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Project Overview

Every tax season, CPA firms collect the same information from hundreds of clients through email threads, scanned PDFs, and spreadsheets. Clients are unsure what to send, and preparers spend hours chasing missing items.

The Tax Organizer replaces that with a single guided experience. The client answers a short questionnaire about their year. Based on those answers, the organizer builds a personalized checklist, shows only the sections that apply to them, pre-fills what the firm already knows from the prior year, and collects supporting documents in one place. The preparer sees status at a glance and can review everything before starting the return.

HubSync
Tax Organizer

Designing a guided, questionnaire-driven organizer for HubSync, so CPA firms collect exactly the right documents and information from every client, and clients always know what is left to do.

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MY ROLE

Role: Lead Product Designer

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Company: HubSync


Platform: Financial SaaS Web Application


Tools: Figma, Jira, Miro, Sketch, Invision, Zeplin, WCAG 2.1 AA

SUMMARY

I worked with the Product Manager, a CPA with 20 years of experience at a firm, to turn how tax preparers really collect client information into a product flow. I owned the end-to-end experience: mapping the flow, wireframes, high-fidelity design, every empty, error and in-progress state, and handoff to engineering. Where the design needed to reflect tax rules (for example, which questions unlock which sections), I confirmed the logic with the PM before designing it.

Problem

  • Clients don't know which documents or forms apply to them, so they either send everything or miss something important.

  • Preparers spend a large share of busy season following up on missing documents and re-asking questions already answered last year.

  • Firms have no single view of what a client has provided, what is outstanding, and what changed since last year.

  • A one-size-fits-all organizer asks everyone about everything (foreign accounts, rental income, crypto), which is overwhelming for clients with simple returns.

​Design question: How might we ask each client only what is relevant to them, while giving the firm complete, review-ready information?

Solution

  1. Questionnaire-driven personalization three-part tax questionnaire (general, foreign-related, and consent questions) sits at the front. Each answer switches sections on or off, so a client with a W-2 and a mortgage never has to see foreign trust or royalty income screens.

  2. A clear, trackable checklist The organizer home shows Questionnaire, Prior Year Documents, and Supporting Documents as distinct steps, each with a status (not started, in progress, complete, needs attention). Clients always know where they are and what is left.

  3. Prior-year data pre-population Personal information, dependents, and documents from the prior year are pre-filled, and the client only reviews and updates. Clients are prompted when something conflicts (for example, a reported change in marital status requires updating the marital status field).

  4. Guided data entry by income and deduction type Business income, rental and royalty income, stocks, grants and warrants, cryptocurrency, debt forgiveness, and other income each get their own focused flow. Every flow has list view, empty state, and add/edit screens. Deductions (charitable, medical, dependent care, home office, mileage, energy improvements, moving) include plain-language guidance, such as how the medical expense threshold works, directly where the client needs it.

  5. One place for documents Drag-and-drop upload for supporting documents, grouped by category (Income, Deductions and Credits, Personal Residence, Foreign, Others). Previews for JPG, PNG and PDF, with a 20 MB per-file limit stated up front. Uploading a document updates the related questionnaire response, so the data stays consistent.

  6. Built-in communication Comments, activity, and messages sit beside the documents they refer to, so a preparer can say "I'm missing your State Estimated Payment" in context, and the client can find it under My Tasks.

  7. Preparer review A Tax Preparer Review mode lets the firm see all responses and documents together, with status indicators that make it obvious what needs attention before preparation starts.

UX Strategy and Process

There was no time for a formal research phase or usability testing on this project. The requirement was urgent, and the product direction was set by firm and product stakeholders. My strategy was to compensate for that with the strongest domain input available and to design defensively.

  1. Ask less, show more. Use the questionnaire to personalize, so most clients see a short organizer.

  2. Never start from a blank page. Pre-populate from prior-year data whenever possible.

  3. Every screen answers "what's next?" Persistent status, clear primary action, and "Save and Finish Later" on every step.

  4. Design the unhappy paths. Empty, error, missing-document and in-progress states are designed, not left to chance.

  5. Plain language over tax jargon. Explain the rule where it matters (for example, the medical expense threshold).

Key Design Design

1. Questionnaire as a switchboard Instead of one long form, each answer unlocks only the relevant sections. This kept the experience short for simple returns and complete for complex ones. Empty states explain why: "Based on your questionnaire responses, you do not have any transactions to report in this section."

2. Pre-populate, then confirm Taxpayer, spouse and dependents are pre-filled from prior-year data with clear "review and update" language. Conflicts trigger contextual prompts (such as a marital status change).

3. Status that tells the truth Each section carries a status (grey/green for complete or not applicable, yellow for needs attention). Clients and preparers can scan for what's outstanding without opening every section.

4. Two roles, one product The same screens work for a taxpayer and for a tax preparer, with a role toggle that changes available actions (for example, the preparer can mark "taxpayer provided the document").

5. Documents and data stay in sync Uploading a document updates the matching questionnaire response, with a visible note, so the client is never surprised that an answer changed.

6. Guidance in context Short helper copy (for example, the medical expense AGI threshold, or recommending a document upload when payments span more than five local jurisdictions) replaces trips to a help center.

7. Save and finish later Tax organizers take time. "Save and Finish Later" is available throughout, so the client can come back without losing progress.

Persona
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Tax Organizer Information Architect
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Flow Chart

  • This map shows how the organizer moves from the questionnaire to preparer review. The key idea is that the questionnaire is the switchboard: each answer shows or hides sections downstream, so every client gets a path sized to their actual tax situation.

  • Flow: Welcome → Questionnaire (general, foreign, consent) → Personal info (taxpayer, spouse, dependents, contact) → Prior-year documents → Income sections (business, rental and royalty, stocks and grants, crypto, debt forgiveness, other) → Deductions and credits → Foreign reporting → Household employment taxes → Payments → Supporting documents → Submit → Preparer review

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Demo Video

The Tax Organizer demo highlights how HubSync helps accounting teams collect, organize, and review client tax information in a more structured digital workflow. My design focus was to simplify a complex, form-heavy process by improving information hierarchy, step-by-step navigation, dashboard visibility, and user guidance. The goal was to help users understand what information was needed, track progress clearly, reduce manual back-and-forth, and complete tax organizer tasks with more confidence and efficiency.

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Current Year Documents.jpg
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Final Outcome

The Tax Organizer gave CPA firms one guided place to collect client tax information and documents, replacing scattered emails, scans and spreadsheets. Clients see a short, personalized checklist, and preparers see what has been provided and what is still missing.

What I Am Proud of

  • Designing a very large flow without losing coherence. 100+ screens and states stay consistent thanks to a reusable component system.

  • Making complex tax rules feel approachable. Plain language, in-context guidance, and conditional sections turn a daunting process into a manageable one.

  • Turning domain expertise into design. Working closely with a 20-year CPA let me design flows that match how preparers actually work.

  • Designing the unhappy paths. Empty, error and in-progress states were part of the plan from the start.

  • Moving fast without cutting corners on structure. With no time for a research phase, I used domain input and systematic states to reduce risk.

© 2026 By Nimisha Asit. 

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