FlexiBee 2.0
TL;DR ✨
Did you know? The author did not know until May 28, 2019 either. FlexiBee is redesigning the graphical interface of its web client. The author does not use the graphical FlexiBee interface because he has never found what he needed there. This will therefore be his first time, and he shares a few quick observations below.
Comparing the graphical approach of the "old" FlexiBee with the new one would be unfair. The author is aware that users are not particularly interested in the difference between the old and new environments. They want to know whether it is a usable alternative to the thick client.
Did you know? The author did not know until May 28, 2019 either. FlexiBee is redesigning the graphical interface of its web client. The author does not use the graphical FlexiBee interface because he has never found what he needed there. This will therefore be his first time, and he shares a few quick observations below.
Terminology¶
Old FlexiBee = the original graphical user interface available through a web link.
New FlexiBee (FlexiBee 2.0) = the graphical user interface currently under review.
Thick client = the familiar desktop application available for all operating systems.
Introduction¶
Comparing the graphical approach of the "old" FlexiBee with the new one would be unfair. The author is aware that users are not particularly interested in the difference between the old and new environments. They want to know whether it is a usable alternative to the thick client.
First steps¶
Immediately after signing in, a polished overview animation appears.
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It is clear, simple, and intuitive. Users can immediately see whether they are losing money or making it. But is that really what they want? It is a great morning mood booster when the figures are positive, but the author does not want to stare at it after every login. He therefore searches in vain for a way to personalize the home screen, perhaps by placing the bank there. He wanders through the settings without finding anything that suggests home-screen personalization. The settings section contains a huge number of options, and he cannot tell whether changing one item might ruin the entire accounting setup. What, for example, would this typo do? (The word shown is "zbytu" instead of "zbytku".)
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Look, an advance document. Would this create a new document series in the live accounting system? The author apologizes to readers, but he is not going to test it.
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The graphical interface is genuinely easy to navigate. Anything that cannot be found directly can be located with the search button, which is immediately visible in the settings.
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It is not as easy in the other "modules", such as the received invoices section:
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The author repeatedly clicks a company-name field, hoping that a magical genie with a magnifying glass will appear and let him enter the name of a company for which he issued a document. He needs to search invoices for the keyword "Connectica", but eventually resorts to CTRL+F and scrolling with the mouse.
Advanced filtering does not help either. The author sheds a tear for FlexiBee.
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The option to customize columns is not immediately visible either, but it is there. The author strongly praises it because it is implemented in a straightforward, intuitive way, just as it should be. It even includes search.
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He tries filtering in another module and moves to company addresses, hoping to type the beginning of a company name and see suggestions as in Google. Again, nothing. Instead, he finds a much easier, simpler, and faster form of filtering:
Bank section¶
Trying to match a payment¶
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The author has no idea what to do here. The pencil and duplicate controls on the right get in the way. Why would anyone duplicate a document? He needs to match an invoice and is beginning to lose patience. Right-clicking does not help.
How is an attachment uploaded? Is there an upload button, or is it simply missing?¶
The author would remove the delete button. It looks far too easy to click by mistake, creating an immediate problem; it is also very close, visible, and tempting.
Matching takes a long time and shows no progress. It seems to have frozen. Two minutes later, it is clear that it really has frozen. There is not even an option to choose the matching criterion.
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One point deducted: the author cannot set a profile photo.
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Conclusion¶
The author spent only a short time experimenting with the new FlexiBee. As these notes show, several observations are worth passing on, but he believes FlexiBee can make it work. Hopefully this quick look will help with tuning the web interface so that it can successfully replace the thick client one day.