A brief design presentation for a task on
expense management.
Introduction
EXPM is an expense management software created to help businesses across different industries handle their expenses more easily. The goal was to design a simple and effective platform where employees and administrators can track, report, and manage expenses without stress.
I worked on this project alone and was responsible for everything—from research and sketching ideas to creating the final design.
In this case study, I’ll share the problems I worked to solve, what I learned from users, and the design solutions I created to make EXPM user-friendly and efficient for businesses.
My tools
Figma, Slack, Figjam, Google docs
Project timeline
Project Duration: was 2 days
Problem discovery
There is a lack of proper expense management processes at companies.
While conducting a brief research among our existing users (Finance, high and mid level managers) many of them expressed the dissatisfaction in their companies’ management processes. Consistently, there is always so much use of paper work, under budgeting, mismanagement and overspending of funds that can’t be accounted for. This made me ask myself -
How can I create a solution that will streamline the management of companies funds individually and collaboratively across multiple departments?
My solution - EXPM
A collaborative in-app interactive product to cultivate ease and speed.
This product enables employees to work simultaneously in monitoring, accessing, analyzing and improving the timeline of budget approval without the need for paperwork.
I came up with over 15 features that would solve the expense
management issue across departments but for the sake of this
task and the short timeline, I was able to design 3 screens with
a brief thought process.
Expense entry
Simple and automated expense entry per department.
- An easier way for employees to enter their daily expenses and automate calculations in budget reduction.
- Access accurate information on authorized expenses per department.
- Easily reject, approve or investigate expenses made without the need to calculate manually.
- Categorize expenses for easy tracking.
- Verify purchase through uploaded receipts.
Budget overview
An effective monthly budgeting process across various departments for immediate approval.
- Makes it easy for companies to stay within the proposed monthly budget.
- Easily automate budgets at will.
- Access monthly budget analysis.
- View future projections and economic analysis in-app.
- Export and report abnormalities or suspected budget padding.
Staying inspired and motivated
Easy to understand, accessible and modifiable
experience.
- Customizable widgets or themes, allowing users to prioritize information based on their preferences or companies brand identity.
My thought process
Before proposing the above solutions, I carried out several steps to
help create a useful and efficient product.
Understand the problem
Every organization aims to minimize excess spending, as no one appreciates waste.
Many companies struggle with paperwork and inefficiency when managing daily expenses and records manually. Employees find it hard to submit expenses, managers face lengthy approval processes, and finance teams deal with inaccurate records. To address these challenges, organizations need a digital solution that simplifies expense management, making it easier for everyone involved.
Research
Most effective design decisions comes from a place of superb research.
I had to talk to people to understand why managing expenses manually is hard and what they think about existing digital solutions. I asked questions and studied the market to find out what problems they face and what they want. This helped me design a solution that fits their needs better.
Competitive analysis
Mini competitive analysis revealed already existing products in the market.
Looking at the already existing products in the market, I discovered that all of them have something similar, which is expense tracking, receipt verification, budgeting, etc. I came to a conclusion that these are really key features, but I have to approach my design differently.
Confirming my assumptions
Interviewed a handful of individuals in corporate in order for me to understand the setbacks they’ve had.
From my interviews, I realized that even though digital expense management products are available, companies still have trouble managing their expenses. This can be because setting them up is complicated, employees don’t want to change the way they work, and there isn’t enough training and support. Sometimes, these products don’t fit well with existing systems or aren’t used to their full potential because people don’t understand how to use them properly. Also, the cost of these solutions can be too high for some companies. So, despite their benefits, companies may still struggle with expense management.
Some interview questions
Identifying persona struggles
Understanding key insights and struggles faced by already existing user.
Chijioke Mathew is a Finance Manager at a large industry in Nigeria, he faces challenges managing expenses efficiently due to manual processes and lack of real-time visibility. His goal is to implement a digital solution that streamlines expense management, providing better control and accuracy, ultimately supporting Nigerian Breweries’ financial health and growth aspirations.
Approaching a solution
How can I create a solution that effectively addresses our users’ problems?
I sat down and drew out a simple story of how our solution would make the users’ life easier at all levels. Then, I gathered ideas through brainstorming on how to make this solution work best for them. I thought about what features they needed to manage expenses effectively and how the design should look and feel. After brainstorming, I started creating the actual design of the solution. I made sure it was easy for organizations to use, with clear buttons and simple instructions. I also added features like receipt uploads and budget tracking to help them stay organized.
Throughout the process, I kept my users’ needs in mind, making sure the solution met the specific requirements of a finance manager or employee at a company.
Design Goals
Easy to use
Make the design simple and straightforward so that all employees can understand and use it without any confusion or difficulty.
Fits everyone’s needs
Design features that can be customized to match the specific needs of users across different departments and roles, ensuring that the solution is useful and relevant for everyone.
Streamlined workflow
Create a streamlined workflow that simplifies the process of expense entry, approval, and tracking, enabling teams to efficiently manage expenses in order to save time.
key flow
Limited key flows showing a very small fraction of how the product will be used across teams.
Expense entry:
- User logs in to the expense management system.
- User selects ’’Add New Expense’’ option.
- User fills out expense details such as date, amount, category, and description.
- User uploads receipt or supporting document (optional).
- User submits the expense entry.
Approval workflow:
- Manager receives notification of pending expense approval.
- The manager reviews expense details and approves or rejects the expense.
- If approved, the expense moves to the next stage.
- If rejected, the expense is sent back to the employee for revision.
Expense tracking:
- Manager can view a dashboard displaying their submitted expenses and their current status (pending, approved, rejected).
- Manager can filter expenses by date, category, or status for easy tracking.
- Manager can click on individual expenses to view detailed information.
Feature prioritization
Limited resources and time forced me to prioritize crucial features for the purpose of this task.
The project was exciting, complex, and intriguing. Despite the short timeframe, I focused on designing specific features. This product requires features that support cross-department collaboration and supervision from top-level directors and managers. Interfaces across teams will vary depending on their ranking level.
Key takeaways
A deeper understanding of how complex
designs work and the importance of
transforming complex ideas into simple
solutions.
From this project, I’ve learned firsthand the power of listening to users and crafting solutions that truly meet their needs. Through engaging with Chijioke and other users, I’ve seen the frustration of managing expenses manually and the relief that comes with a well-designed digital tool. It’s been eye-opening to witness the impact of simplicity and ease of use in driving adoption and success. This experience has taught me that empathy and understanding are key ingredients in creating solutions that make a real difference.
