Improving Payment Solutions for Small Businesses

Designing a simple, efficient payment processing solution to simplify transactions for Teamshares' network companies.

Background

Teamshares supported small businesses in their transition to employee ownership. The company acquired businesses from retiring owners, provided modern financial tools, and enabled employees to become part-owners over time. Many of these businesses operated with outdated systems, particularly when it came to accepting payments.

The Problem

Financial leads at these businesses relied on paper checks or paid high fees for credit card processing. Checks were slow and labor-intensive. Credit card fees were costly. Both options created friction and made payment collection inefficient.

The Opportunity

The team saw an opportunity to improve cash flow and modernize operations by creating a simple and affordable payment processing feature.

My Role

As the lead product designer on the Financial Products team, I led user research, design exploration, and validation. I partnered closely with engineering and product to ensure we were solving the right problems with the right level of complexity.

Research & Insights

I conducted interviews with financial leads across our network to understand their responsibilities and current workflows. Two insights shaped our direction:

Financial leads were stretched thin, often responsible for bookkeeping, payroll, and compliance. They needed tools that were easy to adopt and required little ongoing maintenance.
Many customers of these small businesses had limited technical confidence. This meant the payment experience had to be clear, simple, and intuitive.

Design Approach

Our solution focused on delivering just enough flexibility to cover core use cases, while staying easy to use and quick to implement.

Streamlined onboarding: We introduced a pre-built default template that required minimal setup. Businesses could lightly brand the page by uploading a logo, which helped build trust with customers.
Configurable payment links: We allowed businesses to create either one-time or reusable links, and choose between fixed or flexible payment amounts. This supported a range of payment needs without adding unnecessary complexity.
Tight scope: We stayed disciplined about scope, grounding our decisions in research and avoiding feature creep.

Outcome

The feature launched on time within a six-week window. Because we involved users early, we were able to prioritize effectively and move fast with confidence. Since release, multiple businesses adopted the tool, and several began transitioning away from checks and high-fee credit card solutions. The result was faster payment cycles and reduced administrative overhead.