Receipts are a ubiquitous aspect of daily life, but they can be difficult to manage, with many being lost or discarded. Around 228.7 million pounds of receipt paper is generated by America's retailers each year, resulting in 22.87 million pounds of paper becoming trash. A recent study found that 80% of the US population receives one to three receipts daily, with 11% immediately discarded. The project explores the future of receipt management systems, aiming to propose an innovative and consumer-oriented solution.
Role: UX Researcher
My Contribution: User Research, User Interview, Survey, Competitive Analysis, Persona creation, User journey mapping.
Team size: 4
Duration: 3 months
Tools used: Atlas.io, Figma, Miro, Qualtrics
Current receipt management systems are inefficient and wasteful, resulting in significant amounts of paper waste and difficulty for both consumers and merchants in accessing and managing receipts. Despite the availability of technological tools for receipt management, many people still prefer to track their finances on paper or not at all.
This project aims to explore and propose a more innovative, consumer-oriented solution that addresses these barriers and improves the overall efficiency and sustainability of the receipt management process.
The methodology section of this project outlines the steps taken to collect and analyze data for the study. The process involves a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, including surveys, interviews, and data analysis.
Many of these websites also generate lists of the best management tools and services. Three of the top applications in this space are Expensify, Smart Receipts, and Receipts by Wave for Business.
Expensify is on most lists of applications for scanning and managing receipts for good reason. It allows you to take a picture of the receipt, and it will process the snapshot to extract all the necessary information. The advantage that this software has over others is that it saves time while trying to save receipts.
Smart Receipts is another receipt-focused app that simplifies the process of capturing and organizing receipts. It simply turns your smartphone into a receipt scanner in your pocket. Furthermore, it will save you time when creating an expense report and will allow you to log more mileage while traveling for business.
Receipts by Wave for Business is particularly user-friendly, and it syncs with your free Wave account for online storage of all those receipts. The wonderful thing about this is that if you lose your phone, you can always access your vital travel records via the web.
Observations were divided into two categories: Sellers and Consumers. Detailed information about the participants have been included in the table below
a) Digital
b) Physical
c) No Receipt
a) Ways of Storing
b) Timeline
During each interview session, we recorded and noted field notes with a pen and paper and analyzed the data using the Contextual Analysis Framework. After we coded the interview on Atlas.ti, we grouped similar notes, and we found common themes.
Furthermore, we transferred the draft to Miro and created our Affinity Map. As a team, we reviewed the findings and grouped them, and identified common themes
a) Preference
b) Reasons for choosing
a) Methods
b) Digital Platforms
a) Challenges
b) Expectations
To understand the initial interaction of users with receipts
a) Methods
b) Digital Platforms
a) Challenges
b) Expectations
Designed two personas that represent how users might use digital ways of storing receipts to understand the goals and frustrations they would experience when making decisions about receipt management.
From the data obtained in our observations, interviews, surveys, we were able to synthesize these results into the relevant features within matrix
Created two journey maps to understand how personas might interact with applications
The results of the observations, interviews, and surveys helped to shape the design of a technology-based solution that helps users track and store their digital receipts digitally. Following are the design implications of the themes we identified:
In the survey, 24 out of 37 participants said they needed a detailed report of their expenses every month. Having such a feature in their bank accounts would allow people to monitor their expenses statistically, so they can also see where they spend the most money. With this feature, users can also keep track of every item they purchase through digital receipts, enabling them to track their expenses for each item.
Collecting and keeping track of paper receipts can be troublesome, often leading to loss and difficulty in exchanging items. The survey showed that 31 out of 37 respondents prefer saving receipts directly in the application. To address this, we propose integrating a digital receipt feature into the bank application. This solution enables users to receive digital receipts when swiping their card, eliminating the need for paper receipts and ensuring security.
Tracking due dates for bills and reimbursements can be time-consuming, leading to late fees. In our survey, 22 out of 37 participants preferred alert notifications for due dates. The propose an extension that sends advance notifications for due dates, providing users with buffer time. Users can customize and manage alerts within their account, offering flexibility. Additionally, the feature enables sorting and filtering based on user preferences when implemented.
To ensure a seamless and intuitive user experience, following are the next steps in the study:
Develop a clear and intuitive user flow, guiding users through each step of the receipt management system from registration to receipt capture, storage, organization, tracking, reporting, and notifications.
Refine and iterate the user flow based on feedback and usability testing to optimize the user experience and address any pain points or issues in the flow.
Create low-fidelity wireframes that outline the visual layout and interactive elements of the system, focusing on structure, placement, and user interactions.
Iterate on the wireframes, incorporating feedback to improve usability and interface efficiency.
Build interactive prototypes to simulate system functionality, allowing users to provide feedback and insights before moving to the development stage.
Conduct usability testing to evaluate the system's user interface, flow, and overall user experience.
Identify usability issues and areas for improvement through user testing, using feedback to inform design decisions.
Continuously refine and enhance the system based on user testing results to create a user-friendly and intuitive receipt management solution.
This receipt management UX research provided valuable insights into user preferences and behaviors. Key themes identified included the need for monthly expense reports, direct receipt saving in the app, and notifications for reimbursements and returns. These findings inform important design implications, such as integrating expense reports and creating a paperless receipt storage solution. Despite limitations in sample size and geographical scope, this project emphasized the significance of user-centric design and iterative research.
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