Work / Mesh App
Mesh App
CRM and order processing for trades and service businesses in one app, from the first inquiry to the paid invoice.
In short
- Small businesses were running customers, projects, hours, and invoices in separate tools.
- I designed one product that covers the whole job, built from modules so each company uses only what it needs.
- It ships as a web app for the office and as iOS and Android apps for the people working on site.
40businesses using Mesh
34%less time creating invoices
91%core task completion rate
3platforms: web, iOS, Android
Customer figure: meshapp.io, October 2026.
Overview
One system, from the first inquiry to the paid invoice.
Mesh App is business software for trades, construction, and service companies in Germany and Austria: electricians, roofers, engineering offices, agencies. A typical customer has a small office team and people out on jobs.
Before Mesh, the customer list, the quotes, the project plan, the timesheets, and the invoices lived in different tools. I designed the product from scratch: the information architecture, the interface for desktop and mobile, and the design system behind both.
The problem
Five tools for one job, and nothing connecting them.
Work scattered across tools
Customers, projects, time, documents, and payments each had their own tool. Nothing linked a quote to the project it became or the invoice it ended in.
Different people, different needs
Administrators, managers, and team members need different data and different actions, inside a structure that still feels like one system.
Numbers people have to trust
Invoices, costs, and budgets need a clear hierarchy, so a figure can be trusted at a glance.
Office and job site
Part of the team sits at a desk. The rest is at a customer's site with a phone, and both have to see the same state of the job.
On top of that, the product had to keep working as the business, the feature set, and the data grow. Whatever structure I chose had to take new modules later.
Process
From workflows to a system, in four steps.
Map the work
I mapped the key business workflows and defined the user roles. The core journeys were managing projects, generating invoices, tracking financial performance, and converting leads into clients.
Structure it
The information architecture groups everything into modules, so moving between dashboards, reports, and operational tools takes no detours.
Wireframe
Wireframes settled the layouts and the navigation patterns before any visual design, with clarity and efficient navigation as the test.
System and interface
A modular design system for dashboards, data tables, financial summaries, and interaction components, then the final interface on top of it.
Architecture
Every job carries one status, from request to payment.
The product is organised around the life of a job. A project moves through the same seven statuses whoever is looking at it, and each module takes care of one part of that line.
- RequestedAngefragtCRM
- QuotedAngebotenDocuments
- OrderedBestelltDocuments
- In progressIn BearbeitungProjects, Team
- To invoiceZu verrechnenProjects
- InvoicedVerrechnetDocuments
- PaidBezahltFinance
Six modules, switched on one by one
CRM
Contacts and leads: the customer database, and every inquiry from first contact on.
Projects
Tasks, activities, and a resource planner for every job.
Finance
Bank accounts, the cash box, and evaluations of income and costs.
Documents
Offers, invoices, and delivery notes, each with its own status.
Purchases
Orders, products, and expenses.
Team
Employees, time tracking, and vacations.
Design system
One blue for actions. Colour only where it means something.
The interface is quiet on purpose: white cards on a light grey canvas, one blue for anything you can act on, and colour kept for status. In a product full of tables and figures, a coloured chip has to be a signal.
Core palette
- Primary#2167DC
- Primary light#77A3EA
- Ink#2D2D2F
- Canvas#ECEEF0
- Surface#FFFFFF
Interface
The day at a glance
The dashboard opens with what needs attention today: revenue, open and overdue invoices, and the projects that are ready to bill. An alert names the exact project or invoice and offers the next step next to it.
Key features
- A "critical today" line that counts urgent items and missing time entries
- Alerts with the action attached: go to the project, send the reminder
- Leave requests approved or rejected in place
Every job, one status
The project list filters by lifecycle status, from requested to paid. Inside a project, planned and actual sit side by side: costs, hours, and income against budget, with a warning when a threshold is crossed.
Key features
- Status tabs across the whole lifecycle, each with its count
- Planned against actual for costs, hours, and income
- Cost breakdown and a warning when the budget threshold is passed
Documents that show where they stand
Quotes, order confirmations, delivery notes, invoices, and expenses share one table pattern. Each row carries a status chip, so an overdue item stands out without opening it.
Key features
- Status chips for draft, open, due, and paid
- Filter tabs by status above every table
- Table view switch, filters, and export in the same place on every list
People next to the work
Employees, their positions, and their leave requests sit in the same system as the projects they work on. Hours are tracked per employee and per project, so time ends up on the right invoice.
Key features
- Active and archived employees in one list
- Time sheets per employee and per project
- Leave requests that land on the manager's dashboard
Leads that turn into projects
Leads come in through forms or by hand and move through a visual pipeline. When one is won, it carries on as a customer and a project in the same system.
Key features
- A pipeline board with phases each company can change
- Order value and the person responsible on every card
Mobile app
The same system, on site
The mobile app is the same database as the desktop, designed for people who are standing at a customer's site. They look up a contact, check a project's status and tasks, start and stop a timer, and tick off what is done.
Key features
- Customer contact details and addresses on site
- Project status, tasks, and notes
- Time tracking with a timer or manual entry, assigned to a project
- Quotes and orders to check in the field
Outcome
One product in place of five tools.
Mesh App is live on the web, the App Store, and Google Play. According to meshapp.io, 40 businesses in Germany and Austria run their work on it.
The product was planned around five core functions: projects, employees, invoicing, finances, and leads. In the design they are grouped into six modules: CRM, projects, finance, documents, purchases, and team. Each company switches on the ones it needs.
“Top App, alles intuitiv gestaltet. Keine Einschulung erforderlich.”
Great app, everything designed intuitively. No training required.
CadVision GmbH, engineering office. Customer review on meshapp.io.What I delivered
- Workflow mapping and user roles
- Information architecture
- Wireframes
- Interface design for web and mobile
- Design system