Designed an entry-level accounting solution for small business owners, freelancers and consultants that find the current tools too over-whelming.
Accounting software is either too complex, too expensive, or just not built for small businesses. Many small business owners default to Excel because existing tools feel overwhelming and filled with features they don’t actually need.
That’s where Countab comes in - a tool designed from the ground up to streamline accounting for small businesses.
Role
I led the end-to-end product design, from user research and product strategy to UX/UI design, prototyping, and usability testing. I collaborated closely with four UX designers, product management consultants, and a UX consultant to validate Countab as a product.
The goal? Make accounting even more clean, simple, and error-free for small business owners.
Workflow
The Problem
Why Small Business Owners Struggle with Accounting
While there are plenty of accounting tools on the market, they mostly cater to larger businesses with dedicated accountants. Even the tools for small businesses feel overwhelming.
70% of small businesses still rely on spreadsheets for accounting.
Manual data entry wastes an average of 5-10 hours per week per small business owner.
Most small businesses don’t have the budget for enterprise-grade accounting tools.
What’s wrong with existing solutions?
Too much clutter - Entry-level accountants and business owners get overwhelmed by excessive features.
Steep learning curve - Most tools assume users already know accounting.
Inefficient workflows - Manually entering transactions is time-consuming.
Lack of personalization - Business owners only need a handful of key features, but existing tools force them into unnecessary complexity.
Round 1
The first round of research became explorative/domain research. I realized that we needed to understand more about the core functions of accounting before we could make a decision based on research.
There is a stark difference between small business accounting tools (products for 50–1000 clients vs. products for 0-100 clients.)
Accounting tools and accounting practice management tools could be separate platforms.
Managing clients and teams is usually an issue in larger accounting tools.
Round 2
After understanding more about the industry, the second round helped us focus into a target audience that might need help.
Current accounting tools for entry-level accountants and businesses have steep learning curves.
Most tools have unnecessary features that overwhelm accountants and make them less active.
Most smaller businesses use Excel (over 50%).
❗️ Core Challenges
Our research uncovered a disconnect between small business owners and existing accounting tools. Many rely on Excel because most software is too complex, feature-heavy, and time-consuming for their needs.
Manual entry is a major pain point for accountants.
Small businesses under $1M don’t need large-scale accounting tools.
Feature overload leads to drop-off, as users feel overwhelmed.
Time and budget constraints prevent small businesses from analyzing financial data effectively.
Shifting Focus to Small Business Owners
As we dug deeper, it became clear that small business owners—many of whom handle accounting themselves—struggled most with time management. This led us to a more specific question:
"How might we help smaller accountants and business owners streamline their accounting tasks?"
Round 1 & Round 2 Brainstorming Questions
Product Ideation & Refinement
Our first ideation session mapped out common themes from user interviews and competitor analysis. We categorized insights, identifying two key directions:
An no- nonsense accounting tool for small business owners tackling a few features
A simple practice management tool for accountants to streamline client management
User feedback helped us prioritize. We saw a gap in the market for a simplified accounting tool tailored to small business owners who often abandon complex platforms. The guiding principle became simplicity - removing unnecessary complexity while still offering essential financial insights.
Final Prioritization
After multiple iterations and with an impact-metric matrix and 3 product market fit exercises, we committed to solving the time and effort challenges for small business owners, ensuring they could efficiently manage their finances without the learning curve of traditional accounting software - even Quickbooks.
We focused on three key design principles:
Clarity - Minimal clutter, only the insights that matter.
Efficiency - Reduce manual work, automate where possible.
Flexibility - A modular dashboard that adapts to different user needs.
A trustworthy yet lightweight branding concept with a modular UX/UI system for scalability, featuring a dashboard flow optimized for quick glance insights to streamline accounting.
Usability Testing & Optimizations
5 participants (small business owners & accountants)
3 core financial flows tested (transaction management, invoicing, financial insights)
Measured task success rate, friction points, and overall usability
Key Fixes & Optimizations
Simplified Navigation – Moved key insights upfront so users don’t need to dig for them
Refined Widget Terminology – Changed “Library” to “Widgets” for better clarity
Optimized Form Flows – Reduced steps in invoicing and data entry, making it 40% faster
Improved Dashboard Structure – Made financial insights more glanceable to reduce cognitive load
