Designing Manual Journal Entries
Helping Finance Teams Close the Books Without Leaving Zuora.
Timeline : 3 Sprints
Scope : UX, UI, Research, Prototyping, Vibe Coding
Team : PM, Engineers
My Role : Lead Product Designer
Overview
Financial period close is one of the most critical moments in the accounting cycle. While most journal entries are generated automatically, accountants still need to record manual adjustments for reconciliations, corrections, and exceptional scenarios.
This project focused on designing an end-to-end workflow that enables finance teams to create, review, approve, and audit manual journal entries directly within Zuora—bringing together flexibility, governance, and financial accuracy in a single experience.
The Challenge
Closing the books is rarely a fully automated process.
Even when most accounting transactions are generated automatically, finance teams still need to record manual adjustments for reconciliations, corrections, and other exceptions before a financial period can be closed.
Without a dedicated workflow, these adjustments relied on APIs or external accounting systems, creating fragmented processes and making it harder to maintain visibility, collaboration, and auditability.
The challenge wasn’t simply to design another form—it was to create an end-to-end workflow that helped accountants confidently create, review, approve, and track manual journal entries without leaving Zuora.
Designing for Financial Confidence
Accountants don’t interact with manual journal entries as isolated forms. They move through a structured process—creating entries, validating financial data, collaborating with reviewers, and ensuring every adjustment can be traced long after the accounting period has closed.
Rather than presenting every piece of information at once, I focused on designing a workflow that supports each stage of that process while surfacing the right information at the right time.
Understanding the Workflow
Before designing the interface, I mapped the journey accountants follow during period close.
Each stage answers a different question:
