From Friction to Flow

Économe set out to be more than just another expense tracker. As a Senior Product Designer, I led the 0→1 creation of a modern finance tool built for freelancers and small teams juggling receipts, invoices and daily operations. No legacy to fix, just a blank slate and big expectations.

But clarity doesn’t come easy. Our early research showed that potential users—like Marie, a café owner in Lyon, were overwhelmed by traditional tools.

“I have a stack of receipts, a tired team and no time. I just need to know where my money is going.”

The challenge: design a product powerful enough to handle complex financial workflows, but simple enough to disappear into the user’s day.

The Shift: From Friction to Flow

From strategy to interface, every decision aimed at one goal, clarity.

I architected a 3-tab layout (Track, Workspaces, Settings) and introduced real-world design patterns that met users where they were:

Conversational split-expense flows

• Smart OCR receipt capture

• Onboarding based on scenarios (e.g., “Split lunch bill with team”)

• Microinteractions that guided without overwhelming

The result was a tool that felt intuitive, empowering and quietly efficient.

Outcomes:

40% reduction in time spent on bookkeeping

• 50% increase in weekly active users

• 60% fewer onboarding drop-offs

• 95% success rate in receipt scanning

“This feels like it was made for people like me, not just accountants.” — Marie

The Solution: A Quiet System Built for Busy People

Économe isn’t just a finance app—it’s a subtle partner. Designed from scratch to mirror the real pace of work, it puts users in control without overwhelming them. Every screen answers a need before it becomes a problem.

This project proves that with the right strategy, user insight and focused execution, complex systems can feel simple—and even invisible.

Let’s keep building products that feel like they were made just for the people using them.