Finance management platform (SMB)

Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) often struggle with financial complexity—managing cash flow, tracking expenses, and analyzing performance across fragmented tools. Our goal was to create a unified, user-friendly platform that empowers SMBs to gain control over their finances and make data-driven decisions. This case study outlines how we approached the design and development of this platform using Figma for design, Framer for the marketing website, and Next.js for the application itself.

The finance management platform needed to cater to diverse user needs, from owners looking for high-level analytics to team members managing day-to-day expenses. It required:

1. Comprehensive dashboards for visualizing financial health at a glance.

2. Powerful analytics tools to track KPIs and identify trends.

3. Seamless workflows for tasks like invoicing, expense management, and cash flow tracking.

Our design had to prioritize simplicity without compromising on functionality, ensuring that users of varying tech-savviness could navigate it effortlessly.

Using Figma, we built a design system that focused on clarity and scalability.

• User-Centered Approach: We conducted user research with SMB owners and employees to understand their pain points, which guided us in crafting intuitive layouts and workflows.

• Iterative Prototyping: Figma’s collaborative features allowed rapid iteration, incorporating stakeholder feedback in real-time. We tested prototypes with users, refining navigation flows and optimizing widget designs for analytics and reporting.

• Visual Hierarchy: Key data, such as revenue insights and expense breakdowns, were visually emphasized using clean typography and charts, ensuring the most important metrics stood out.

The result was a sleek, cohesive design that balanced utility and aesthetic appeal, ready for seamless handoff to development.

A compelling marketing website is critical to showcasing the platform’s value proposition. We leveraged Framer to bring the design to life with engaging interactions and a fast, responsive experience.

• Dynamic Animations: Highlighting core features, such as analytics dashboards, through smooth animations and scroll-based reveals.

• No-Code Efficiency: Framer’s no-code approach allowed us to rapidly iterate and deploy the site without sacrificing creativity or polish.

• SEO and Performance Optimization: Built-in tools ensured that the website loaded quickly and ranked well, targeting SMBs searching for finance management solutions.

The platform itself was built on Next.js, chosen for its performance and developer-friendly ecosystem.

• Scalability: The server-side rendering capabilities of Next.js ensured fast, scalable applications, crucial for handling data-heavy analytics and dynamic dashboards.

• API Integration: Robust APIs connected the platform to accounting tools, banking services, and other financial systems, streamlining data import and export.

• Component-Based Architecture: Leveraging React components allowed us to create reusable, modular code, reducing development time and ensuring consistency across the platform.

Our development team worked closely with the designers, ensuring that every interaction and visual detail was faithfully implemented. Regular testing and user feedback helped us fine-tune the product for real-world usage.

The final product is a robust finance management and analytics platform that helps SMBs take control of their finances with confidence. The combination of thoughtful design and cutting-edge technology ensures a smooth user experience, powerful analytics, and an intuitive interface.

With a visually engaging marketing site to attract users and a highly functional platform to retain them, this project stands as a testament to the power of collaboration across design and development disciplines.