SmartInvoices
SmartInvoices is the ultimate e-invoicing app for Australian SMEs, making invoicing simpler than ever. Enjoy automated invoicing, seamless accounting integration, and secure digital transactions for a smarter, paper-free workflow.
Industry
Accounting
Role
UX/UI Designer
Timeline
May - July 2022
Part One
Project Overview
Project Overview
Background
Smart Invoices is a next-generation e-invoicing app built for Australian SMEs, making invoice management simpler, faster, and more reliable. It offers automated invoicing, effortless integration with existing accounting systems and secure digital transactions, eliminating paper-based inefficiencies for a smarter, streamlined workflow.
Project Type
Group Project
Role
UX/UI Designer
Design Researcher
Business Analyst
Key Responsibilities
User research
Defining user flows
Low fidelity wireframing
High fidelity UI mockups
Supporting developers
User Ressearch
Project Overview
Problem Context
The Australian government is driving a nationwide shift to e-invoicing, with all agencies adopting it by July 2022. For SMEs, this change is inevitable—failure to adapt risks falling behind and facing greater exposure to fraud.
E-invoicing offers clear advantages: less admin, faster payments, and easier cross-border trade. Yet current solutions are costly and poorly suited to smaller businesses, creating a barrier to adoption.
User Sentiment
Sense of inevitability
SMEs feel e-invoicing adoption is unavoidable
Pressure to adapt
Fear of falling behind competitors or being exposed to fraud
Recognition of benefits
Clear understanding of efficiency and financial gains
Frustration with current options
Existing solutions are seen as overpriced and unsuitable
Project Overview
Problem Identification
5 Whys analysis was conducted to explores why small to medium-sized businesses struggle to adopt e-invoicing solutions.
5 Why's Analysis
Why #1
Small to medium sized businesses find it difficult to implement both affordable and easily integratable e-invoicing solutions.
Why #2
Most e-invoicing solutions are interlinked to an ecosystem of other product suites and inherently time-consuming and expensive to implement.
Why #3
The intrinsic nature of existing end-to-end solutions favor larger corporations and entities with access to financial resources.
Why #4
E-Invoicing is a new and emerging innovation in the market. Competitors are first-movers and have monetized their product offerings.
Why #5
Free e-invoicing platforms (for SMEs) have not been explored in the commercial/public sector due to low adoption and demand.
Problem Statement
How can we develop and prototype a low-cost and accessible e-invoicing technological product that allows small to medium sized business to effectively support their every-day business operations?
Part Two
Understanding the User
Understanding the User
User Interviews
Interviews were employed to empathise with users and assess potential pain-points during the discovery phase
Moderated usability interviews
Study Type
Location
Remote
Participants
5 people
Duration
30 minutes per interview
Understanding the User
User Interviews - Insights
User testing outcomes were converted into practical insights to keep design decisions user-focused and supported by both qualitative and quantitative evidence.
“My wholesale business has grown dramatically over the years. As a result, I’ve had to send out piles and piles of paper invoices which can get messy very quickly. I’ve grown a stronger interest in e-invoicing and would like to reduce wastages and associated costs. However, I am new to this and don’t have experience with this area."
- Valerie Siew (Meat Wholesaler)
“Prior to opening my café, I have had little experience with managing finances and accounting processes. Our onsite office space is small and cluttered. Often times, we lose our paper invoices. Emailing and calling up our suppliers for an invoice re-issue is bothersome as they are busy and usually out in the field.”
- Daniel Hwang (Cafe Owner)
Quantitative Insights
65%
of invoices are still being delivered physically by hand
71%
of SMEs review their invoices on a weekly basis
41%
of SMEs still spend $21 to $39 to process invoices
27%
of SMEs still spend $21 to $39 to process invoices
Understanding the User
User Stories
Based on preliminary analysis, user stories were created to inform the creative direction of SmartInvoices.
Part Three
Prototyping
Prototyping
Low-Fidelity - (Iteration 1)
I designed a grey scaled low fidelity mockup for the Invoice History process on Figma, which I then used to begin user testing.
Key Findings
The table format to display the invoice history created readability issues.
Users prefer a bigger CTA and a more readable form of the invoice list.
Selecting individual invoices is hard as the CTA is too small, causing users to click the wrong invoice
Displaying the list as individual cards ensuring users can connect the correct CTA.
Displaying the tax invoice PDF has too much text on the screen.
Spacing out the writing and only displaying essential information on the screen.
Overall, the information looked too cramped for the users.
Users prefer a bigger CTA and a more readable form of the invoice list.
Users feel that a filter option should be available as the invoice history is very lengthy.
Incorporate a filter button allowing the user to personalise what information is displayed.
Scrolling vertically and horizontally was difficult for the user
Users should only be able to scroll one way to make it easier to use.
Prototyping
Low-Fidelity - (Iteration 2)
Feedback from the first iteration was then used to further develop low-fi screens. The main changes made were substituting the invoice history display for a card list, implementing a vertical scroll for the card list, displaying a summarised version of the invoice, and implementing a filter button.
Findings
Users felt that all the necessary information was displayed on the invoice page.
No errors occurred in the testing with users clicking the wrong invoice as the card size was sufficient compared to the table row.
Users felt that having separate buttons for filtering and sorting was logical and did not need clarification with the process.
Part Four
Final Product
Final Product
Onboarding
A brief introduction to the app, outlining the basic task flow a user may experience when using the application.
Final Product
Sign Up Flow
Sign up process to the SmartInvoices App.
Final Product
Login Flow
Log in process to the SmartInvoices App.
Final Product
View & Manage Invoices
Users can easily access and manage their invoices from one central location in the app.
Final Product
New Invoice
SMEs will be able to create detailed invoices to issue to their clients through the application.
Final Product
View & Manage Clients
SMEs can view all their clients, update details, track associated invoices, and access analytics on performance.
Final Product
High-Fidelity Prototype
A high-fidelity prototype was developed to demonstrate the key user flows of Smart Invoices, incorporating interactions and transitions that enhance the experience while aligning with platform standards.
Feel free to interact with the app!
Part Five
Reflection
Reflection
Key Learnings
Don’t fall in love with your design: Hearing an array of opinions and feedback was at times overwhelming. I used to fall into the trap where I’d fall in love with one of my iterations and struggle to take on criticism. Working on this project was great in that I was able to separate myself from my work and remember who I’m designing for. This is something I know I’ll have to take on with me into my career but I see every project as an opportunity to work on this aspect of myself.
Complexity of scope: I tried to provide a comprehensive solution, however the product had so many different features that my prototype became too complex. This led me to designing many different screens and user flows and the Figma file became a headache to look at. I learnt that the importance of prioritising and simplifying a design, as well as creating a consistent design system.
Go beyond the design: I think one thing I’d like to consider in the future is to reach out to different industry professionals and discover if the design is feasible. I think although my design is effective, in reality there would be more constraints I would have to work with, thus affecting the outcome of the product. It would help me become familiar to an environment where feasibility directly affects the design process.
Reflection
Next Steps
SmartInvoices offers SMEs a streamlined, digital approach to managing invoices. After the next round of user testing and improvements, it will be prepared for launch.
Usability Test No. 3
Conduct another round of usability studies to ensure I have addressed and resolved all user pain points from the previous studies. Further iterations may still be necessary
Handoff for production
When the design has been finalised, collaborate with software engineers to bring it to life. This can be done by sharing the Figma file link, creating custom thumbnails, exporting assets, and so on.