Improving the billing
experience at Edge
Edge Technologies and Automations
Y 2026
Team members
1 x Designers , 1 Product Manager
Devices
Web
Softwares
Background
With a legacy payment processing system already integrated with Stripe, we wanted to modernize the process to make it more flexible, reduce costs, and improve the overall customer experience.
In 2023, Edge launched its own payment platform with a lean MVP, enabling EOR customers to make monthly payments more easily. At the same time, we introduced the option for customers to manage payroll directly for their EOR employees, giving them greater control and flexibility.
Over time, however, we discovered that this payroll ownership model significantly increased the complexity of the billing experience, making it harder for customers to clearly understand their monthly charges.
This project was initiated to simplify and improve the overall billing experience while also optimizing costs through more effective use of Stripe and our in-house payment gateway.
How might we transform the billing experience into a flexible, scalable platform that seamlessly supports all payment types—including payroll and beyond?
CARDSORTING
To help flesh out key features and attributes we would need in the first phase of the project
JOURNEY MAPPING
A journey was mapped for the customers that included all the other stakeholders that can be impacted by the changes made.
REVIEWING 200+ FINANCE TICKETS
All finance related issues logged by the customers were monitored to understand what issues do they regularly fall into.
Problem space was divided into 4 major categories.
CUSTOMER ONBOARDING
No direct credit card option—customers must go through a lengthy manual approval process, leading to delays and drop-offs.
First invoice lacks talent-wise itemization and start dates, creating ambiguity.
BILLING VS PAYROLL
Non-payroll items (e.g., platform fees) included in payroll invoices, reducing transparency and trust.
RESTRICTED ADJUSTMENT OPTIONS
Only “Bonus” and “Raise” available for edits.
Commissions and holiday bonuses added through workarounds.
No activity logs—difficult to track who made payroll changes.
PAYMENT TRACKING GAPS
Unclear what will be charged, when, and via which method.
Limited visibility into when changes will be disbursed to employees.
Solution space
How might we transform the billing experience into a flexible, scalable platform that seamlessly supports all payment types—including payroll and beyond?
SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS
Rather than calling it payroll, our customers are technically on a subscription with us. The subscription includes details such as when they will be charged, which invoice is currently open, and which payment method will be used.
ONBOARDING
This is when the first billing occurs, which creates significant friction for customers. Many customers drop off at this stage because they do not understand how the final amount was calculated.
PAYMENT METHODS
Edge previously only offered ACH as the payment method on the front-end interface. If customers insisted on using a credit card, we would enable that option manually, which was a lengthy process. As part of the revamp, we now ensure customers are clearly informed that a surcharge will be added when paying by credit card.
PAYMENT FAILURES
Payment failures were not fully being tracked on the platform that led to a lot of confusion for the customers.
How might we transform the billing experience into a flexible, scalable platform that seamlessly supports all payment types—including payroll and beyond?
PROBLEM 1
First time charge at the time of onboarding is not clear to the customers due lack of complete breakdowns
LACK OF COMPLETE BREAKDOWNS
Each talent may have different start dates and accordingly their fee would be prorated. This type of breakdown was not available at the time of onboarding.
LACK OF OPTION TO
DOWNLOAD
At the time of onboarding there is no option to download the option.
LACK OF OTHER PAYMENT OPTIONS
No credit card option means 15% of potential customers drop out to ask for assistance with their Relationship manager manually.
Set up a call with Sales
Interview and select the candidates
Sign the contract
Add payment method to lock start date
Set up kick-off call
Onboarding was restructured to add additional steps are integral to establish a strong customer profile and set clear expectations around holidays
With how the current flow exists we resolved most of the problems mentioned above with a more clear itemized talent list.
We also ensured that the credit card surcharge (which varies with each USA state) is clearly shown and the invoice gives a realtime adjustment of this charge to give clarity on the type of changes.
Added a few other items to onboarding like customer profile and holiday integrations.
Context and current process
Biling vs payroll confusion
‘ Why is my talent not receiving the same salary as shown on platform?’ - Edge Customer
Context and current process
Types of charges and their impact on payroll and invoicing
Not all adjustments between Edge and customers are payroll related.
Adjustments like downsells, upsells, credit and platform fees are all something that are kept between Edge and customer
When we ask customer to edit payroll, that can get really confusing for them as our business does not allow them to look at actual salaries of the talent. We only show how much each talent is costing them.
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This table highlights that not all charges or credits applied to customers are reflected on the payslip, making the “Payroll” label inaccurate and potentially misleading.
Exploratory wireframes
INVOICE CENTERED VIEW
Taking inspiration from basic billing screens, the new approach will just focus on invoices. The main home screen will have just a subscription detail along with upcoming invoice.
ADJUSTABLE INVOICE BEFORE THE CUT-OFF
Adjustments can be made on each invoice before a certain date. These adjustments can be initiated by customers (raise, bonus and commissions) or by the accounting team
REPLACE SALARIES WITH TALENT SERVICE FEE
Each invoice is nicely broken down into talent and the breakdown of the talent. Rather than call it salaries, we call it a talent fee that may include other items like discounts and equipment charge.
Final designs
Clear invoice categorization: first-time charges, one-time charges, and subscription charges.
Employee-level visibility that highlights cost increases for specific individuals—so customers can quickly review only what’s relevant instead of scanning the entire invoice.
Real-time automations that dynamically update invoices as changes occur.
Problem 3
Customer initiated updates to invoices
‘ Can finance add this type of bonus for me?
I cant seem to find it on the platform’ - Edge Customer
Updates made by each party involved (On platform or outside of it)
Updates made by customers
📈 Performance bonuses
✈️ Holiday bonuses
🧑💼 Retention bonuses
👩🏽💼 Commissions
🔁 Recurring bonuses
Updated by Edge admin
📈 Edge based retention bonus
Downsell
Refund
Sales promotions
Late fee
Equipment fee
Miscellaneous fee
Automatically updated
Unpaid time-off charge
Holiday compensations (Later phase)
Downsell (Later phase)
Upsell (Later phase)
Referral rewards (Later phase)
Medical leave adjustment (Later phase)
Key challenges for customers when adding bonuses and raises
Explorations
PROBLEM 4
Payment tracking
Payment tracking is a standard feature across most payment platforms, enabling customers to clearly see where their money is at every stage of the process. This visibility sets accurate expectations and builds trust.
Currently, our platform does not offer a dedicated payment tracker, resulting in limited transparency around payment status and timelines.
How do payments work?
Final designs
Payment tracker showing realtime information regarding where there payment is at.
Final outcome
REDUCED NUMBER OF FINANCE TICKETS
To help flesh out key features and attributes we would need in the first phase of the project
EASIER TO UNDERSTAND EACH BREAKDOWN
A journey was mapped for the customers that included all the other stakeholders that can be impacted by the changes made.
EASIER TO TRACK EACH CHANGE AND ACTION ON THE PAYMENT PLATFORM
Stakeholder sessions to map out all the nuances in the current process and plan our intervention in a more informed way
Future considerations
Build automations to make sure customers are getting a complete breakdown. Items like upsells and down sells, overtime additions were still not factored in due to lack of infrastructure built around it.
Adding the bonus guidelines as part of the bonus adding interface for customer to understand what is a good amount to give someone in a different country
Add contract signing as part of the onboarding which currently happens outside of the platform.
