Saving Client Relationships through Retail Cash Tracking & Bookkeeping

User Impact

$6.4M

labor savings per customer

90%

reduction in training time

50%

increase in productivity

Business Impact

increased customer retention and client relationship health

300%

increase in product usage

increased usage of UX resources

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What is Cash Management?

The Cash Management feature is part of Toshiba’s Administrative Console, a cloud-based platform designed for retailers to manage critical corporate and store-level operations including bookkeeping, cataloging, purchasing, loss prevention, user management, and store operations—all within a single hub. This console allows retailers to manage changes at the individual store level all the way up to the region or company level without the need of an IT professional.

Poor Design Led to Poor Customer Relationships

In 2022, clients were increasingly unhappy with Toshiba's administrative console offering. Cash Management was a critical but underused feature. The original product suffered from:

  • Confusing navigation & inconsistent design patterns

  • Unclear terminology and task flows that increased errors and training time

  • Product-specific procedures that did not correlate with industry standards or needs served only to confuse the user

The result: retailers struggled to use the product, adoption was low, and clients incurred hundreds of wasted training hours per store. Many clients simply refused to use the product or were threatening to quit using Toshiba projects altogether.

My Role as Design & Research Lead

I led Design & Research for this project, including fleshing out the web design system, all-new personas, information architecture, and facilitating all workshops with stakeholders. I guided the product away from surface-level improvements to a complete rethinking of how bookkeepers and accountants manage retail cash flow.

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the challenge

Redesign a Solution that Fixes Problems, Not Create Them

The primary business goal for this project was to create a robust solution to save many of the customer relationships that had been damaged due to poor product performance that led to lack of reliability in the company. The UX team had another important goal for the administrative console and Point-of-Sale systems as a whole, which was to provide a more cohesive experience across all facets of the product, not just the Cash Management piece.

research & discovery

User Needs Weren't Being Met, and They Were Tired of It

I facilitated workshops with PMs, Subject Matter Experts, and other stakeholders to get a complete understanding of the cash lifecycle and a bookkeeper's day to day duties. This persona became known as "Becky, the Bookkeeper".

Lack of Cash Visibility & Tracking Accuracy

Users were frustrated by the laborious task of moving money between tills, safe, and deposits, even though it was Becky’s core need. Shortages were hard to anticipate; missing money was only caught through lengthy reconciliations or by the bank.

Lack of Cash Visibility & Tracking Accuracy

Users were frustrated by the laborious task of moving money between tills, safe, and deposits, even though it was Becky’s core need. Shortages were hard to anticipate; missing money was only caught through lengthy reconciliations or by the bank.

Unreliable Reporting & Store Status

Simple, daily tasks were majorly time consuming. Reports had to manually be run and sent off to corporate. Confusing store statuses made it difficult to confirm that reports were accurate or aligned with the correct business day or accounting period.

Unreliable Reporting & Store Status

Simple, daily tasks were majorly time consuming. Reports had to manually be run and sent off to corporate. Confusing store statuses made it difficult to confirm that reports were accurate or aligned with the correct business day or accounting period.

Product Misalignment with Real-World Accounting Processes

Only daily accounting was supported, but many companies ran weekly. Terminal vs. operator accountability — the idea that either the system (terminal) or the employee (operator) was responsible for the cash total — wasn’t supported. Lack of flexibility meant that users had to either change their corporate processes, or forgo using the product altogether.

Product Misalignment with Real-World Accounting Processes

Only daily accounting was supported, but many companies ran weekly. Terminal vs. operator accountability — the idea that either the system (terminal) or the employee (operator) was responsible for the cash total — wasn’t supported. Lack of flexibility meant that users had to either change their corporate processes, or forgo using the product altogether.

All Burden on the Bookkeeper

Communication gaps between store, corporate, and bank made resolving issues even harder.

Ultimately, it was just as important for Becky to understand the health of the store (status, audits, reconciliations, sales) as it was to track the money, but the system didn’t provide that visibility.

All Burden on the Bookkeeper

Communication gaps between store, corporate, and bank made resolving issues even harder.

Ultimately, it was just as important for Becky to understand the health of the store (status, audits, reconciliations, sales) as it was to track the money, but the system didn’t provide that visibility.

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testing & technical feasibility

New Visuals and Information Architecture

Stakeholder management and user feedback were very important at this stage. The UX team was able to not only perform user research on flows and screens, but ultimately convince the product management team to build a brand new web-based design system for the complete administrative console product. Users had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the new UI and were very satisfied with the new UX flows.

User Feedback Reprioritized Uncertain Features

Initially, product management deprioritized many features such as reports, approvals, sales volume tracking, and safe account breakdowns. However, through user research and feedback, the UX team was able to clearly demonstrate their importance. As a result, data retention, standard reports, sales volume, and approval notifications were elevated back to high priority. While custom reporting generated strong user interest, its heavy development cost kept it out of scope for the initial release.

User Feedback Reprioritized Uncertain Features

Initially, product management deprioritized many features such as reports, approvals, sales volume tracking, and safe account breakdowns. However, through user research and feedback, the UX team was able to clearly demonstrate their importance. As a result, data retention, standard reports, sales volume, and approval notifications were elevated back to high priority. While custom reporting generated strong user interest, its heavy development cost kept it out of scope for the initial release.

Retention of Key Features was Important

Users stressed that losing core functions was not an option. Critical legacy functions—like managing cash inside self-checkouts—still had to be preserved, even if design improvements came later.

Retention of Key Features was Important

Users stressed that losing core functions was not an option. Critical legacy functions—like managing cash inside self-checkouts—still had to be preserved, even if design improvements came later.

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final designs & outcomes

An Intuitive, Automated System that Saved Customer Relationships

Final flows and screens were designed and validated for key goals of the bookkeeper persona (“Becky”), including:

  • Easily confirm that funds are accounted for

  • Track amounts in tills and safes with confidence

  • View and validate reports quickly

  • Move money across tills, safes, and banks without friction

Enhanced Information Architecture Allowed for Drilldowns and Historical Views

Users could now drill down into each individual self checkout or cashier lane as well as accounts inside of the safe. Additional self checkout monitoring, cash configuration, and historical views of all tills, safe accounts, deposited, and self checkouts were added.

Enhanced Information Architecture Allowed for Drilldowns and Historical Views

Users could now drill down into each individual self checkout or cashier lane as well as accounts inside of the safe. Additional self checkout monitoring, cash configuration, and historical views of all tills, safe accounts, deposited, and self checkouts were added.

Everything Can Be Seen or Acted On from One Central Dashboard

Instead of needing to drill down into multiple confusing screens to see statuses, important information is not only front and center but emphasized by a new dashboard and central notification system.

Everything Can Be Seen or Acted On from One Central Dashboard

Instead of needing to drill down into multiple confusing screens to see statuses, important information is not only front and center but emphasized by a new dashboard and central notification system.

Manual Data Entry Into Multiple Computers Now Happens in a Single Click

Previously bookkeepers were required to print and manually enter multiple spreadsheets into multiple different computers and email them off — now all of that tracking happens automatically and is sent off in a single click.

Manual Data Entry Into Multiple Computers Now Happens in a Single Click

Previously bookkeepers were required to print and manually enter multiple spreadsheets into multiple different computers and email them off — now all of that tracking happens automatically and is sent off in a single click.

Initial Release Restrictions

Features such as approvals, which allowed for users to make changes to cash settings inside of the tills, were designed but not implemented during the first release. Customers also expressed wanting a "task list" in the future.

Initial Release Restrictions

Features such as approvals, which allowed for users to make changes to cash settings inside of the tills, were designed but not implemented during the first release. Customers also expressed wanting a "task list" in the future.

User Impact

$6.4M

labor savings per customer

90%

reduction in training time

50%

increase in productivity

Business Impact

increased customer retention and client relationship health

300%

increase in product usage

increased usage of UX resources

Landing Page.

Simple, bold.

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Furthering Trust with Additional Feature Implementations

Clients began to proactively ask to work with the UX team and specified that one of the main reasons they continued to use Toshiba products was due to the UX team's involvement and performance.

With restored faith in the company, clients then asked for more features related to maintaining cash within the self checkouts, including the implementation of approvals. The new design system and robust Cash Management product offering allowed for these changes to be made quickly and efficiently, further encouraging the positive relationship between company and client.

New Self Checkout Lane Management Capability

A new section in the navigation was added specifically for Self Checkouts that allowed the management of cash within each machine

New Self Checkout Lane Management Capability

A new section in the navigation was added specifically for Self Checkouts that allowed the management of cash within each machine

Updated Dashboard Visibility

The new dashboard and design system easily allowed these additional changes to be implemented

Updated Dashboard Visibility

The new dashboard and design system easily allowed these additional changes to be implemented

Updated Dashboard Visibility

The new dashboard and design system easily allowed these additional changes to be implemented