I built TidyLedger to turn messy invoices into clean Excel reports
The problem I’m trying to solve is simple: collecting information from invoices and putting it into a usable spreadsheet can be repetitive and time-consuming. With TidyLedger, you can: • Upload invoices as PDFs or images, as well as text and CSV files • Choose, rename, and reorder report columns • Review and edit the extracted data • Download your results as Excel or CSV There’s also a free plan with up to 5 invoices per day. 🚀 Try it here: https://tidy-ledger-1.onrender.com/ I’m now looking for honest feedback from people who work with invoices, spreadsheets, or business data. I’d especially love to know: 1. Is this a problem you face in your work? 2. What would you change or improve? 3. What features would make you want to use a tool like this regularly? This is an early-stage product, and I’m building it to solve a real problem. Any feedback or suggestions would mean a lot. Thanks for checking it out! 🙏
Solid use case. Your lesson (one specific use case, more user conversations) is the right one. Bookkeepers and small agencies processing supplier invoices monthly might be the sharpest first niche. Asking new users what they did before TidyLedger would tell you which workflow to nail.
Thanks for the thoughtful advice! I agree that focusing on bookkeepers and small agencies processing supplier invoices could be a good starting point for TidyLedger.
I really like your suggestion about asking new users what they did before using TidyLedger. Understanding their existing workflow will help me identify where the biggest time savings are and what I should improve first.
My next step is to talk to potential users, learn how they currently handle invoice data, and use that feedback to make TidyLedger more useful.
Appreciate the guidance! 🙌
The problem is definitely real, but I think the biggest challenge will be making the value obvious beyond “extract invoices.” I’d be curious whether users care more about saving time, reducing manual errors, or fitting the output into their existing accounting workflow. That distinction could really shape the positioning.
That's a great point. I think the real value goes beyond extraction — it's about turning messy invoice data into clean, usable Excel reports with less manual work. I'm still learning which benefit matters most to users: saving time, reducing errors, or fitting into their existing accounting workflow. I'll make that a key question when talking to early users. Thanks for the insight!
Exactly. I think talking to a few real users will make that pretty clear. I’d also pay attention to the words they naturally use to describe the problem — those can be gold for your positioning and landing page.
Have early users shown that TidyLedger replaces a recurring spreadsheet workflow, or are people mainly testing it on a few invoices to see how accurate the extraction is?
That's exactly what I'm trying to validate right now. So far, I'm still learning whether users will make TidyLedger part of their recurring spreadsheet workflow or mainly use it to test extraction accuracy. My next step is to understand how often they process invoices, what they currently do with the extracted data, and whether TidyLedger saves them enough time to use it regularly.
Could be useful to compare notes as you see whether it becomes a recurring workflow — happy to continue by email sometime.
This is great work — reminds me of some of the calls I've had to make building Xstream4K. What would you do differently if you started over?
Thanks! I really appreciate that.
If I were starting over, I’d spend more time talking to potential users before building and focus on one specific use case first. I probably built more features than I needed before getting enough real-world feedback.
Now I’m trying to learn from actual users and improve TidyLedger based on their workflow and pain points.
What about Xstream4K? What’s one decision you’d make differently if you started over?