Smart Budget Tracking
Empowering users to master their money.
CONTEXT
Budget Account: Helping Users Stay on Track
The budget account helps users manage their money on a monthly basis, teaching them better financial habits.
Previously, we used a budget gauge to track spending, but customer feedback highlighted key issues:
Topping up mid-month or with varying amounts
Wire transfers, reimbursements, or bonuses weren’t accounted for
Inflexibility – The gauge only tracked from the 1st to the last day of the month, not reflecting how users actually managed their money.
These insights drove us to redesign budget tracking for greater clarity and accuracy.
UNDERSTANDING USER NEEDS
Survey objective
To build the right features, we started with a survey targeting Sumeria+ power users via Typeform. Instead of jumping straight into interviews, we first gathered broad insights to challenge assumptions and identify real needs.
Survey
ESSENTIALS
Balance evolution – Already well-managed for most users.
MUST-HAVES
Monthly budget tracking – A potential core feature, highly requested.
Residual income estimation – Needed by most, but no universal solution exists.
Fixed expenses tracking – Poorly handled by competitors, used by 50%+ of surveyed users.
NICE-TO-HAVES
Expense tracking by category – Complex but relevant for 30% of users.
LOW PRIORITY FEATURES
Month-over-month expense history.
Budget tracking per category.
Income/outcome history.
Savings history & aggregation.
SURVEY
Conclusion
Budget Tracking Constraints
• Accuracy – Never mislead users, handling all incomes/outcomes, even irregular top-ups.
• Clarity – Instant visual insights with clear explanations.
• Flexibility – Adaptable to different money management styles.
Key Money Questions
• Am I on track with my budget?
• Did I lose or earn money this month?
• When will I reach my financial goals?
Designing the graph
During the budget exploration, we identified key features such as the ability to navigate the graph and ensuring it follows a descending trend to reflect balance changes throughout the month.
WRAPPING UP THE PROJECT
Final version (almost)
The final version was refined in both UI and UX, making it ready for development. We introduced features like seamless navigation through past and future data (with adaptive information hierarchy) and a graph structure of around 30 points for the current period, plus three before and after. This allowed for precise daily spending calculations and other key insights.
CUSTOMIZABLE TIMELINE
DAILY SPENDING GUIDANCE
CLEAR SPENDING INSIGHTS
DYNAMIC PROJECTIONS
SMART ADAPTATIVE GRAPH
It also raised important questions, such as whether we should trigger a daily warning if a user falls 15% below the linear prediction curve. However, this approach proved inaccurate—for example, users who front-load grocery expenses early in the month would be flagged incorrectly, even if they were managing their budget well. This reinforced the need for a neutral graph, highlighting one of the key challenges of the project.
Working closely with the PO, we refined the development tickets, collaborated with developers, and conducted thorough UI/UX testing alongside QA to ensure a smooth implementation.
Interviews
INTERVIEWS
Presenting the project to a test group
During development, we tested a Figma user flow with 20 Sumeria power users. Conducting remote interviews with the PO, we observed users sharing their screens and thoughts while we remained as neutral as possible.
These interviews revealed a key oversight: the graph showed balance trends but didn’t indicate whether users stayed within budget. Since development was still ongoing, we introduced a solution—the percentage ring. Tapping it provided details, and users received notifications when they exceeded their budget.
The smart budget tracking
The graph was launched on Sumeria on February 4, 2024, for iOS and Android. In the following 30 days, its usage increased by 21%.
2025 Maël GAJCANIN. All rights reserved.