Improving the invoice experience

Responsibilities

Overview

Invoicing is how Sorbet's users get paid

For freelancers and SMBs using Sorbet, invoicing isn't a nice-to-have. It's the primary way they request and receive payments from clients. The invoice flow needed to handle cross-border complexity like multiple currencies, stablecoin settlement, and varying payment rails while feeling as simple as sending a text. Every extra step or unclear label was a reason for a client not to pay.

The Problem

The existing invoice flow was built for launch, not for daily use

The MVP invoice experience shipped with the minimum viable set of fields and flows. It worked, but users were hitting friction in key areas. There was no way to set up recurring invoices, the table lacked clear indicators for amounts received, and the overall flow didn't support the way freelancers and SMBs actually bill.

Research

We looked at how Stripe, Acctual, and Wallex handle invoicing

We benchmarked against established invoicing tools like Stripe, Acctual, and Wallex, analysing how each structured their invoice creation and payment flows. Some of the gaps we noticed in our own experience became clear:

Solution

An invoice flow that feels fast, clear, and built for repeat use

The redesigned experience focuses on three things: speed of creation, clarity of status, and transparency for the recipient. Invoices can be created in under a minute with smart defaults. A clear status pipeline shows draft, sent, viewed, paid, and overdue states. And the recipient gets a clean payment page where they choose to pay via stablecoin or fiat, with local currency context so they know exactly what they're paying.

Design System

Built a design system to keep things consistent as we scaled

I created a shared component library with colour tokens, typography, spacing, and reusable patterns. This meant the engineering team could build new screens without guessing, and everything stayed visually consistent across the product.

Impact

Faster invoicing, clearer status, fewer support tickets

The new invoice flow cut creation time significantly and gave users real-time visibility into payment status. Support tickets related to invoicing dropped, and the payment completion rate from recipients improved as the payment experience became clearer.

Invoicing sits at the intersection of two user experiences: the sender creating the invoice, and the recipient paying it. Designing for both audiences simultaneously meant every decision had a dual impact. A field that made the sender's life easier could confuse the recipient, and vice versa. The key was finding the right balance. Enough detail for the sender to feel in control, enough simplicity for the recipient to just pay.

Cross-border payments add a layer of complexity that most invoicing tools ignore. Currency conversion, settlement timing, and payment rail selection all happen behind the scenes, but the design needs to communicate enough about these processes to build trust without overwhelming the user with technical details.