Bookkeeper App Design
Dhirendra Paudel
The product:
Bookkeeper is an app designed for bookkeeping for a
fitness trainers. The app offers a guided free and easy
way to record financial transactions. Bookkeeper targets
customers like fitness trainers and freelancers who lack
the time or ability to record their financial transactions.
Project overview
Project duration:
January 2022 to September 2022.
The problem:
Fitness trainers and freelancers lack the proper
knowledge to record their financial records
Project overview
The goal:
Design an app which helps users to easily
record their financial
transactions(income/expenses) and track their
inventory.
My role:
UX designer designing an app for bookkeeping
for a fitness trainers from conception to
delivery.
Project overview
Responsibilities:
Conducting interviews, paper and digital
wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping,
conducting usability studies, accounting for
accessibility, and iterating on designs.
Understanding
the user
●User research
●Personas
●Problem statements
●User journey maps
User research: summary
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m
designing for and their needs. A primary user group identified through research
was fitness trainers who work as freelancers.
This user group confirmed initial assumptions about lack of knowledge in bookkeeping, but
research also revealed that knowledge was not the only factor limiting users from bookkeeping.
Other user problems included diverse income, obligations, interests, or challenges that make it
difficult to record their financial transaction and track their inventory.
User research: pain points
Time
It would be time saving if
they can record financial
transactions anytime
and anywhere on mobile
devices.
Knowledge
Lack of knowledge in
bookkeeping
procedures. Lack of
guides in related apps.
Financial
Lack of affordable and
free apps on
bookkeeping. Lack of
finance to hire
bookkeeper.
Diversity
Due to diverse nature of
income and expenses,
most freelance fitness
trainers need integrated
and customizable app
for bookkeeping
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Persona: Yogini Nutan
Problem statement:
Yogini Nutan is a yoga
instructor who needs
bookkeeping app with
instructions because that
would guide for
recording financial
transactions and save
her time.
User journey map
Mapping Yogini Nutan’s
user journey revealed
how helpful it would be
for users to have access
to a dedicated and
guided bookkeeping
app
●Paper wireframes
●Digital wireframes
●Low-fidelity prototype
●Usability studies
Starting
the design
Paper wireframes
Taking the time to draft
iterations of each screen of
the app on paper ensured
that the elements that
made it to digital
wireframes would be well-
suited to address user pain
points. For the home
screen, I prioritized a quick
and easy recording process
to help users save time.
Stars were used to mark the elements of each sketch that would be
used in the initial digital wireframes.
Digital wireframes
As the initial design phase
continued, I made sure to
base screen designs on
feedback and findings from
the user research.
These buttons
at the top of
the home
screen makes
it fast and easy
for users to
glance at
income and
expenses and
also to record.
This button
provides an
easy option for
users to record
new financial
transactions
Digital wireframes
Easy customizable was a
key user need to record
their diverse financial
records.
Easy access to
settings for
customized
records.
Easy access to
add own label
for records
Usability study: findings
I conducted two rounds of usability studies. Findings from the first study helped guide the
designs from wireframes to mockups. The second study used a high-fidelity prototype and
revealed what aspects of the mockups needed refining.
Round 1 findings
Users want online profile account for
sync functionality
1
“Settings” functionality to record own
labels is confusing
2
Round 2 findings
Users want export to spreadsheet
functionality
3
Users want to record transactions
quickly
1
Users want more customization
options with labels
2
Users want guides for bookkeeping
3
●Mockups
●High-fidelity prototype
●Accessibility
Refining
the design
Mockups
Early designs allowed for some
recording from different
points,
but after the usability studies, I
added inner shadow and
clarity for buttons. I also
revised the design so users see
all the options to record
when they first land on the
screen.
Before usability study After usability study
Mockups
The second usability study
revealed the inconsistency
with color choice. to fix it
uniform color was used.
I also added the back option
to this screen for better
navigation.
Before usability study After usability study
Mockups
Accessibility considerations
Provided access
to users who are vision
impaired through adding
alt text to images for
screen readers.
Used icons along with text
to
help make
navigation easier.
Used simplification to
better understand
the designs.
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●Takeaways
●Next steps
Going forward
Takeaways
Impact:
The app makes users feel like bookkeeping is
really easy to meet their needs.
One quote from peer feedback:
“The app made it so easy and fun to do
bookkeeping! I would definitely use this app as
a go-to for a recording financial transactions.”
What I learned:
While designing the bookkeeping app, I
learned that the first ideas for the app are only
the beginning of the process. Usability studies
and peer feedback influenced each iteration of
the app’s designs.
Next steps
Conduct another round of
usability studies to
validate whether the pain
points users experienced
have been effectively
addressed.
Conduct more user
research to determine
any new areas of need.
Plan for cloud sync and
better integration with
other software file
formats for recording and
exporting.
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Let’s connect!
Thank you for your time reviewing my work on the Bookkeeping app! If you’d like to
see more or get in touch, my contact information is provided below.
Email: dhirendra@consultant.com
Website: paudeldhirendra.github.io
Thank you!
