Track Money Owed Between Friends
Design a private lending record that helps friends remember terms, acknowledge repayments, and resolve mismatched expectations.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Informal loans are often agreed in conversation and remembered differently later. A useful record must preserve mutual acknowledgement without pretending to enforce a legal contract.
User context
Zahra lent her cousin $350 for a car repair. They agreed on three monthly repayments, but the second payment was made in cash and has not been recorded.
Product problem
The experience must make direction, amount, due dates, and acknowledgement clear while keeping reminders respectful and disputes private.
Objective
Create a loan record, shared confirmation, repayment schedule, reminder, and discrepancy resolution flow.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Loan terms setup
- Other-party acknowledgement
- Repayment tracking
- Discrepancy resolution
Screens and states
- Personal balance overview
- Loan detail
- Payment record
- Reminder composer
- Dispute state
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Zahra records the amount and schedule
- 02
Her cousin confirms the terms
- 03
She logs a cash payment
- 04
Her cousin verifies it and the remaining balance updates
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- State clearly who owes whom
- Require both parties to acknowledge edits
- Support partial, cash, and external payments
- Keep a timestamped history
- Use neutral reminder language
Constraints
- The app does not collect debt automatically
- Local lending law may apply
- A participant can leave the service
Reality check
States worth considering
Ready-to-use content
Mock data
Use this content to test hierarchy and realistic data states. You can expand it when the concept needs more depth.
Loan record
- Zahra lent Amir $350
- Agreed 3 payments of $116.67
- Cash payment of $116.67 awaiting confirmation
- Next due date: 5 November
Finish line
What to deliver
- Five mobile screens or states
- A ledger treatment that preserves acknowledged and disputed entries
If you want more
Optional extensions
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.