Web productLive

Ledgerlight

Calm cash-flow forecasting & runway modeling for boutique creative agencies.

Context
Self-initiated SaaS incubated for creative founders
Role
Product Strategy, UI/UX Design, Full-Stack Development
Timeline
8 weeks · 2024
Key Stack
Next.js 14, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
38%
Forecast accuracy improvement
4.5 hrs
Saved per week on bookkeeping
14+
Creative studios using daily
01 The Problem

Why this needed to be built.

Most small studio founders run their businesses on gut feeling and complicated, error-prone Google Sheets. Ledgerlight was designed as an antidote to corporate accounting software: clear, opinionated, and focused on the single metric that matters—how many months of runway remain under different hiring and revenue scenarios.

Traditional accounting platforms like QuickBooks or Xero excel at backward-looking tax compliance, but make it excruciatingly difficult to look forward 90 days. Agency founders needed a quick tool to test questions like "Can we afford to hire a senior designer next month if Client X pays 30 days late?" without breaking complex spreadsheet formulas.
02 The Solution

Approach and execution.

I architected Ledgerlight around an intuitive visual timeline where revenue streams and contractor expenses are modeled as draggable blocks. Rather than overwhelming founders with double-entry bookkeeping, the dashboard highlights liquidity buffers and confidence intervals.

Deliverables

  • Interactive cash-flow projection canvas
  • Bank synchronization engine via Plaid API
  • Scenario simulator for hiring and retainers
  • Weekly automated email runway briefings
03 Highlights

Key functional details.

Dynamic Runway Timeline

Visual 30/60/90-day cash projections with realistic buffer margins and scenario toggles.

Scenario Branching

Fork your forecast into Best, Expected, and Conservative outcomes to stress-test studio hires.

Zero-Jargon Accounting

Translated obscure accounting terms into plain language: money in, money out, safe cash, and alert thresholds.

04 Technical Retrospective

What this project proved

Designing financial software requires extreme typographic discipline. Using JetBrains Mono for numbers alongside warm serif titles prevented the app from feeling cold while guaranteeing zero layout jitter on live data updates.

Tech stack:Next.js 14TypeScriptTailwind CSSPostgreSQLPrisma ORMPlaid APIRecharts