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Improving data comprehension
at scale

The reporting experience had become fragmented through incremental updates by multiple teams over time. Filters, titles, and dates were often missing, misaligned, or hard to interpret. As the customer base shifted toward larger practices, reporting became increasingly critical — and increasingly in need of a coherent redesign.

Scope Experience Redesign
Context FreeAgent · 18 Reports
Category Product Design · Data
Focus Clarity · Consistency · Usability
Profit & Loss 1 Jan 2025 – 31 Mar 2025 Basis Accrual ▾ Currency GBP ▾ Compare Prior year ▾ CATEGORY JAN–MAR 2025 JAN–MAR 2024 CHANGE Revenue £48,250.00 £41,800.00 +15.4% Cost of Sales £12,400.00 £10,950.00 +13.2% Gross Profit £35,850.00 £30,850.00 +16.2% REPORTING REDESIGN · 18 REPORTS · DATA COMPREHENSION · CONSISTENCY AT SCALE

Reports that premium customers can rely on

The objective was to redesign the reporting experience to create clarity, consistency, and better data comprehension across an increasingly complex product serving accountants and high-value customers.

The work needed to support 18 different reports with a single, scalable system — reducing technical debt while building a foundation for premium reporting at scale.

Fragmented by years of incremental change

  • Filters, titles, and dates were often missing, misaligned, or hard to interpret
  • Tables lacked distinctive 'report-ness' — appearing as generic data grids
  • Date ranges and filter behaviors varied inconsistently across implementations
  • Different teams used disparate approaches, making system-wide improvements costly
  • Wide tables made it difficult for users to map numbers to headers
  • Titles and visible date ranges were absent from many reports

Structure, legibility, and consistency

  • Responsive report container adapting to small, medium, or large widths
  • Clear visual separation between filters and report content
  • Consistent titles and visible date ranges at the top of every report
  • Labelled filter controls with improved accessibility and logical grouping
  • Shared date component with consistent formatting and common/custom range selection
  • Monospace font for numerical data to enhance alignment and readability
  • Standardised filter behavior across all implementations

Audit, design, test, and ship

1

Audit & Discovery

Deep assessment of all reports across the product, identifying inconsistencies in filters, layouts, typography, and structural patterns.

2

Design & Collaboration

Led design work on layout, filters, and typography while coordinating with multiple product teams. Developed the report container to visually differentiate reports from standard tables.

3

Component Development

Introduced shared components including a new common date picker and filter group pattern. Published documentation and usage guidelines on FreeStyle.

4

Testing & Validation

Conducted usability testing with accountants and frequent reporting users. Findings were overwhelmingly positive, particularly around the new date component and date range clarity.

Measurable improvements for accountants

📊

73% Better Comprehension

73% of users reported the layout changes made it easier to understand report data immediately after the redesign.

📅

83% Faster Date Navigation

83% found the new date component simplified locating and applying date ranges in their reporting workflows.

📋

18 Reports Updated

The new pattern was rolled out across all 18 reports in the product, delivering consistency at scale.

🔢

Improved Numerical Legibility

Monospace typography measurably improved alignment and readability of numerical data across all reports.

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