How I Learned That Simple Beats Sophisticated: Redesigning BreezeDoc’s Invoice Feature and Driving 4× More Usage

🔥 The Spark

BreezeDoc help people get documents signed faster: agreements, contracts, NDAs, you name it.

One thing kept popping up: after sending a signed document, many users needed to send an invoice too. It was a natural next step. Why not let them do it in BreezeDoc, instead of switching to another tool?

Documents, a person is showed signing a document

That’s how the idea for Invoices was born: a lightweight, built-in invoicing feature, directly connected to signed documents. I set out to design and build it.

🧩 The Real Problem

We didn’t just want users to create invoices. We wanted them to get paid, automatically, securely, and fast.

So I designed a clean, Stripe-powered flow:

Create an invoice fast
Link it to a document
Send it
Accept payment via Stripe

Stripe would handle the PDF, the emails, and the payment sync. Technically, it was solid.

But there was one big catch: you had to connect a Stripe account to start creating invoices.

BreezeDoc Invoices page with the Stripe integration blocker

BreezeDoc Settings page showing the Stripe integration component

BreezeDoc Invoices page with showing the empty table and the option to create an invoice

🧠 My First Idea (turns out it didn’t work)

When the feature launched, usage was way lower than expected.

From user feedback and session recordings, the pattern was clear:

“I just need to send an invoice. Why do I need Stripe?”

“I don’t have a Stripe account. Can I just download a PDF?”

“This feels complicated. I’ll keep with what I know.”

The mandatory Stripe connection created a wall instead of a bridge.

That’s when I realized: my focus on integration made things more complex, not simpler.

Frustration, an illustration of a person looking at a computer screen with a confused expression

🔄 The Turning Point

I decided to rebuild the experience from the ground up, with zero setup required.

Here’s what changed:

Users could now create and send invoices without Stripe
BreezeDoc generated the PDF and sent it via email
Stripe or PayPal could be connected only if users wanted to accept payments
Email templates were handled natively (e.g., “Hey [Customer], you’ve been sent an invoice”)

The UX became flexible:

Start simple. Get paid later. No blockers.

This only takes one week from rethinking to deployment

BreezeDoc Invoices email showing the email to the customer

BreezeDoc Invoices page, the creation of the invoice

BreezeDoc Invoices page, the sending page of the invoice

🚀 What Changed

The shift worked.

Invoice creation increased 4x in just one week
Time-to-first-invoice dropped dramatically
Users appreciated being able to just send a PDF, with payments as a bonus, not a requirement

I had turned a blocker into a feature.

Screenshot from Metabase showing growth in BreezeDoc Invoices usage after the redesign

Screenshot from Metabase showing growth in BreezeDoc Document creation after the redesign

BreezeDoc Public Invoices page showing the invoice and the Stripe payment component

💡 What I’d Do Differently

Looking back, I was too focused on technical elegance. I overestimated how many users wanted instant Stripe-powered automation, and underestimated how many just needed something quick and simple.

Validate both flows earlier: with and without integration
Prioritize user momentum over technical sophistication
Design for flexibility, not just “best-case” usage

But I’m proud of how fast I iterated and turned failure into traction.

BreezeDoc Invoices page, table of invoices, showing data on the page

🎯Beyond Invoices: Moving Fast, Delivering Value

My work on the Invoices feature was just one part of a broader effort at BreezeDoc. In a span of only five months, our team shipped over 20 new features, each aimed at improving how people send, sign, and manage documents.

From core workflow improvements to small UX wins, I played a key role in designing, validating, and launching solutions that had real impact. It was an intense, fast-moving environment, one that sharpened my ability to prioritize, collaborate across teams, and move from idea to execution without losing quality.

This experience strengthened my belief that great design isn’t just about vision, it’s about shipping value at speed, without losing sight of the people using your product.