This redesign focused on making ShipCompliant's key feature, alcohol taxation and reporting, faster, more actionable and easier to learn. Every month, users must report to each state what they sold, how much they sold and remit any taxes as necessary. Every state's report is different, and sometimes there can be several reports for the same state. ShipCompliant's reporting tools were extremely valuable in that they autopopulated reports based on order data but the experience was still cumbersome.
"Overall this has been the easiest reporting month in history! And I love the new Email button!"
Provided actionable data
Through observations and testing, we learned that almost all users compare data in their POS system to ShipCompliant to ensure accuracy. We added important benchmark numbers into an expandable area, to allow users to see details when they need them, in an easily found location.
Added several new tools - driven from usability research
We began to hear some common themes in our conversations with users and created several tools that they didn't know they needed. One example is a check request, which is a simple export that addresses the accounting process for 80% of our users. We consistently hear that this is a favorite feature.
Created e-filing solutions
Several states require e-filing through their websites which makes it difficult for the user to remember the proper workflow. Limited by externally owned and hosted websites, we chose to create an iframe with all necessary ShipCompliant tools, such as stored login credentials and filing instructions, to assist users while they file. When finished, a user can even update their report directly from the iframe.
Improved performance
Reports require the most recent account information but on-the-fly calculation took too long. Through creative background calculations and nightly processes, we were able to improve the perceived performance to under 3 seconds, and no longer needed a separate page for processing downloads.
"Honestly, the month based navigation is awesome. I really like how what we have filed is archived at the bottom and what needs action is at the top. Very clean, and clear! And fewer clicks is really helpful. Especially when they were just redundant clicks to begin with. Thank you for taking our feedback and listening!"
"Thanks again for continuing to make your product better for the users. You get a thumbs up, A+ or 10 rating in my book."
"Cute what I got today, you guys are having too much fun in your creative customer user-friendly ideas dept. Thanks for making me smile on the Friday Fun Day."