Running their own business, the Fiken entrepreneurs had experienced first-hand how time-consuming and expensive it was to do the accounts and comply with all the guidelines around official financial reporting. They decided to do something about it, and the online service was established in 2014.
The objective was to solve the accounting problems faced by small businesses. From the very beginning the entrepreneurs understood that functions and services had to be designed in such a way that they could be understood by everyone. User-friendly design systems and interaction design therefore became fundamental principles for everything they did.
Accounting made simple and user friendly
Accounting is prone to jargon. Simplification of the language is an important means to making accounting less daunting and thus lowering the threshold of starting a business.
The firm, Fiken, is built around a culture where user experience is key. Everyone who works at Fiken is hugely engaged in providing good user experiences and they are proud of the product – regardless of their role.
By using a digital tool (Trello) the public can themselves at any time suggest new functions and are able to keep an eye on the functions that are being developed. In this way, Fiken has democratised the actual development process by letting clients and the public play their part in the further development of the service.
Helping small businesses
Fiken currently consists of an array of functions, resources and services that help small business to succeed. The actual accounting service fiken.no today has functions covering everything from the simple tasks of issuing invoices and recording receipts via a mobile app, to the more complex procedures like financial reporting to the authorities (VAT, tax returns etc.), bank account integration, payroll and statutory pension contributions.
In addition to simple language, a certain playfulness in the visual design has been a vital instrument in the development of Fiken. This has appealed to the market, and has been a contributing factor to over 70,000 Norwegian businesses now using the service.
Lowers the threshold for starting your own business
The services provided by Fiken assist sole traders with gaining a better overview and control over their accounts. This in turn leads to a greater degree of accuracy in the financial reporting to the authorities, which then results in fewer enquiries to the tax authorities and the Internet portal Altinn. Providing security for business owners without them having to pay large amounts to external service providers is at least as important.
Fiken collaborates with several organisation both private and public, on digitalisation and simplification of traditionally cumbersome systems.
Solutions like Fiken eliminate the need for specialist knowledge in accounting and finance in order to start and run your own business. In this way they have opened the opportunity for more people to do so.
Brief facts about the project
Fiken: Digital solution making it easy to start and run your own business.
By: Fiken AS
Design disciplines: Service design, Interaction design, Design management
Recipient of the DOGA Award
This project has received the DOGA Award for Design and Architecture for its outstanding qualities and for showing how strategic use of design and architecture create important social, environmental and economic value.
These are three reasons why this is an exemplary project:
- Inexpensive and simple
Fiken makes it cheaper and easier to start and run a business. This gives more people the opportunity to do so, regardless of gender, background, finance and knowledge level. In this way, Fiken contributes to reducing inequalities in Norway.
- Easier to start up
More people starting up their own business provides economic growth, efficiency, employment and a decent job for more people in society.
- Stress-free tax returns
Collaboration with the Norwegian Tax Administration has led to a simpler tax return for business owners. This has led to more small businesses managing to complete the return themselves and a greater degree of accuracy in the financial reporting to the authorities.
