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Keepsake Project Management, Freelancers, Designers14 problems that need solving: everyday annoyances an app could fix
The best problems to solve with an app are small, frequent and annoying enough that people already work around them: a parking sign nobody can read, a deposit dispute, forty minutes on hold, a subscription nobody remembers. Below are 14 everyday problems that need solving. Each names who has the problem, what they do today, and a first version small enough for one person to build.
What makes a problem worth solving with an app?
A big problem is not the same as a good one to build for. Climate change is a big problem. A first-time builder cannot solve it with a weekend project. The problems that work for an app are narrow: one kind of person, one moment, one result they want and cannot get easily.
| Question | Strong sign | Weak sign |
|---|---|---|
| Who exactly has it? | You can name a role and a situation, such as “a tenant on the day they move out” | “Everyone” |
| How often does it happen? | Weekly, monthly, or at a predictable event | Once in a lifetime, with no way to reach people at that moment |
| What do they do today? | A bad workaround: a spreadsheet, a screenshot folder, a phone call | Nothing, and they do not seem to mind |
| What does it cost them? | Time, money or stress they can describe | A mild preference |
| Can a first version be small? | One input, one answer, no accounts | Needs a network of users before it is useful |
| Can you reach the people? | A community, a search term or a place they gather | No way to find them without paid ads |
Every entry below was written against those six questions. They are starting points, not proven markets. Before you build any of them, talk to five people who have the problem; the guide to validating an app idea shows how, and the guide to market research for an app idea covers the desk work.
Which money and paperwork problems could an app solve?
Admin is the largest source of small, repeated irritation. It is also easy to build for, because the inputs are usually text or a photo, and the output is a short list or a date.
01 The forgotten subscription
People pay for services they stopped using, because nothing tells them what is still charging.
- Who has it
- Anyone who signs up for free trials and monthly plans
- What they do today
- Scroll a bank statement once in a while, or never
- Time to first version
- A weekend
- Hard part
- Spotting recurring charges reliably, and handling bank data with care
First version: the user uploads a statement export from their bank, as a CSV file. The app groups charges by merchant name and amount, flags anything that repeats each month or year, and shows a list with the yearly total next to each one. No bank login, no stored files; process the file and show the result.
Then: a reminder a few days before an annual renewal, and a one-line cancel instruction per service. Look at the board’s finance ideas for related angles.
02 Receipts, return windows and warranties
Most people find out a return window closed only when they try to return something.
- Who has it
- Online shoppers and anyone who buys appliances or electronics
- What they do today
- Keep receipts in a drawer or an email folder and hope
- Time to first version
- A weekend
- Hard part
- Each store has its own policy; the user must enter the number of days
First version: a page where you paste the receipt email or photograph the paper receipt, enter the return period the store gave, and get a reminder two days before the window closes. Items are listed in the order of the deadlines. The app does not need to know any store’s policy; the user types it once.
Then: a second list for warranties, with the end date and a stored photo of the receipt for the claim.
03 Chasing a late invoice
Freelancers do awkward work they never trained for: asking politely, then firmly, to be paid.
- Who has it
- Freelancers and tiny agencies with a few clients
- What they do today
- Write each reminder from scratch, or put it off
- Time to first version
- A weekend
- Hard part
- Tone and wording across cultures; do not give legal advice
First version: the user enters the client name, the amount, the due date and the invoice number. The app produces three emails to copy: a friendly nudge, a firm reminder, and a final notice, each with the dates they should go out. Nothing is sent by the app.
Then: connect to a calendar so that reminders appear on the right day, and add a template for a payment plan request.
04 Telling everyone you moved
A change of address touches a dozen organizations, and people remember only half.
- Who has it
- Anyone moving house, especially for the first time
- What they do today
- Search the web for a checklist, then forget items
- Time to first version
- One to two weekends
- Hard part
- Requirements differ by country and region; data must be accurate
First version: a short questionnaire (country, renting or owning, car, children, work status) generates a checklist of who to tell, with a link to the official page for each one and a tick box. Start with one country that you know well.
Then: letter templates, and a shareable version for couples. Keep every source link official; a checklist with wrong rules is worse than none.
05 The official letter nobody understands
A letter from a tax office, insurer or landlord arrives in dense language with a deadline hidden inside.
- Who has it
- Anyone who deals with authorities or contracts in a second language or without training
- What they do today
- Ask a relative, search the phrases, or ignore it
- Time to first version
- A weekend
- Hard part
- Accuracy, privacy of the document, and a clear statement that it is not legal advice
First version: the user pastes or photographs a letter. The app returns three things: what this letter is, what it asks the reader to do, and the date by which they have to act, each quoted back from the text so the reader can check. It says plainly when it is unsure.
Then: a calendar reminder for the deadline, and a polite reply template. Keep the first version to reading, not advising. The board’s legal ideas show how others have framed this.
Which home and family problems need solving?
Households run on shared, informal systems: a fridge door, a group chat, a mental list that lives in one person’s head. Those systems break down at the point where two or more people have to agree on something.
01 Documenting the flat on move-in day
A deposit dispute at the end of a tenancy often comes down to what the place looked like at the start.
- Who has it
- Renters, on the day they get the keys
- What they do today
- Take a few unsorted photos, or none
- Time to first version
- A weekend
- Hard part
- Rules about deposits and what counts as evidence vary by place; do not claim legal weight
A board post, Document a flat on move-in day so you get your deposit back, describes this problem. First version: a guided walk-through, room by room, that prompts for photos of walls, floors, appliances and meter readings, adds a note field and a time stamp, and exports one PDF the tenant can email to the landlord the same day.
Then: a move-out mode that shows the same shots side by side for comparison.
Read “Documenting the flat on move-in day” on the board and copy its build prompt →
02 Splitting the utility bill by who was actually home
Flatmates move in and out mid-month, and an equal split is unfair to somebody.
- Who has it
- Shared households with changing members
- What they do today
- Argue in a group chat, or split equally and resent it
- Time to first version
- An evening
- Hard part
- Agreeing on a fair rule: by days present, by room, or by usage
First version: a calculator with no login. Enter the bill and its date range, add each person with their move-in and move-out dates, and choose a rule. It shows each person’s share and a link that shows the same numbers to everyone in the household.
Then: recurring bills, and a ledger of who paid last time. Look at the board’s home and family ideas for neighbors of this problem.
03 Looking after a parent from several cities
Siblings share the care of an aging parent and keep asking each other who did what.
- Who has it
- Adult children and relatives who live apart
- What they do today
- A group chat that scrolls past the important message
- Time to first version
- One to two weekends
- Hard part
- Sensitive personal information, so store as little as possible and avoid medical advice
First version: one shared page, reached through a private link with no accounts, with a list of recurring tasks (call on Sundays, refill the pill box, drive to the clinic), each with an owner and a done-by date. Anyone in the family can tick a task, and the page shows the last person to do each one.
Then: a weekly summary email, and a section for facts a visitor needs, such as the doctor’s phone number. Keep medical details out of version one.
04 Dinner from what is about to spoil
Food gets thrown away because nobody connects what is in the fridge with what could be cooked tonight.
- Who has it
- Households that cook at home and buy fresh food
- What they do today
- Open the fridge, shrug, order takeaway
- Time to first version
- A weekend
- Hard part
- Recipe quality, and knowing real dates rather than guesses
First version: the user lists what is in the fridge, or uploads a photo, and marks anything that must be used soon. The app suggests two or three dinners that use the marked items first and shows what extra ingredients are needed. Start with a short list of dietary filters.
Then: a weekly shopping list that accounts for what you already have. See the board’s food and cooking ideas for several takes.
05 The maintenance jobs nobody remembers
Smoke alarm batteries, boiler checks, filters and gutters are important and fall off every list.
- Who has it
- New homeowners and tenants who look after their own place
- What they do today
- Remember when something breaks
- Time to first version
- A weekend
- Hard part
- Correct intervals differ by product and region; link to manufacturer advice
First version: the user ticks what they have (gas boiler, smoke alarms, tumble dryer, water filter), and the app generates a calendar file with yearly or seasonal reminders. Each reminder links to the manufacturer’s guidance or the local authority’s page, not to a made-up interval.
Then: a log of when each job was done, which is useful when selling the property.
Which everyday time-wasters need solving?
Some problems cost no money at all, only twenty minutes at a time, many times a month. They are easy to overlook because each instance seems too small to fix.
01 Reading a parking sign
A sign with three time windows, two exceptions and a symbol you do not recognize is a gamble with a fine.
- Who has it
- Drivers in busy cities and unfamiliar neighborhoods
- What they do today
- Squint, guess, or park somewhere else
- Time to first version
- A weekend for one city
- Hard part
- A wrong answer costs a fine, so show the app’s reading of the sign next to the verdict
The board post Photograph a parking sign and know if you can park here puts this problem in a title. First version: the user photographs the sign and picks the day and the length of stay. The app reads the sign, lists the rules it found in plain words, and gives a yes, no or unsure for that moment. Start with one city whose signs follow a single format.
Then: remember where you parked, and set a reminder before the time limit ends.
Read “Reading a parking sign” on the board and copy its build prompt →
02 Waiting on hold
Waiting twenty or thirty minutes for a human on a support line is a real cost for a call that takes two.
- Who has it
- Anyone calling an insurer, a utility, an airline or a government line
- What they do today
- Put the phone on speaker and lose the afternoon
- Time to first version
- Longer than a weekend
- Hard part
- Phone integration and detecting when a person picks up
The board post It waits on hold for you and calls when a human answers describes the full product, which is a technical project. A smaller first version: a page that holds the number, the reference to quote and the opening script, and a timer that tells you the best time to call, using times that users report. It does not wait for you, but it makes the call shorter.
Then: a callback-request guide per company, and the full wait-and-notify service once you have a way to make outbound calls.
Read “Waiting on hold” on the board and copy its build prompt →
03 Notes from the appointment
People leave a doctor’s or lawyer’s office remembering half of what was said.
- Who has it
- Patients, clients, parents at school meetings
- What they do today
- Jot a few words, or rely on memory
- Time to first version
- A weekend
- Hard part
- Health data is sensitive, and the app must not give medical advice
First version: the user dictates or types what they remember immediately after the visit. The app arranges it into three lists: what I was told, what I need to do, and what I should ask next time, each with a date if one was mentioned. It does not interpret or advise; it only organizes what the user said.
Then: reminders for the follow-ups. Check the board’s health ideas for neighboring problems.
04 Finding a date everyone can make
Getting eight people to agree a time takes more messages than the event itself.
- Who has it
- Anyone organizing a dinner, a trip, a club night or a team meeting
- What they do today
- A group chat that stalls, then a poll that never closes
- Time to first version
- An evening
- Hard part
- Getting replies, rather than building the poll
First version: the organizer proposes up to six slots. Guests tap the ones they can make, with no sign-up. At a deadline the poll closes itself, announces the winning slot and produces a calendar file. The nudge to people who have not answered is the real feature: one reminder, sent once.
Then: weights for people who must attend, and recurring events.
How do you turn a problem into an app?
Pick the problem you have seen yourself, since you can judge the answer. Then run it through these steps:
- Write one problem card using the template below. If a line stays blank, you have found your first research task.
- Talk to five people who have the problem. Ask about the last time it happened, not whether they would use an app.
- Check what exists. Many of the problems above have an app already. That is useful: read its reviews and find what it gets wrong.
- Cut the first version to one input and one answer, as the entries above do. The guide to scoping an MVP shows how.
- Write a build prompt and give it to a coding agent. See how to write an app build prompt.
Who has it: [role and situation] When it happens: [the trigger, and how often] What they do today: [the workaround] What it costs them: [time, money or stress, in their words] The smallest fix: [one input, one result] What would make me stop: [the finding that kills the idea] Five people I can ask: [names or places]
If you do not want to build one yourself, you can post the problem on the board with no account and no email. Every idea gets a generated build prompt that someone can paste into Claude Code, Cursor or Lovable. To browse more problems by topic, start at the full idea board, or ask the free App Idea Generator for a starting point.
Frequently asked questions
What are some problems that need solving?
Small, frequent annoyances make the best app problems: unreadable parking signs, deposit disputes at move-out, long waits on hold, forgotten subscriptions, missed return windows, unclear official letters and shared household chores. Each affects a specific group of people at a predictable moment and has a workaround that can be improved.
How do I find problems worth solving?
Notice what you and people around you complain about, then check how often it happens and what people do today. Read reviews of existing products, and look at communities where people ask for help. A problem worth solving has a named person, a recurring moment and a bad workaround.
What are examples of everyday problems an app can solve?
Examples include tracking return deadlines, splitting bills fairly between flatmates, summarizing an official letter, organizing medical appointment notes, picking a meeting date for a group, and cooking before food spoils. Each can start as a single page with one input and one answer, without accounts.
Should I build a solution to a problem that already has an app?
Often yes. An existing app shows that people pay for the problem. Read its reviews to find what it gets wrong, and aim at a narrower group it serves poorly. Without a gap you can name, a competing product is difficult to justify.
How do I know if a problem is big enough?
Count how often it happens and how much it costs the person in time, money or stress, in their own words. Then check that you can reach at least a few hundred of them cheaply. A problem that many people have once in a lifetime, or that they do not mind, is too weak.
Where can I post a problem I want someone else to solve?
Post your build ideas takes problems and ideas with no account or email, and each post gets a generated build prompt a builder can use. Other forums accept them too, under their own rules. Describe the person, the moment and the result so a stranger could build it.
Created with AI assistance and edited for this site. Examples are illustrative and do not represent customer research. About the publisher.