Product Overview / The Problem / Research / Design Process / Final Design / Impact / Learnings
Category
SaaS / Tax Filing Application
Timeline
2023 - 2025
Team
Product Manager, Dev Team, UX Writer, UX Designer
Project Overview
Remote Tax Expert (RTE) is a web application that allows Canadians to submit tax documents online and have a professional prepare their return without visiting an office. Originally launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly became a major revenue driver for H&R Block. But once lockdowns lifted, usage declined.
To support preparers, H&R Block built Client Spark, an internal tool that manages client tickets and serves as a messaging system. When a client signs up for RTE, a ticket is created in Client Spark and assigned to a preparer. Preparers then use the tool to manage documents and communicate with clients.
Old design of Remote Tax Expert
The Problem: Poor UX
After the pandemic, users no longer felt compelled to use a product with poor usability. RTE’s repetitive obstacles caused delays and errors during peak season, eroding trust. Though its NPS score of 46 was competitive, the detractor rate sat at 21%—a red flag for word-of-mouth damage.
Conversion was also low: in 2023, only 1.6% of users reached the payment step. Tax preparers disliked RTE and Client Spark, seeing them as inefficient compared to serving in-office clients. These challenges made RTE a net negative for both sides of the service.
My role as Senior UX Designer was to reverse this trend, focusing on low-effort, high-impact improvements that could raise funnel completion from 1.6% to 5% by 2025.
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Research
Interviews with District Managers
To understand preparer pain points, I interviewed six District Managers from Saskatchewan, Quebec, Newfoundland, and Alberta. Themes emerged around manual ticket assignment. Managers could only reassign one ticket at a time, leading to workarounds like calling tax experts directly. Client Spark lacked efficient ticket management, slowing the process during peak filing.
District Managers Interview Affinity Mapping
Franchise Owners Interview Affinity Mapping
Competitive Analysis
I compared RTE with TurboTax, Wealthsimple, Liberty Tax, and independents. Key findings:
- Human interaction builds trust.
- Speed vs. quality trade-offs define the experience.
- Communication delays create dissatisfaction.
The insight: RTE needed to balance quantity of returns with the quality and care of independent preparers.
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Researching the recent CRA policy changes
In July 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency mandated that preparers use Rep-A-Client instead of Electronic Authorization Forms. This forced an overhaul of RTE’s authorization flow. I spent a month researching the policy shift before designing a new workflow.
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Knowing our users
RTE serves all Canadians, but we focused on tech-savvy filers as primary users. Personas captured differences by age, income, and citizenship. We also profiled preparers to surface motivations and pain points—insights that informed system improvements.
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Service Blueprints & Journey Maps
By layering funnel data, touchpoints, and personas, I created a service blueprint and user journey map. These artifacts clarified how both clients and preparers experience RTE, highlighting critical friction points.
Service Blueprint of the Client and Tax Pro Journey.
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Design Process
Dashboard Wayfinding
The RTE Dashboard audit revealed poor hierarchy and no scanning pattern, overwhelming users. I redesigned it with clearer progress tracking and simplified navigation to reduce cognitive load.
UX Audit of RTE Dashboard (Delta)
The design deliverable for RTE, showing the user flow of the new Dashboard screen.
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Ticket Management
Client Spark workflows were mapped to reveal inefficiencies. Preparers couldn’t select multiple tickets or files at once. I proposed batch reassignment and bulk downloads, consolidating repetitive tasks into efficient actions.
User Flow of the proposed new ticket management system in Client Spark
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Authorization Flow
I designed three phased workflows:
1. Rep-A-Client integration to replace outdated EAF.
2. Bypass option for new filers without Canadian history.
3. Client Spark integration so preparers could check authorization and review documents before filing.
Each phase required cross-department approval.
User Flow for the Bypass Authorization flow
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Design Systems
Using Atomic Design, I built reusable components with Figma properties to ensure consistency and speed for future iterations.
Remote Tax Expert Design Systems: Typography, Radio Group, Checkbox, and Dialog Box
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Prototype
To validate ideas, I built prototypes for ticket filtering, batch assignment, and the redesigned RTE Dashboard. User testing included UMUX-Lite surveys, with scores above 90.
Feedback highlights:
- Filers valued the progress tracker on the new Dashboard.
- Clearer step-by-step authorization reduced frustration.
- Preparers praised batch ticket selection and bulk downloads for cutting repetitive tasks.
Prototype setup for the new RTE Authorization functionality. I used Figma's variables to set up a more simplified prototype.
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Final Designs
Dashboard Wayfinding simplified navigation and progress tracking.
Updated Authorization flows aligned with CRA changes, eliminated outdated forms, and reduced false positives.
Client Spark Enhancements enabled bulk ticket reassignment and filtering, making high-volume management far more efficient.
Remote Tax Expert's new Dashboard design. Key upgrades include the progress bar, tax years separated by tabs, and a cleaner design for more efficient scanning.
The updated authorization functionality in RTE is designed to accommodate the new CRA policy changes regarding how tax preparers represent their clients.
Client Spark, the application used by H&R Block associates, showcases the new ticket management functionality that enables tax pros to control their tickets.
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Impact
Design changes raised the conversion rate to 22.1% in 2025, a 13.7% increase from 2023. The improvements proved that targeted UX work can drive measurable business results while improving customer and preparer experiences.
Conversion Funnel rate for Remote Tax Expert
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Learnings
Working on RTE and Client Spark meant balancing tight resources with high stakeholder expectations. Prioritization and clear communication were essential. I learned to listen deeply, bring forward only the most impactful ideas, and secure buy-in before pushing ahead.
Collaboration was key: multiple stakeholders with competing ideas required careful synthesis. Over time, alignment improved, especially once the Product Manager introduced a unified priority list, giving us clarity and focus.
Designing for a system that bridges taxpayers and preparers was complex but rewarding. The project reinforced that improving workflows for both sides of a service not only drives satisfaction but also sustains business growth.
