Nowadays the world changes rapidly, and so does the landscape of fintech and fundtech. It is constantly undergoing changes, like advancements in AI, cloud computing, and user experience (UX/UI) design.  Many sectors of the economy are embracing these changes with enthusiasm, integrating the latest technologies to stay competitive.

However, with private capital, it is not exactly like that.

The first priority for many private equity funds has been front office tools, as these are what investors and clients directly interact with. Consequently, front office technologies have seen significant advancements, leaving back office tools with outdated technology stacks and old UX/UI.

This misconception, prioritizing front office over back office, leaves teams struggling with inefficiencies and suboptimal user experience. Funds must recognize that tools for both offices (back and front) need to be not only functional but also well-designed and up-to-date.

What is UI and UX design?

In simple words, ux & ui design are parts of development that make the user experience smooth and enjoyable.

UI (User Interface) design focuses on the visuals. UI designers choose the layouts, fonts, sizes and other visual aspects of a product to make it aesthetically pleasing

UX (User Experience) design, on the other hand, deals with the functionality. UX designers analyze what users want and how to meet their needs. They decide what should be on each page, and how to arrange elements to ensure they are easy to use and navigate.

UI is a part of UX, and despite their differences, one cannot function without the other.

So, why fresh and modern ux & ui design is important for fund administrative software?

• It Reduces Training Time
• It Attracts Tech-Savvy New Generation
• It Boosts Efficiency and Increases Job Satisfaction
• It Promotes Collaboration
• It Provides Easily Accessible Hellp
• It Offers Real-Time Feedback
• It Ensures Responsive Design
• It Enhances Visual Appeal
• It Addresses Psychological Well-Being

Speed Up Onboarding

Employee turnover is a common occurrence in the fund administration industry. Some people quit, and new ones come. In the highly competitive private capital industry, there is no time for excessive learning, yet employees still need to use the software at its maximum. Additionally, new hires, who are eager to start working immediately, are often not willing to spend much time learning the software. This is where well-thought UI & UX design kicks in. Modern interface design is intuitive, allowing new users to learn how to use the software by taking actions. Entrilia achieved this by prioritizing simplicity, making it easy for users to navigate our software efficiently from the very start.

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Eric Faw, the CEO, commented:

“… see how quickly Entrilia users master our proprietary reporting tool, SmartViews. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, users can swiftly create investor rollforward reports or investment dashboards featuring our standard KPIs. For those needing custom measures, SmartView allows for easy configuration and reconciliation, streamlining the entire process…”

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Attraction of Tech-Savvy New Generation

Time flies fast, and the new generation that has grown up with technology has become great specialists in their fields. Since they are comfortable with the latest technologies, outdated software can significantly impact the productivity and morale of creative employees, leading to frustration and, in some cases, prompting them to leave the organization. Therefore, modern tools with excellent UX/UI design will naturally attract and retain this tech-savvy generation.

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Boost in Efficiency And Increase in Job Satisfaction

How can UX and UI design help achieve this goal? Well-designed private equity software is easy to use, leading to a better understanding of tasks and quicker completion with fewer issues. An intuitive design simplifies complex fund administration tasks, making them more approachable for users. At Entrilia, we aim to create an environment where users not only perform efficiently but also enjoy spending their working time.

A clear and intuitive user interface (UI) enables users to effortlessly visualize and comprehend workflows, making it easier to assign tasks, approve actions, and monitor progress.

This not only speeds up task execution but also significantly reduces the risk of errors, bottlenecks, and miscommunications.

For example, in many older software systems, including some newer players, settings are scattered, making it challenging for users to understand the impact of generated and posted transactions on their reports. At Entrilia, we've prioritized providing users with ultimate traceability - from defining mappings to GL accounts, through the automation of transaction generation in the general ledger and subledgers, to reconciliation and detailed drill - down capabilities in reports.

Fund accounting users have shared numerous stories with us, highlighting issues like spending half a day trying to identify why a report was incorrect, only to discover that a missing GL account wasn't added to the account group. Additionally, in both older and some new rule-based systems, while users can post transactions, they can't easily adjust the results of the reports. This is because all transactions are rule-based, making it challenging to directly target GL accounts by simply posting general ledger entries. Whether these systems have been in use for years or are recent entries in the market, they can hinder productivity and clarity. This is why our focus at Entrilia is on creating intuitive, transparent, and efficient tools that streamline these processes and enhance user satisfaction.

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‍Streamlined Collaboration and Communication

In today’s fast-paced environment, collaboration and effective communication are crucial for fund administration. Modern software with advanced UX/UI design facilitates this by integrating features such as shared workspaces, real-time updates, and built-in messaging systems. Entrilia exemplifies this with its user-friendly interface that streamlines processes such as allocating and posting capital call transactions, generating notices, and publishing them directly to the investor portal.

The seamless user flow for handling capital calls, distribution notices, and partner capital statements is a prime example of how Entrilia enhances efficient collaboration. Before publishing investor-level reports on the Investor Portal or updating dashboards with new data, Entrilia enables fund administrators to collaborate with fund managers and investor relations teams. These teams can review and approve the new set of reports directly on the platform in draft mode, ensuring that any adjustments can be made before the data goes live or emails with the generated notices are sent out. This process ensures both accuracy and compliance. The platform’s collaborative features significantly improve communication among team members and investors, streamlining the review process and enhancing overall efficiency.

Offering Easily Accessible Assistance

In terms of user experience, software needs to provide easy access to help resources, training materials, tutorials, and customer support.

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Yuriy Andrushchenko, the CPO and CTO of Entrilia, stated:

…help should be close to the user, contextual, and ready to be utilized at any time….our users appreciate the seamless integration of support right within their workflow

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Guaranteeing Responsive Design

Ensuring your product is available on all devices is crucial for providing a consistent user experience. Here's why:

With increasingly busy lives and the rise of remote work, users need 24/7 access to products from any device and location. Often, immediate actions or information are required, and smartphones are the most commonly carried devices. Therefore, having a mobile version of a product is essential.

Of course, we don't expect our back-office fund accounting users to perform all their tasks on smartphones, but we definitely see that many investor portal users are accessing the system from their smartphones and tablets. Even back-office users sometimes want to approve workflows from their smartphones. These aspects are important to consider nowadays.

Taking this into consideration, when we started building the Entrilia Investor Portal’s user interface, we prioritized responsive design to ensure it looks great on various form factors—desktop, smartphone, or tablet.
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Improvement of Aesthetic Appeal

At first glance, this factor may seem unimportant; however, many people underestimate its value.

Firstly, user interface design helps users understand the importance of elements and their relationships. The placement, size, color, presence of interactive elements and even type subconsciously assist in navigating the software. Additionally, these design elements increase user satisfaction, making the experience less frustrating and more enjoyable.

Secondly, individuals have different preferences for how data should be presented to be visually informative. Modern UX/UI design should offer the ability to personalize the interface to suit each client’s taste. This not only makes them feel comfortable, but also grants them a sense of control.
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Conclusion

In conclusion, a modern and intuitive UX/UI is not just a nice-to-have but a crucial element for efficiency, accuracy, and user satisfaction in fund administration. At Entrilia, we place UX/UI at the heart of our products development because we lover our users and strive to provide them with the best tools to excel in their roles. By prioritizing user-centric design, we ensure that our solutions are not only powerful but also a pleasure to use, reflecting our dedication to innovation and user love.