POPSTOCK
PopStock is a mobile-first tool that helps small food businesses transform receipts into structured ingredient-level cost data.
How I reduced manual receipt processing and created a clearer path from capture to structured cost insight. Designed an end-to-end workflow that helps small food businesses transform receipts into ingredient-level cost data without manually reorganizing spreadsheets.
• scalable design system in
• Claude + Cursor production pipeline
Overview
Ray is a San diego local business owner of a pizza popup. I Met Ray while visiting his stand. During our conversation he described the time-consuming process of manually transferring receipt data into spreadsheets to track ingredient costs and profitability. Ray had begun exploring AI tools to automate this workflow, but the experience lacked cohesion. While the extraction was technically functional, the product did not yet provide the clarity or confidence needed for real financial decision-making. I offered to conduct a brief UX audit and quickly identified opportunities to improve the structure of the core flows.
Mapping user problems
Ray was already using AI tools to scan receipts, but still had to manually reorganize line items in Excel to understand ingredient costs and profitability. Supplier receipts rarely match how small operators think about their business. Inconsistent naming, bundled quantities, and varied formats make it difficult to translate extracted data into usable cost structure.
To better understand the problem space, I reviewed Ray's early prototype, analyzed competing tools like Expensify, and spoke with other small operators about how they currently track purchasing and expenses. A clear pattern emerged: operators think in ingredients and margins, while receipts reflect supplier formatting. Spreadsheets are often used to bridge this gap.
Through working sessions with the founder, we mapped the current receipt workflow and identified where manual restructuring was creating friction. We aligned on defining the MVP around the core flow — capture, review, confirm, and export — focusing on reducing spreadsheet cleanup before expanding into edge cases.
even after capturing receipts, vendors still need to break ingredient costs into structured line items for spreadsheets.
Expensify audit
Analyzed Expensify to identify interaction patterns that successfully reduce capture friction, such as the persistent camera entry point and support for capturing multiple receipts in quick succession. These patterns validated the importance of fast, always-available input during busy workflows. However, while capture is efficient, receipts still require manual cleanup and itemization before becoming useful for inventory or cost tracking. This highlighted an opportunity to pair low-friction capture with more structured, usable outputs.
Sketching solutions
I explored multiple approaches to reduce friction in receipt tracking, focusing on ways to simplify capture, structure ingredient costs, and minimize manual spreadsheet cleanup. Early sketches helped evaluate different interaction patterns before committing to a core workflow.
What were building and why
Early exploration showed the real opportunity was not faster receipt capture, but reducing the manual work required to structure ingredient costs. The MVP focuses on a clear workflow that helps vendors capture receipts, review extracted line items, and export structured data without needing to reorganize spreadsheets. This approach prioritizes speed during busy workflows while improving confidence in the accuracy of cost data.
Capture → Review → Confirm → Ledger → Export
Finalizing the MVP direction
Based on early exploration, I defined a clear end-to-end workflow focused on helping vendors quickly capture receipts and convert them into structured ingredient-level cost data. The experience balances automation with user control, allowing vendors to review and confirm extracted line items before exporting structured data for further analysis. The storyboard below outlines the core MVP flow, prioritizing clarity and reducing the manual effort typically required to reorganize receipts in spreadsheets.
Log in / Onboarding
Receipt capture
Prototype
I translated the storyboard into a high-fidelity prototype to validate interaction clarity and ensure structured ingredient data could be reviewed quickly with minimal cognitive load. The interface was designed to balance automation with user control, allowing vendors to confirm extracted line items before export.
Design to code pipeline
The prototype was built using a scalable design system structured to translate efficiently into production through the Claude → Cursor workflow. Components were designed with clear hierarchy and reusable patterns, allowing structured data outputs to map cleanly to front-end implementation.
Design tokens and variables
Color, spacing, and type values structured for consistent reuse across components.
Component implementation
Structured UI translated into reusable front-end components.
Testing the prototype
The prototype was built using a scalable design system structured to translate efficiently into production through the Claude ��� Cursor workflow. Components were designed with clear hierarchy and reusable patterns, allowing structured data outputs to map cleanly to front-end implementation.
Users were able to quickly understand the capture → confirm → export workflow and expressed confidence in reviewing structured ingredient costs before export. Feedback indicated that clarity and control over extracted data were more important than adding additional features at this stage.
Branding
PopStock's visual identity was designed to feel approachable, fast, and low-stress, reflecting the realities of small food vendors working in busy environments.
The brand balances playfulness with clarity, using friendly character illustrations to make finance-related tasks feel less intimidating while keeping the interface clean and easy to scan.
A key goal of the brand was to support financial literacy. By making costs, margins, and inventory states easier to understand at a glance, the product helps vendors build confidence in their numbers over time.
Key principles:
- •Supports financial literacy through clearer visibility into costs and margins
- •Friendly but not childish, using character elements without distracting from workflow
- •Operational clarity through color coding and simple UI patterns
- •Fast recognition with consistent iconography and navigation
- •Trust through simplicity, with restrained typography and neutral surfaces
- •System-ready palette that scales across verified, pending, and flagged states
The green primary reinforces themes of freshness, growth, and financial health, while supporting colors help distinguish system states and actions across the interface.
Whats next...
Future iterations would expand structured outputs to support recurring ingredients, enabling vendors to track cost changes over time and better understand margins across multiple events.
Additional opportunities include lightweight inventory insights, improved categorization of ingredient types, and deeper integrations with spreadsheet workflows already used by small operators.
Longer term, structured purchase data could support simple profitability insights without requiring vendors to adopt complex accounting tools.