Intuit: QuickBooks
Pre-migration Hub
Migration hub to move 450K Desktop users Online, generating $400M
Saas
Product Strategist
Product designer
UX Researcher
Designed an in-product hub to help QuickBooks Desktop users transition to QuickBooks Online smoothly and efficiently.
About Intuit’s
QuickBooks
Intuit develops financial, accounting, and tax softwares, including QuickBooks, TurboTax, Mint, and MailChimp with 100 million+ customers worldwide.
A glimpse of QuickBooks Online’s dashboard.
QuickBooks is a SaaS accounting software designed for small and medium-sized businesses to manage expenses, track income, and facilitate financial tasks.
Business Problem
QuickBooks aims to enhance the migration process for its Desktop app customers transitioning to QuickBooks Online, with a target of generating $400M in revenue.
Current state
Current discovery methods include notifications within the QuickBooks Desktop application. These methods currently drive only 7% of migrations and 1.5% of Gross Net Subscribers (GNS) for QuickBooks Online.
The challenge
Increase user engagement and conversion rates by addressing user concerns. Improve the overall migration experience to better facilitate transitions.
Deep-Dive
Into The Problem
I partnered with my Product Manager To conduct qualitative research with a set of 12 customer interviews to understand customer sentiments.
Before QuickBooks Online
purchase concerns
Customers questioned if QuickBooks Online fit for their specific business needs, and the presence of familiar features/workflows.
Post QuickBooks online
purchase concerns
Concerns about the integrity of Desktop data in Online, time required for migration, and assistance with data migration.
️TL;DR gist of my research
Customers bear the burden of understanding QuickBooks Online's fit for their business needs and the transition process.
They rely heavily on external sources for information and face challenges with current in-product experiences.
Solution Hypothesis
Approach 1: Make QuickBooks Online the same as QuickBooks Desktop
QuickBooks Desktop's dashboard
QuickBooks Online's dashboard
Current function
QuickBooks Desktop has 40+ years of research and development.
Whereas QuickBooks Online was aimed at making accounting more user-friendly over—similarity with Desktop.
Cons
Mimicking QuickBooks Desktop’s functionalities in Online needs extensive organisation-wide alignment, time, effort, and money.
Approach 2: form-like structure
with contextual suggestions
Approach 2: Revamp existing ‘Explore QuickBooks Online’ migration tool on Desktop
Explore QuickBooks Online page
Current function
/ Quick comparison between QuickBooks Desktop & Online features.
/ CTA leads to QuickBooks Online trial.
Cons
Pop-ups that led to ‘Explore QuickBooks Online’ have low conversion rates, and CTA on this page has low CTR; bringing customers to ignored pages is not ideal.
Approach 3: ai Agent-powered with
natural language and fallback ui
Approach 3: A new tool in QuickBooks Desktop
High level proposed solution
A Pre-migration hub on QuickBooks Desktop offering personalised information and guidance on:
/ Why move to QuickBooks Online?
/ What to transfer?
/ How to make the transition?
Current awareness
QuickBooks Desktop customers are generally aware about QuickBooks Online on a high-level.
Evaluation
/ Will QuickBooks Online have all the functionalities that I use?
/ What happens to QuickBooks Desktop data?
/ Re-learning interface.
/ Data security concerns.
Migration
/ Will my QuickBooks Desktop data be there?
/ What data comes over?
/ Which version to choose?
/ Migration duration.
Target state
QuickBooks Desktop users know
about QuickBooks Online but have
concerns about its features, data
transfer, re-learning its
interface, and data security.
They wonder if their Desktop data
will transfer, what data comes
over, which version to choose,
and how long migration takes.
The Pre-migration hub will
address these concerns by
offering personalized
information and guidance, linking
Desktop tasks to Online benefits,
suggesting the best version, and
ensuring a smooth transition.
Explorations—
Pre-migration Hub
Concern 1: Does QuickBooks Online meet my business needs?
We aligned with carousel to display QuickBooks Online features, auto-sliding every 10 seconds.
A marketing review advised using claims from the approved messaging strategy by QuickBooks Marketing and Legal teams.
Pros
/ Images compliment and balance text heaviness.
/ Takes less screen real estate.
Cons
Other features get hidden behind
scroll.
Concern 2: users felt lost when key
details scrolled out of view in chat
Concern 2: Does QuickBooks Online look the same as Desktop?
We decided on showing the QuickBooks Online Desktop app in the feature section for awareness and to boost confidence to switch to Online.
Pros
/ Makes customers aware of the desktop application.
/ Shows how the Desktop app looks like.
/ Gives a sense of familiarity and confidence.
Cons
/ Might get hidden behind scroll in carousel.
/ Doesn’t give a holistic understanding of the app.
Concern 2: users felt lost when key
details scrolled out of view in chat
Concern 3: Which version of QuickBooks Online should I choose?
we introduced a match percentage with supporting reasons. the ai displays a score (e.g., 78% match) alongside key factors influencing that score (such as location fit, relevant experience). this would help recruiter and candidates quickly gauge suitability without looking here and there.
Pros
Version recommendation has prominence and yet will not get hidden under scroll.
Cons
/ Too many CTAs may lead to confusion.
/ Sticky footer is heavy with lot of elements.
Concern 2: users felt lost when key
details scrolled out of view in chat
Concern 4: What happens to my QuickBooks Desktop data?
In Q1, our plan was to focus on QuickBooks Online awareness, directing users to existing migration tools and FAQs. In Q2, we'll introduce a comprehensive data migration section with a pre-migration checklist and additional features.
Pros
/ Customers know that data migration is a process that needs to be done and doesn't happen by itself.
/ Occupies less screen real estate.
Cons
/ Does not give an idea of data migration process duration.
/ Not much space to detail about data migration.
Concern 2: users felt lost when key
details scrolled out of view in chat
Concern 5: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We planned to have QuickBooks Online benefits, migration assistance, and version selection separately. Yet, we saw the need for a dedicated FAQ section to address common customer concerns upfront to boost confidence.
Pros
/ All of the customer’s concerns upfront in a comprehensive manner.
/ Gives customers confidence and increases hub's reliability.
/ Gives an idea of what questions we are addressing, so might want to see ‘More questions’.
Cons
/ Real estate issue to incorporate all FAQs.
/ ‘More questions’ would lead to marketing page which would divert customer from hub.
/ Increases text heaviness in hub.
Testing
We had two options: usertesting.com or user interviews. We opted for the latter after we noticed that usertesting.com repeatedly provided misleadingly positive feedback. We went with 10 customers to start with.
Objective
We inserted placeholder content to understand what initially grabs the customer's attention, their overall impression of the hub, their thoughts on each section, if it encourages them to switch to QuickBooks Online, and any shortcomings of the hub.
This is how the Pre-migration hub window would look on QuickBooks Desktop.
Insights
/ Customers found the help section with FAQs comprehensive and useful, boosting confidence in the transition process.
/ Some initially viewed the carousel as a marketing gimmick but appreciated its guidance and clarity.
/ The recommended version feature was well-received, though some users expressed a desire to try QuickBooks Online before committing.
“We’re better informed before we commit to QuickBooks Online.”
Shannon Volz
Lecture Bureau Accountant
9 colleagues
“I’ll research before moving for my satisfaction. But this is a good start!”
Chris Peruzzi
Workshop Owner
17 employees
Next Steps
and Strategy
We outlined strategic solutions to address next steps and edge cases in Q2 and further, ensuring users experience a smooth and informed transition from QuickBooks Desktop to Online.
Feature Comparison
Show differences between QuickBooks Desktop and Online to clear up misunderstandings.
Plan Purchase
Enable buying QuickBooks Online plans directly from Pre-migration hub rather than external website.
Migration Processes
Offer checklists and support for data migration, helping with complex files and allowing easy self-service for simple ones.
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HRUDAY KULKARNI©