BRKAWAY
Building an invoicing system that scales with brand-content creator collaborations.
Overview
Getting content creators paid faster and easier than ever before.
Intro
Getting content creators paid shouldn’t require spreadsheets, manual tracking, or or constant follow-ups. Invoicing is a critical moment in the creator experience - one that needs to be fast, reliable, and built directly into existing workflows.
Problem
Invoicing is a manual process for content creators: re-entering project details, cross-checking amounts, chasing follow-ups, and tracking payments by hand. This friction slowed payouts, increased errors, and created uncertainty around what had been invoiced and what had actually been paid.
Outcome
I designed a creator invoicing tool where the system automatically pulls in project details, reduces manual data entry, and clearly tracks invoice and payment status. Since launch, creators have invoiced $5M+ through Brkaway, significantly reducing operational overhead and speeding up payouts.
Role & Responsibilities
Conducted user research with creators to understand existing invoicing habits and pain points
Analyzed competitor invoicing tools to identify gaps and best practices
Partnered closely with engineering to understand Brkaway’s payments infrastructure
Designed, prototyped, and tested the invoicing experience with creators before launch
Timeline
2 months
Problem
Manual invoicing slows payouts and creates costly mistakes.
Manual invoice tracking isn’t just inefficient, it’s expensive. A single mistake in an amount or missing detail could lead to lost revenue or long back-and-forth email threads just to get paid correctly. As creators scale and deliver hundreds of videos per month, financial tracking becomes overwhelming. Many rely on Google Sheets or Notion to manage invoices, but these tools don’t notify creators when payments are overdue or when it’s time to follow up. Invoices get forgotten, payments slip through the cracks, and creators are left wondering: Did I already get paid for that? The process leaves far too much room for human error and too much time spent chasing payments instead of creating.
Solution
A built-in invoicing system designed for creators.
Brkaway’s goal was to remove friction from creator invoicing by building it directly into the collaboration workflow. Instead of juggling external tools, creators can send invoices quickly, track payment status effortlessly, and rely on automated reminders to follow up for them.
User Research
Understanding how creators invoice today and where it breaks down.
I spoke with creators to understand how they currently manage invoicing and payments. Most rely on external tools like QuickBooks or HoneyBook, or create custom invoices in tools like Canva before emailing them directly to brands. The top pain points I gathered are as follows:
Pain Point #1: Manual Input
Creators described spending unnecessary time manually filling out invoices and double-checking details before sending them
Pain Point #2: Difficult Tracking
Tracking which invoices had been paid often lived in spreadsheets or notes, making it easy for payments to slip through the cracks.
Pain Point #3: Forgotten Payments
Many also admitted they regularly forgot to follow up with brands, leading to delayed payouts - not because brands weren’t willing to pay, but because reminders were manual and easy to miss.
Competitive Analysis
Learning from established invoicing tools.
To ground the solution in proven patterns, I reviewed existing invoicing platforms including QuickBooks, Lumanu, HoneyBook, HelloBonsai, and PayPal. The goal wasn’t the replicate full accounting software, but to identify best practices around invoice creation, payment tracking, reminders, and clarity of status.
This analysis helped clarify which patterns creators already understood and trusted and where Brkaway could simplify the experience by focusing on what mattered most without the overhead of a standalone invoicing tool.
Outcome & Impact
Reducing friction in creator invoicing and getting creators paid faster.
$5M+ invoiced through Brkaway since launch, validating the need for an embedded invoicing solution.
Significant reduction in manual effort by auto-populating invoice details from project data, minimizing error and rework.
Improved payment visibility through real-time invoice and payment status tracking, reducing uncertainty for creators.
Fewer delayed payouts thanks to automated reminders that consistently follow up on unpaid invoices.
Challenges & Lessons Learned
What we uncovered post-launch.
Creators have diverse invoicing needs, but overloading the product with options would’ve recreated the complexity of existing tools.
Lessons learned
We focused on the most common workflows and optimized for speed and clarity first. Future iterations can layer in advanced options without compromising the core experience.
Challenge: Integrating invoicing into an existing workflow
Invoicing touched multiple parts of the product, requiring tight coordination with payments infrastructure and collaboration flows.
Lessons learned
Partnering early with engineering helped scope what was feasible and design within real system constraints, leading to a smoother launch and fewer post-release issues.