Design an iOS app for managing project earning and payout

Published on: 22nd Jan 2021

Do you want to find out what is the profitability on the project that you've been working on?

The idea

We have been searching for a new app idea for quite awhile. Finally, we have shortlisted a few ideas and the first project in 2021 will be developing an app that helps users to manage project earning and payout.

We believe this app is going to be very helpful especially for small businesses, and for those who require to move around to many locations where accessing a laptop or computer is not convenient.

It saves the users' time from data entry, eases the process of finding out which project is profitable, and how much they have spent on the project. With this analysis, the users will be able to strategize and react to any issue within a shorter period of time.

Project scope

In version 1.0, we will try to limit the project scope instead of expanding it exponentially. The main reason is to avoid blowing up the development cost and the second reason is to complete the development soonest possible.

Features that we plan to incorporate

Here's what we think the app should have in version 1.0.

Unlimited project - this is a must because if the user is running many small projects, the unlimited project will be a key advantage.
Unlimited customer - it depends on which industry the user is in. Some industries do not have many repeating customers whereas other industries do have many repeating customers. Hence, we make unlimited customers another key feature which will be beneficial to those who need it.
Unlimited classification for earning and payout - we find the classification is very important for data analysis. It allows the user to analyze and find out how they have spent their money on the project and which payout is affecting the profits. The common mistake in running a business is that the business owner does not know where they have spent their money and how much they have spent.

Features that we plan NOT to incorporate

Here's the list of features that we don't think are appropriate to be incorporated into an iOS app or maybe added to the future version.

This app is not for “project costing” or setting up “budget”. Project costing works like a quotation system which is not what this app is about.
It does not track any resources like manpower, materials, etc.
It does not track any project deadline. Mainly because project deadlines involve many parties and it involves more costs in developing and maintaining the data in the cloud. What we want to offer is an app that is cost effective.

Proposed screens

All righty, so far so good in scoping the project. Now it's time to sketch some screens and here are two of the proposed screens.

A summary and overview of the earning and payout. This will tell the user whether the business is profitable or not throughout the years. The statistics such as total earning, total payout, total profit (or could be loss) and the profit margin are shown on the right-hand side with a pie chart. Aside from these statistics, it also tells the user how many projects are active and inactive. A nice bar chart will occupy two thirds of the screen on the left that tells the user which month has the highest earning and payout.

Proposed summary view

The next important view is the project view which tells the user which project is making a profit and which one is making a loss. With all the statistics on the screen for each project, it will definitely helpful in letting the user to decide how to improve the performance.

Proposed project view

Conclusion

We are so excited about this new app. Hope we can complete it soonest possible.

Please visit the app page to find out more about this app

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Author

Lau Hon Wan, software developer.