Simplifying Tax Filing for Quicko's Mobile Users
Quicko is a fast-growing startup in India’s tax ecosystem. I redesigned their Progressive Web App (PWA) to help people file and plan taxes more easily on mobile. The redesign reduced drop-offs by 73%, boosted filing completion by 23%, and shipped 2 weeks earlier than planned.
1 Product Manager
1 Developer and
1 Designer
01 / CONTEXT
Filing taxes in India is complicated and stressful
02 / PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION & RESEARCH
Mobile tax filing was losing users early and often
Instead of relying only on assumptions, I validated the problem using analytics, user research, and product audits. Together, these revealed why Quicko’s desktop-first design was failing mobile users and what needed to change.
02A / ANALYTICS
High drop-offs and abandonment pointed to workflow friction
Data from Quicko’s web analytics tool highlighted where users struggled most:
43% of users dropped off immediately after the first filing steps
28% churned when exploring planning features like P&L reports
93% abandoned long, complex workflows mid-way
This quantitative evidence showed that users weren’t just “disengaged” but were actively getting lost or overwhelmed.
02B / RESEARCH APPROACH
Understanding regulations and real user behavior
To design credibly, I first needed to understand the tax environment users faced, then layer on how Quicko’s PWA was failing them, which resulted in two-tracked research:
Contextual research - I studied India’s tax structure and filing requirements to understand the legal and financial environment users had to navigate.
Product-specific research - I identified where the existing PWA failed by:
Running a 64-response survey to capture broad frustrations
Conducting 7 in-house contextual inquiries to watch users in action
This two-pronged approach gave me both the “why” (tax complexity) and the “where” (product breakdowns).
02C / APP AUDIT
Audit exposed design debt and poor mobile adaptation
I ran a heuristic audit of the PWA, benchmarking it against the desktop version and found:
Major design & engineering debt
inconsistent interactions across modules and redundant fields
Low discoverability
key features buried multiple clicks away
Inconsistency
similar tasks used different UI patterns
Inefficiency
repeated data entry and extra steps for simple actions
The PWA felt like a patchwork of desktop patterns that broke down on mobile.
02D / DESKTOP VERSION COMPARISON
What worked on desktop broke down on mobile
The desktop product benefitted from:
Clear workflow
step-by-step structure across wide layouts
Ample real estate
more space for tax data and instructions
The PWA reused the same structure, but on smaller screens it created endless scrolling, crowded screens, and no clear hierarchy.
02E / SYNTHESIS
Why users struggled on mobile
From combining analytics, research, and audits, two clear themes emerged:
Process and navigation caused friction
Users struggled to get started
Workflows were too long to finish
No way to easily resume if interrupted
Desktop-first patterns made mobile navigation rigid
where am I?
what should I do next?
Layouts and hierarchy overwhelmed users
Dense, data-heavy screens on small devices
Lack of hierarchy made every task feel equally critical
Users felt anxious, unsure about consequences of their inputs
Am I doing this right?
The PWA multiplied tax complexity instead of reducing it. Users needed clarity, trust, and guidance to succeed on mobile.
03 / GOALS
Turn complex process into a clear, approachable experience
Based on research and user pain points, I defined four goals to guide the redesign:
Help users understand dense tax data without confusion.
Clarity
Give users confidence that their inputs are correct and their progress is saved.
Trust
Streamline workflows to minimize effort and adapt them for mobile use.
Efficiency
Provide first-time users with direction while keeping the experience fast for fluent filers.
Guidance
These goals served as the north star, ensuring the redesign focused on reducing complexity, building confidence, and making filing approachable on mobile.
04 / SOLUTION
A modular, mobile-first workflow to guide users from start to finish
The redesign replaced a static, desktop-cloned structure with a mobile-first product built around modular workflows. Filing and planning were broken into clear, sequential steps with visible progress. Users could enter confidently, adjust their data easily, and receive contextual guidance when needed.
Home Screen
Created a direct entry point into filing and planning with action buttons and a carousel to highlight features.
Before
After
Tax Planning
Replaced cards with a tab bar for faster navigation, made financial data editable, and introduced side-by-side regime comparisons.
Before
After
Tax Filing
Re-architected into smaller modules with nested steps, consistent patterns, and progress indicators to build confidence.
Before
After
Restructured Internal Workflow
Instead of one long, overwhelming process, each category of tax filing was broken into smaller, nested workflows. These modules used consistent patterns and clear options, so users could move step by step, track progress, and complete filing without confusion.
In-app Coaching and Additional Screens
To reduce first-time anxiety, I introduced contextual walkthroughs and tooltips across key screens. This lightweight coaching explained what each step meant without overloading users, helping beginners feel supported while letting experienced filers move ahead without interruption.
Style Guide
Quicko's PWA initially adopted the style guide and design system from its desktop version but encountered breakdowns in various areas. I re-built a style guide specifically tailored for its mobile version.
06 / IMPACT
Redesign reduced abandonment and boosted conversions
The redesigned PWA delivered measurable improvements across engagement, completion, and business outcomes. Using Quicko’s analytics dashboards, we tracked changes in user behavior before and after launch.
73% reduction in abandonment during key filing flows
23% increase in tax filing completion rates
40% growth in engagement with planning tools
18% increase in overall user conversions
Launched 2 weeks ahead of schedule through close collaboration with PM and engineering
This quantitative evidence showed that users weren’t just “disengaged” but were actively getting lost or overwhelmed.
07 / REFLECTION
Design can’t erase complexity, but it can shape it.
At the start, I tried to fix everything at once but that left me stuck. The turning point came when I reframed filing into smaller, guided workflows. The complexity was still there, but it felt structured and manageable and users finally experienced progress instead of overwhelm.
Rather than waiting for formal research, I leaned on quick surveys, contextual testing, and data analytics to get actionable answers fast. It was scrappy but effective, and it surfaced the pain points that mattered most without slowing the project down.
Working side by side with developers was another shift. Instead of handoffs, we solved edge cases in real time, which helped us ship two weeks early.
The moment that stayed with me was during testing, when a user said: “This feels less scary than last year.” That’s when it clicked. You can’t erase the complexity of taxes, but you can design the experience so people feel more in control.
If I could do one thing differently, I would have tested prototypes earlier with integration users from brokers as they represent Quicko’s biggest growth opportunity, and deeper insights there could have taken the design even further.