Achieving >80% SUS score for efficient Account Payables (A/P)
Product area
B2B2B fintech
Role
Product Designer (IC) partnering with Lead Designer
When
2022
About company
One of the leading API-first fintech startups, Monite has raised $10 mln+ from top VCs including Tomahawk, P72, Signals, ThirdPrime and others. Based in Berlin, it operates on B2B2B model.
Problem overview
Running a small business means dealing with administrative headaches, with bill management often leading the list. SMEs balance two key tasks: paying bills and invoicing contractors. I focused on simplifying the first—bill payments—creating a smoother, stress-free process. Our team called this workflow “accounts payable” and it needed a better flow.
Transparency
for all A/P colleagues
George D. January 4 2022, at 4:10 PM
Uploaded document
Jefrey Chan
Jenny Sabata
Use @all to mention all users in the workflow
Real insights
from target audience
“Between monthly reports, chasing AP and AR data, and justifying every number to the finance director, it's like trying to solve a puzzle while the pieces keep changing.”
AnnaAccountant
Problem statement
Late vendor payments are destroying SMEs' supplier relationships and cash flow and put their business stability at risk
Approach
It's not a way to design right away…
Anna
Accountant
- 32
- B.A.
- Accountant
- Munich
About
Anna is in charge of accounting for Silver Wind. She's 32 years old and has been working in accountancy for the last 8 years.
A day in their life
Anna has some reports to do every month, six months and yearly. While preparing for the reports, she reaches out to AP (accounts payable) and AR (accounts receivable) to be aware of the whole picture and be able to make the spreadsheets are balanced at the end of a reporting period. At meetings, she needs to know exactly what happened to the bills, so she knows what to report to the finance director in case of any questions.
Pains
- Paper bills missed
- Unawareness of bill history
- Tight deadlines
- Auditors check
Gains
- Pull all info automatically
- Know all actions with bill
- Closer collaboration with A/R and A/P
Catherine
Clerk
- 24
- B.A.
- Employee
- Berlin
About
Catherine works as Clerk in Silver Wind. She's 24 years old. It’s her first job in the finance field.
A day in their life
Catherine receives numerous bills from contractors daily, which she submits to her manager, Marie. She relies on the platform’s OCR functionality to accurately capture bill details, as errors can sometimes make her feel responsible. Catherine is cautious about appearing intrusive if issues arise with a bill, so she aims to submit bills quickly to minimize potential problems with upper management.
Pains
- Chasing contractor
- Deadlines missed
- No feedback
- No notifications
Gains
- Process invoices on time
- Email reminders
- Be aware of the feedback regarding invoice
Marie
Finance Manager
- 41
- MBA
- Employee
- Berlin
About
Marie works as a manager in a medium-sized business (Silver Wind) in Berlin.
A day in their life
Marie is dealing with bills on a daily basis. Her workflow looks like this: first, the clerks submit bills and send them to Marie. If everything is correct, she approves, pays and hands them over to the accountant. If there is a mistake, the bill bounces back to the clerk for review. Marie always tries to maintain transparency in her work, so each party knows what the status of the bill is. In order to do this, she needs to be notified about new bills and new approvals that require her attention, as well as questions from her colleagues concerning the bills. These notifications should be sent every day at a certain time.
Pains
- Can’t find a bill to pay
- Deadlines missed
- Not enough statuses
- No notifications
Gains
- Reach transparency
- Email with summary
- Full history including comments regarding bill
Research to insights
Let's draw some insights
Confusion
- Manager doesn’t know whether new bill has been submitted or no
- Clerk doesn’t notice status change
- Manager doesn’t know scope of the work
- Manager has hard times to find a bill to pay
Miscommunication
- Colleagues don’t know about each other comments
- Clerk doesn’t know the reason why bill has been rejected
- Clerk doesn’t receive a feedback about bill’s status
Lack of details
- Accountant can’t trace what happened to a bill and where a mistake occurred
problem 1
confusion→clarity
Role: Manager·Entry point: Email
Daily email summary
Brings Manager back to the tool with a digest of bills that need attention.
problem 1
confusion→clarity
Role: Manager·Entry point: Dashboard
New widget in the dashboard
Signals about action items and shows scope of the work
problem 1
confusion→clarity
Role: Manager·Entry point: To-do filter
New filter
Allows Manager and Clerk quickly jump to work
problem 2
miscommunication→transparency
Role: Clerk·Entry point: Web app / email
Mentioning feature
Allows to notify other colleagues and clarifies the uncertainties
problem 3
lack of details→completeness
Role: Accountant·Entry point: Web app
History feature
Allows to quickly identify where mistake has been occured
problem 2
miscommunication→transparency
Role: Clerk·Entry point: Email
Status change emails
Visit website
Status of the bill has changed to Approved
Hello, Clare! Miranda Pathel approved the below bill:
Contractor
Mindspace Germany
Due date
15.10.2021
Amount
2000.00 €
Visit website
Status of the bill has changed to Rejected
Hello, Clare! Miranda Pathel rejected the below bill:
Contractor
Mindspace Germany
Due date
15.10.2021
Amount
2000.00 €
with a comment: “Please, check the amounts. We agreed on less.”
View billClosing thoughts
This project set a foundation for the Accounts Payables vertical and was used by the sales team to move the needle in sales.
Handover to devs
Prepare documentation of the designs.
Demo
Create high-fidelity prototypes to support sales efforts.