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Voice & writing

The product speaks like an experienced operator. Confident. Direct. Quietly human. No exclamation points, no apologies for things that haven't broken, no marketing in the chrome.

6 principles Sentence case No emoji

Six principles

The rules every word in the product passes through.

01

Name the real noun

"Invoice", "shift", "settlement" — never "record" or "item" or "entity". The product is full of specific things; use their names.

02

Lead with the next action

Buttons are verbs. "Approve" and "Post". Headings name the surface, not the task. Every sentence the user reads should help them decide what to do.

03

Trust the operator

No "Are you sure?" for reversible actions. No tutorials, no tooltips on every field. Instead: show undo, give the user the keys.

04

One sentence is plenty

If a screen needs three sentences of explanation, the screen is wrong. Trim until the words earn their place.

05

Quiet is correct

No celebratory motion. No "Great job!" toasts. The work is the reward.

06

Use the canonical labels

Needs input · Running · Completed · Idle · Not started. Never invent a new status word.

Do & don't, by example

Real strings from real screens.

Do
Approve entry
A verb. The user knows the next action without reading more.
Don't
Click here to approve
"Click here" tells the user nothing about what happens.
Do
Receipt R-19281 printed
Specific object, specific action, past tense. The user knows what just changed.
Don't
Success! Your operation has been completed.
Two exclamations, marketing-speak, and tells the user nothing useful.
Do
Closed shift. Cash deposit $ 1,950 logged.
Past tense. Names the actual outcome. The amount is part of the sentence.
Don't
Yay! All done — your shift has been awesomely closed.
Don't celebrate. Operators close shifts all day.
Do
Long-life milk 1L will sell out by 16:00 at current rate.
A real fact with a real time. Tells the operator when to act.
Don't
Low stock alert! Some items need your attention.
Vague. Which items? When? What can the user do?
Do
Couldn't reach refinery. Retry?
Plain. Honest. Offers a path forward.
Don't
Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later.
"Oops" is not a strategy. Tell the user what failed.

House lexicon

A few standing decisions about how we use words.

Action verbs
ApproveSubmit for approval
PostFinalise
OpenInitiate
SettleFinish processing
ReconcileMatch up
Real nouns
InvoiceDocument
ShiftSession
PourOutput event
Cash-upReconciliation event
BranchLocation
Status labels
Needs inputPending action
RunningIn progress
CompletedDone
IdleInactive
Not startedAwaiting

Numbers, dates, money

KindFormatExample
MoneyCurrency symbol with non-breaking space, two decimals$ 2,816.40
Time24-hour, colon-separated14:38
DateDay month year — no zero-padding on day3 June 2026
Date (short)Day mon3 Jun
RangeEn-dash with spaces07:30 – 19:00
IDMono, type-prefix + zero-padded numberSKU-0421 · R-19281
PercentOne decimal · with space96.4 %

Micro-copy patterns

SurfacePatternExample
Empty listWhat & why · next action"No receipts yet — they'll appear here as cashiers ring up sales."
LoadingWhat's loading · keep it specific"Fetching receipts…"
ErrorWhat broke · what the user can do"Couldn't reach refinery. Retry?"
ConfirmOutcome & consequence"Close shift. This locks the till until tomorrow."
SuccessPast tense · subject + verb"Posted invoice INV-2841."
ToastOne short sentence · no punctuation at end"Receipt R-19281 printed"