In the fast-paced world of accounting, the consolidation and reporting process is often marred by inefficiencies, manual errors, and fragmented data. The challenge presented was to create an automated, simplified consolidation module.
Role
Lead designer
0-->1
End-to-end
Prototyping
User interviews
Team
1 jr. designer
PM
EM, Engineers
Sales engineers
FloQast is a Close management system looking to expand to Consolidation and Financial Reporting after noticing this market opportunity.
A simplified, automated consolidation and reporting solution with a seamless integration with multiple ERP systems, ensuring data accuracy, providing real-time financial insights and enhancing efficiency of accounting teams.
Our research revealed that the current consolidation method is plagued with issues.
Inefficient manual processes
Reliance on Excel for consolidations is time consuming and prone to errors.
Data fragmentation
Multiple ERP systems lead to inconsistencies and require complex data mapping.
Delayed financial insights
Stale data hampers strategic decision making and compliance.
Costly setup and integration process
Setup can take six to twelve months, and cost $250-$700,000.
By examining the jobs to be done, we identified areas for improvement.
CFO
"I want accurate data for on time strategic decision-making."
Controller
"I want to maintain data accuracy across multiple ERP systems."
Accountant
"I want to ensure my data entry is accurate, without errors from manual entry."
The numbers spoke for themselves - there was an opportunity here.
27 calls
We saw an average of 27 calls to per month where a present need exists for a consolidation solution.
12+ interviews
From 12+ interviews, we discovered that many of our customers are currently consolidating data manually and are hoping we can offer a solution.
How might we provide a consolidation platform integrated with multiple sources that produces accurate, in-time data and reports?
I began by understanding the current workflow — how they are doing their work — and then outlined the necessary steps for a Consolidations app.
Based on the user needs identified in our research, it became evident that I should implement a four-pronged approach to the solution.
Integrate
Hypothesis: Integrating with other systems will streamline the process.
Accuracy
Hypothesis: A clear view of all data allows for identification of what is missing and complete will earn confidence in the data.
Central view
Hypothesis: Consolidating data in one location will facilitate job completion and aid in analysis.
Simple setup
Hypothesis: A streamlined setup will save time and energy, providing us with a competitive advantage.
A simplified data integration.
User problem
Users want a method to manage the entities they are consolidating, and the ability to make changes or adjustments when new entities are added.
Solution
Select entities to consolidate from the Close module, for a seamless integrative experience.
User problem
Setting up parent/child relationships can be cumbersome.
Solution
Create parent /child relationships between the entities in an easy drag-and-drop interface.
A centralized place to view and manage all accounts.
User problem
It's not enough to view individual accounts; users want to see how they rollup into financial statements.
Solution
Accounts are grouped by financial statement line items, which in turn are grouped by financial statement.
User problem
"When new accounts are added, the data becomes incomplete, so there needs to be a way to track them."
Solution
New accounts are initially listed at the bottom, with the option to move them to their appropriate place.
User problem
Users would like to see the ERP General Ledger sources for each of the accounts, whether there's one or multiple.
Solution
Each line, upon click, opens a card that lists the different ERP GL's that are linked to the account, and with their mapping group if applicable.
An accurate view of the numbers.
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User problem
Users need two views: to see each entity by itself, but also how child entities feed into parent entities and how those numbers aggregate, or consolidate.
Solution
A two-view system, with Standalone and Multi-view, showing either the single entity, or the parent/child rollup.
User problem
Users would like to verify the accuracy of the data by reviewing the transformations it has undergone.
Solution
An adjustment card per line item, with the “story” of the transformations that the data has been through.
Grouping entity mappings for a simplified setup.
User problem
Often the mapping rules are the same for multiple entities, and each has to be maintained separately.
Solution
By creating mapping groups, users can group entities that share the same rules, eliminated repeated and duplicative rules.
We worked cross-collaboratively with the Triad, between product, design, and engineering.
Feasibility
From brainstorming sessions to grooming, engineering was involved at every step to ensure the feasibility of the integration, automation, and overall UX.
Handoff
Hand-off included grooming discussions, final mockups with annotations, and Jira tickets with acceptance criteria.
Design system
I utilized design system components, directing engineers on which to use where, while creating new components where needed (and submitting to design system library).
Design QA
All modules were reviewed in production to ensure that code met acceptance criteria and our vision from the mocks.
We needed an approach to ensures the software is user-friendly and meets the accountants at their level of technical expertise. Through different solutions, we simplified a highly complex process, including both setup and use.
Continue listening to users
We will gain valuable insights from the Beta phase, particularly in determining whether to prioritize expanding data integration and mapping to cover more use cases, or to focus first on adding robust features such as Eliminations and Translations.
Expand the product vision
We will expand the product to a more robust version, to bring forth the full value proposition.
Consider churn risk
Being that the product is leaner than we’d hope (to get to market sooner), we need to consider the risk of early adopters churning and how to mitigate this risk.