ClearSpend - Budget Flow

1. User Persona & Use Case Definition

Primary Users:

• Finance/Accounts Team
• Department Heads
• Budget Approvers (LM, CTO, CFO, CEO)

Key Use Cases:

• Track and manage departmental budget requests
• Quickly identify pending, approved, or rejected requests
• Prioritize high-budget requests
• View detailed request history and budget utilization
• Stay updated with real-time notifications and activity logs

Wireframe

2. Information Architecture & Layout Strategy

The layout is segmented into key zones for better focus and readability:

• Header Section: Contains the page title and “Add Budget” CTA for quick access to initiate a new request.
• Top-Level Metrics: Clearly displays the total count and financials of Pending, Approved, and Rejected requests. This gives a quick health check on departmental finances.
• Analytics Section (Middle Left): A donut chart visualizes budget utilization to give stakeholders a fast overview of how finances are distributed.
• Department Budget Ranking (Middle Right): A ranked list provides a quick comparison of departments based on their allocated or requested budgets.
• Table View (Bottom): Detailed listing of budget requests with filterable parameters like department, activity, approver, and status to enable deeper dives into specific requests.
• Sidebar (Right):
  • Notifications: Keeps users informed in real time.
  • Recent Activities: Especially helpful for auditing marketing-related budgets.
  • Rules Panel: Offers transparency and ensures users follow the correct approval paths depending on the activity.

3. UI Design & Visual Hierarchy

• Color Coding:
  • Orange (Pending), Green (Approved), Red (Rejected) — for instant recognition.
  • Donut chart uses the same color scheme for consistency.
• Typography & Icons:
  • Clean, readable typography and subtle icons create a minimalist and professional aesthetic.
• Component Consistency:
  • Cards, charts, and tables maintain a consistent spacing, padding, and design rhythm, reducing cognitive load.

4. Interaction & Usability Considerations

• Responsiveness: Designed to adapt across screen sizes — ideal for dashboards used in both desktop and tablet modes.
• Sticky Sidebar: Ensures key navigation elements remain accessible.
• Search Functionality: Enables users to instantly locate requests without manual browsing.
• Rules Guide: Educates users on workflows, reducing confusion and mistakes.

5. Data Handling & Prioritization

• The design supports data-driven decision-making by presenting:
  • Prioritized requests by department and budget size
  • Trends in approvals/rejections over time
  • Real-time activity history and request status
• Rule-based approval logic ensures requests are escalated correctly, reducing redundancy.

6. Scalability & Future Enhancements

The dashboard is designed with scalability in mind:

• Easily extendable to include filters for date ranges, departments, request types.
• Can integrate notifications with email or Slack.
• Offers the potential to export reports or integrate with analytics platforms.