I’m pleased to share with all of you that I have officially graduated from Apple Developer Academy @Binus University (Indonesia). It was a very enriching experience. I learned various things about app development and life skills (collaboration, leadership, public speaking, etc).
Our learning experience comprised of “challenges”. At the end of each challenge, we had to create a solution in the form of a mobile application. For the final challenge, we developed JUALANMU.
What is JUALANMU?
JUALANMU is an application that helps Indonesian Small and Medium Enterprises to register transactions, manage inventory, and monitor business with their own iPhones. It does not require additional training or hardware. That means entrepreneurs can run their businesses more efficiently. Also, entrepreneurs can get more insights and have more time to think when they are making impactful decisions. Then, eventually, they can grow their business.
Our app shows more details of users’ business. One of its main features allows users to input transactions and read reports based on the events (e.g. exhibitions, etc.) they participate in. That way, they can choose the most profitable events and bring the best-selling products in the future.
How did We Come Up with JUALANMU?
After quite a tough discussion on various directions we could take (we had to align our goals and expectations), we decided to solve a problem experienced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Our team agreed to make something that could really help people. We didn’t want our app to be merely our portfolio, this app is our legacy. SMEs are crucial to Indonesia’s economy. They actually contributed over 60% to GDP and absorbed over 90% of the Indonesian workforce in 2018.
Despite the huge number of SMEs, the number of SMEs that develop or get to a higher level is so little. Until the end of 2018, there were 58.91 million micro-enterprises (smaller than small enterprises) and 59,260 small enterprises, whereas there were only 4,987 medium enterprises. Clearly, SMEs haven’t reached their full potential.
There are a lot of challenges that SMEs have to face, including regulations (legal status, copyright, etc.), equity (trouble getting loan to start or develop their business), human resources and technology. There’s a lot!
One point where we can help SMEs is bookkeeping. A poorly managed bookkeeping can hinder growth because it does not clearly show the financial state of the business. Making sound decisions and strategies is very difficult in that case.
We often see that SMEs still rely on paper receipts. Paper receipts are prone to human mistakes. They can be misplaced and lost or people miscalculate the total or the change.
Why is bookkeeping difficult for SMEs to do?
- Lack of knowledge on how to manage bookkeeping well (usually, the founders are skilled in making the products, but not business-savvy)
- Also, the existing solutions are not practical enough, they need tablets, and requires SMEs to pay significant amount of money.
Therefore, they need a system that can help record and report income and spending efficiently. With that system, entrepreneurs can run their business more efficiently. Also, entrepreneurs can get more insights and have more time to think when they are making impactful decisions. Then, eventually they can grow their business.
What is unique about JUALANMU?
There are similar apps like JUALANMU, but mostly in English. However JUALANMU does have things which differentiates it from the others. JUALANMU serves Indonesian SME owners by catering their needs. JUALANMU is in Indonesian.
One of the most common behaviors of Indonesian SMEs is participating in events such as bazaars, pop-up markets, and exhibitions. JUALANMU’s event transaction category allows users to input transactions based on events. Users can also see them grouped based on events in the report section. That report will inform the users which event is the most profitable.
FEATURES
- Report: revenue, sales, profit, top event, top staff, highlight of best-selling products and least-performing products (dead stock).
- Transaction: event and non-event transactions, send receipt via email
- Inventory: Manage your stock, restock reminder
These features are the backbone of hassle-free selling experience with JUALANMU.
For more info, check out the poster below!
