Truck Lagbe
Payment System of Truck Lagbe
Transforming Logistics: Innovative Payment System for 10K+ Monthly Active Users
About This Project
The existing payment process at Truck Lagbe was entirely manual, relying solely on Excel sheets. For a startup, securely managing finances is crucial. Additionally, as a product-centric company, optimizing this payment process was essential to enhance user experience. Here, we receive payments from businesses and disburse payments to truck suppliers. The entire process is then recorded by the accounts team in QuickBooks. Urgently refining this process was necessary to build trust with users and investors, while also increasing operational efficiency by 4X.
Here I am attaching a article that I have written on Payment Disbursement
Background Information
Truck Lagbe is a startup dedicated to revolutionizing the trucking market. Initially, revenue booking and payment disbursement were handled manually as the primary focus was on the product, and automating the entire system wasn't deemed necessary. However, with yearly transactions now exceeding a minimum of 100 crores, manual handling poses security risks, and efficient record-keeping becomes impractical. With transaction volumes expected to increase by 4-5 times over the next 5-6 years, there is a pressing need to strategically systematize the entire payment process.
Problem Statement
Manual Collection of Trip Information
Heavily relies on manual collection of trip information via WhatsApp or phone calls.
Inefficiencies and Time Consumption
Manual approach leads to inefficiencies and time consumption.
Current Process is Manual
The billing process is entirely manual, exacerbating inefficiencies and errors.
Product Designer
• Binoy Debnath
• Masudul Haque
Goal
Reduce DSO to 45 Days
Improving Accuracy
Reduce Human Intervention by which error rate can be reduced.
Increasing Efficiency
As data will get updated automatically in the desired format it will increase the efficiency of the billing process.
Time-Saving
Reducing 2-3 steps from the regular process will save their (Accounts & Finance) work time.
Track of the Challan Collection Process
Quick Invoice Generation
Helps Billing Team to generate Invoice within 2 hrs after a trip gets completed
Simplified Disbursement
Suppliers would be able to disburse with just 3 clicks
Meet the Audit Trail
Overview of the Process
Before automating, this process used to be followed:
The manual process involved collecting trip information through WhatsApp or phone calls, maintaining Excel sheets for payment tracking, manual verification of each transaction, and time-consuming reconciliation with QuickBooks. This led to delays, errors, and security concerns.
Challenges & Decisions
1. Payment Method Challenge
Challenge: Supplier payments were made using cash, bank, or third-party portals for mobile financial services (MFS). This was managed using an Excel sheet, which always posed a security concern. However, internal users had become accustomed to this method and considered it the most efficient.
Decision: For this, we need to build an internal system where, if a trip is confirmed from the system, the supplier can request their payment based on that confirmation, and the concerned team will disburse the payment accordingly. Otherwise, the supplier can withdraw the payment themselves.
2. Audit Trail Requirements
Challenge: We needed to ensure that the new process we developed would meet audit trail requirements. Working with compliance issues was a major challenge.
Decision: To meet audit trail requirements, we need to maintain security concerns. For example: user verification through NID/Passport, OTP while requesting, API security. We will also cross-check the process with the audit after the plan is confirmed.
3. Third-party Dependencies
Challenge: There was dependency on third-party companies to fully automate the process, such as MFS companies and QuickBooks.
Decision: To fully automate, we will contact the concerned team of the companies we are working with for disbursement, check their system security, collect their API documentation, and then integrate it into our system feasibly while maintaining the proper protocol.
Product Requirements
1. Admin Panel
After a trip is confirmed, the dispatcher can request payment from here following proper profile verification, including OTP for every request. The accounts team can then disburse the payment in bulk based on the requests.
2. Supplier App - Disbursement
The supplier should be able to disburse their payment from the app. Therefore, an option needs to be built for this purpose.
3. Supplier App - Wallet System
To enable suppliers to disburse payments, our existing wallet system needs to be revamped. This means creating separate wallets for the marketplace and business.
4. Admin Panel - Payment Page
After disbursing the payment, additional costs often arise during the trip, and this use case is common. For this, the trip's payment page needs to be revamped. Additionally, the system should allow tracking the challan for the trip.
5. MFS Integration
API integration with third-party MFS companies is needed so that suppliers can easily disburse payments from the app.
6. QuickBooks Integration
Integrate QuickBooks with Truck Lagbe's database to ensure data is updated correctly and both databases are automatically synchronized.
7. TL Ops App
Introduce an app named TL Ops for officers so they can disburse payments from the field using QR codes or OTP.
Prioritization
To enhance operational efficiency and user experience, we've identified 10 key solutions for phased implementation. Using the RICE scoring method—evaluating Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort—we've prioritized these tasks to focus on those offering the greatest benefits.
RICE Scoring Explanation
- Reach: How many people will be affected by the solution within a given time frame (e.g., the next quarter)?
- Impact: How much will this solution impact the users it reaches? (Scale of 1-10)
- Confidence: How confident are we in our estimates? (Scale of 1-10)
- Effort: How many person-months will this solution take to complete?
RICE Score = (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort
| Solution | Reach | Impact | Confidence | Effort | RICE Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier App: MFS Transfer | 1000 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 3200 |
| Supplier App: Cash-Out | 1000 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 2800 |
| Wallet Split | 1000 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 1800 |
| Supplier App: Bank Transfer | 500 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 583 |
| Trip Payment Page Revamp | 100 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 315 |
| Admin Panel: Payment Request & Disbursement | 100 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 270 |
| Challan Tracking | 50 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 240 |
| DB-QB Integration | 50 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 87.5 |
| TL Ops: Cash-Out | 30 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 84 |
Product Roadmap
Phase 1 - End of Q3, 2022
- • Admin Panel: Payment Request
- • Admin Panel: Payment Disbursement
- • Owner App: Cash-Out
Phase 2 - Start of Q1, 2023
- • Trip's Payment Page Revamp
- • Wallet Split
- • Challan Tracking
Phase 3 - End of Q2, 2023
- • Admin Panel: Payment Enhancement
- • Dynamic Invoicing
- • TL Ops: Cash-Out
Phase 4 - Start of Q4, 2023
- • DB-QB Integration: Invoice
- • Supplier App: MFS Transfer
Phase 5 - Start of Q1, 2024
- • DB-QB Integration: Bill & Bill Payment
- • Supplier App: Bank Transfer
User Flow
This is the overall plan to complete the journey of the payment disbursement process, broken down into several steps that we have undertaken.
High Fidelity Designs
Here I am going to guide you to few final UI to have an overview
Admin Panel
Payment Request & Disbursement
Supplier App
Payment Disbursement
TL Ops
Payment Disbursement
Payment Page Revamp
Before & After Comparison
Supplier App
Wallet Split
Supplier App
MFS Transfer
Success Metrics
This system has passed the Audit Trial, which was evaluated by one of the Big 4. We measured metrics separately for each feature before moving to the next step. Data analysis was conducted using the internal database (MySQL, MongoDB), and tools like Mixpanel were used to track user behavior.
Impacts on Business
On the left, we can see the reflection of the entire ecosystem we have built up to January 2024.
- ✓Reduced DSO from 75 days to 45 days, improving cash flow significantly
- ✓Achieved 94% accuracy rate in API transactions, minimizing errors
- ✓60% reduction in invoice completion time, enabling faster billing cycles
- ✓35% increase in Supplier App downloads, improving supplier engagement
- ✓60% operational cost saved through automation and efficiency improvements
- ✓Successfully passed Big 4 audit trail evaluation, ensuring compliance