications feed, an audit trail and error logs.
Self-installing updates: signed installers are built automatically, and the app checks for a new version every 30 minutes and installs it without interrupting unsaved work. Photos are shrunk before upload.
Marshalls Admin opens on a sign-in screen of its own. The old shared admin key is gone: every administrator signs in as themselves, so each change can be traced to a person in the audit trail.
A forgotten password is reset with a code sent to the administrator's email, and once signed in, a quick PIN checked by the website saves retyping the password. The window is drawn by the app, with its own minimise, maximise and close controls.
1One accountable consoleAdmissions, payments, insights and enquiries sit behind one sign-in.
2EmailEach administrator has their own account.
3Show passwordOne eye icon on every password field.
4Sign inThe website checks the login, and every sign-in is logged.
5Forgot password?Sends a reset code to the administrator's email.
6Window controlsThe app draws its own title bar.
The dashboard
After signing in, the team lands on the operational dashboard: revenue, submitted and accepted applications, open enquiries, and the work waiting for someone.
The sidebar groups the app by job (Command, Admissions, System), with live counts on the busy pages, so nobody has to open a page to know it has work in it. The figures here come from a development copy, not real applicants.
1Admissions revenueConfirmed Paystack revenue, from payments the system has verified.
2Submitted applicationsHow many applicants have submitted, as a share of those registered.
3
Admissions insights
The Insights page turns the website's own visitor data into plain numbers: events, unique visitors, purchase conversion, applications submitted from the portal and how many countries visited.
Visitors are counted without cookies, and the funnel below shows how many people got from the first page view to a purchase and a submitted application. The figures shown come from a development copy of the site.
1Filtered eventsEvery recorded event in the chosen range, with unique visitors beneath.
2Purchase conversionPurchases completed against purchases started.
3Countries reached
Programmes
The Programmes page manages the same programme records the website reads. A change made here shows on the public programmes page and in the application form's programme choices, without a developer.
Each programme shows its status, summary, duration and fee; programmes can be dragged into the order they appear in, previewed, edited or removed.
1Same records as the websiteEditing here changes what visitors and applicants see.
2Refresh from websitePulls the latest list from the website.
3New programmeAdds a programme with its summary, outcomes and fee.
