AtlasYour income is irregular. Your budget shouldn't be.
Atlas reads your cash-flow patterns and builds a budget that fits how you actually earn — paycheck-first, multi-currency, designed for freelancers across four markets.
- Role
- End-to-end product design
- Scope
- Research → prototype → brand
- Markets
- KSA · UAE · CA · US
- Stack
- React · Supabase · Lean API
The Problem
Standard budgeting apps were built for salaries — fixed bi-weekly deposits, one currency, calendar-month resets. 38% of the US workforce now earns on a different cadence entirely, and every mainstream tool silently assumes the cadence they don't have.
Read the full problem breakdownstats, comparison table, competitive audit
| Assumption | Traditional apps | Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Income cadence | Fixed bi-weekly paycheck | Any frequency — daily, monthly, project-based |
| Currency | Single currency | SAR · CAD · AED · USD simultaneously |
| Savings logic | % of fixed salary | % of actual this-month income, auto-adjusted |
| MENA open banking | Not supported | Lean Technologies — KSA + UAE |
| Budget resets | Calendar month | On each income event (paycheck-first) |
The Research
The gig economy outgrew its tools. Five 45-minute interviews across Canadian freelancers, Saudi contractors and UAE expats — paired with competitor teardowns of YNAB and Monarch, and a Lean API sandbox test — mapped a market that has grown past every assumption its incumbents were built on.
Read the full researchmarket signals, 3 personas, the breakthrough
| Signal | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| $1.27T | Contributed by US freelancers to the US economy in 2023HIGH confidence | Upwork 2023 |
| 72.9M | US independent workers in 2025 on the broader definitionHIGH confidence | MBO Partners 2025 |
| $88B+ | Annual GCC outbound remittances (UAE $49.8B + KSA $38.5B) — all crossing currency gapsHIGH confidence | World Bank · SAMA · CBUAE 2024 |
| 81% | Saudi banking customers using mobile apps; 82% want super-appsMEDIUM confidence | Capco Saudi Retail Banking Survey 2024 |
| Mar '26 | Lean Technologies received Saudi's first Major Payment Institution (MPI) Open Banking licenseHIGH confidence | Lean Technologies / SAMA |
The Solution
Atlas flips the model: instead of asking irregular earners to pretend they have a salary, it starts with the paycheck they just received and maps every dollar in under 60 seconds. Five capabilities build on that anchor — each a functional, tactile UI rather than a screenshot.
Explore the five capabilitiespaycheck-first, envelopes, snowball, AI forecast, multi-currency
When income lands, Atlas rebalances every envelope. A quiet toast confirms "You just got paid SAR 8,400 — here's your new budget" and the envelopes animate to the new fill levels. No forms. No calendar math.
Six labelled envelopes — Rent, Food, Savings, Emergency, Transport, Fun — fill with a liquid animation as income is allocated. Unallocated cash is always visible. Nothing hidden, nothing abstract.
Switch between Snowball and Avalanche. Progress bars, projected payoff date, and total interest saved update live. Atlas recommends the method that fits this user's psychology — and shows why.
A rolling 6-month chart pairs actual income bars with AI-predicted dotted-line projections and a confidence band. Atlas learns the rhythm — so the user can plan for the next three months, not guess.
Three balance cards (SAR · CAD · AED) show total net worth in any chosen currency with real-time FX indicators. Remittance alerts surface when the rate is favourable to send.
Key Decisions
Every design choice traced back to a research finding. These were the highest-stakes calls — each one a tradeoff between credibility, clarity, and cultural fit.
See the four key decisionspaycheck-first, dark theme, multi-currency, data motion
DecisionEvery envelope recalculates when a deposit lands — never on the 1st of the month. Calendar time was a silent bias; we removed it.
ResultIn concept testing, 91% of irregular earners understood the paycheck-first loop on first exposure.
DecisionDark surface (#09090B), mint accent (#3EE8B5) at 7.2:1 contrast — WCAG AAA. DM Mono for every field containing a number.
DecisionSAR · CAD · AED · USD side-by-side in every view. Lean Technologies handles MENA open banking; Stripe/Wise handle rails.
DecisionEvery animation must communicate data: count-ups, chart draws, envelope fills. Everything else is still.
Stakeholder Map
Following IDEO's four-ring framework: the people doing the work at the centre, extended partners critical to launch, subject-matter experts surrounding them, and the sponsors who clear the runway. Every ring shapes a different surface in the product.
Open the four-ring stakeholder mapcore users, extended team, SMEs, sponsors
Ring 01 · Core users
- Canadian freelancersIrregular income; YNAB assumes a salary; no MENA bridge.
- Saudi gig workersSAR irregular income with a ZAKAT compliance gap.
- UAE expat earnersWise/Revolut have no UAE card; juggling SAR + AED + home.
- Multi-currency contractorsCross-border earnings exposed to FX volatility.
Ring 02 · Extended team
- Lean TechnologiesOpen Banking API for KSA + UAE.
- Plaid-equivalents (CA)Canadian bank connections.
- Stripe · WiseCross-border payment rails.
- SupabaseBackend, real-time, row-level security.
Ring 03 · Subject-matter experts
- Tax advisors (CA + KSA)CRA self-employed rules; ZATCA compliance.
- Financial therapistsUX copy around money shame and avoidance.
- ZAKAT expertsNisab calculations in the savings module.
- FX risk analystsRate-alert and send-timing design.
Ring 04 · Sponsors · enablers
- SAMASaudi Open Banking framework.
- FCACCanadian consumer protection.
- Wealthsimple AI BuildersAtlas's submission track.
- Angel · seed investorsPre-seed runway.
The Frameworks
Atlas was built on IDEO's Design Thinking loop. The six phases shaped what to research, what to build, and what to test — and the Iceberg Model kept the team honest about what the data actually pointed to underneath behaviour.
See the frameworks at worksix phases, the iceberg model
The Iceberg Model. Surface behaviour is rarely the story. Beneath every overdraft sits a structure — and beneath every structure, a mindset.
The Prototype
A walkable version of the app. Onboarding builds a full financial profile, then every flow — paycheck allocation, routes, debts, mortgage, tax, goals, learn — is live. Tap through it below.