Project Background
TrueSplit was founded to eliminate the friction of splitting restaurant bills among groups. Splitting checks is frustrating. Even splits feel unfair when orders vary widely, one person paying requires coordinating multiple payment apps, and requesting separate checks is often refused or inconvenient for staff. We moved quickly to develop an MVP through competitive analysis and our own dining experiences, aiming to secure POS partnerships and bring a frictionless solution to market.
Key screens from the TrueSplit user flow, demonstrating the interface design and interaction patterns.
Main Goals
- Create a frictionless bill-splitting experience where diners scan a QR code to select their items, with automatic tax and tip distribution
- Eliminate friction points: no app downloads, no post-meal coordination, and no dependency on restaurant policies
- Integrate directly with restaurant POS systems to make fair bill-splitting a seamless part of dining out
The Team & My Role
As Lead UX Designer on a startup team with founders, engineers, and a design consultant, I conducted competitive analysis, designed the complete user flow from QR scan to payment, solved real-time collaboration challenges for simultaneous item selection, and built a small-scale design system to maintain interface consistency.
Timeline & Process
- Discovery & Research: Conducted competitive analysis of payment and splitting apps and created mood boards to inspire visual design direction.
- Design & Development: Designed complete MVP interface with focus on real-time collaboration, item assignment for multiple simultaneous users, and automatic tax/tip distribution.
- Design System: Built design system for component consistency and worked closely with engineers on technical implementation.
- Partnership Outreach: Pursued POS system integrations with restaurants.
Information Architecture
The system supported two flows from a single QR code entry point:
Flow 1: Pay Your Bit
Users enter their name, select their items from the shared receipt, and automatically receive their proportional tax and tip calculation.
Flow 2: Pay Entire Tab
Users bypass itemization entirely, adjust tip, and proceed directly to payment.
Key decisions: Single QR entry point, early flow branching to minimize steps, real-time synchronization for simultaneous item claiming, and automatic fair distribution of tax and tip.
Project Outcome
TrueSplit failed because we never validated whether we were solving a problem worth solving. This experience fundamentally changed how I approach UX work. Now, I see research as risk mitigation, not a nice-to-have. The cost of getting it wrong is far higher than the investment in understanding users first.
I'm grateful for this experience because it taught me that great design isn't just about craft... It's about making sure we're crafting the right thing. Sometimes the best design decision is to not build at all.