QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping

The Problem

When I joined QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping as lead content designer, the content strategy was out of sync with the product. Marketing pages overpromised (“no work,” “guaranteed accurate books within 30 days”), creating disappointment and churn when users realized they still had to provide dozens of documents and timelines slipped.

Inside the product, terminology was inconsistent and confusing. UI references didn’t match current labels (e.g., “Document and Request Center” vs. “Documents”). Roles were blurred: “bookkeeper” and “expert” were used interchangeably, though “expert” already meant something else in QuickBooks. “Live Bookkeeper” was treated like a brand when it wasn’t, and “we” was used vaguely, making it unclear if messages came from QuickBooks, the product, or the bookkeeper.

The Solution

After an audit, I partnered closely with marketing to realign the messaging hierarchy with product functionality, service capabilities, and in-product content strategy. We pulled in research and sales to broaden perspective and built an interview plan to ground decisions in user reality.

Together, we spoke with 50+ small business owners and 10 bookkeepers. By blending qualitative insights from interviews with quantitative data from analytics, we mapped user journeys, built personas, defined UI and service verbiage, and set guiding principles. These principles extended QuickBooks’ brand framework while flexing for the unique needs of a service-based product.

The result: a shared framework that kept marketing promises grounded in reality, clarified terminology, and reinforced the value of the bookkeeper–business owner relationship—while still honoring QuickBooks’ trusted voice.

Live Bookkeeping Principles

  • It’s about the relationship

  • Focus on the business owner

  • Set realistic expectations

  • Keep it low-effort for the business owner

QuickBooks Principles

  • It’s about them, not us

  • Speak their language

  • Focus on the payoff

  • Keep it simple

  • It’s about the relationship

    Highlight the relationship between users and bookkeepers to demonstrate value. Use “us” to mean QuickBooks (the product), making it clear when communication comes from a bookkeeper versus the system—reinforcing clarity and trust.

    Focus on the business owner

    Although some parts of QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping are visible to bookkeepers, avoid technical language and cater to the business owner.

    Set realistic expectations

    Any task feels difficult when the goal isn’t clear. Set expectations upfront, reward the user’s work, and find appropriate times to surface the bookkeeper’s work and show their value.

    Keep it low-effort for the business owner

    The business owner’s goal is to take bookkeeping off their plate. Don’t burden them by explaining too much. Give them only the information to complete their tasks—allow them to dig in later if they want.

The Outcome

Using the insights gained from research used to update the content strategy, along with additional interviews we conducted to test designs, we shipped a complete refresh of the Live Bookkeeping page to improve clarity and reduce friction:

  • Simplified navigation: Separated “Roadmap” and “Documents” into distinct tabs to reduce clutter.

  • Progress visibility: Added an “Updates” section to show users where they are in the process, highlight unopened documents, and celebrate small wins.

  • Clear next steps: Introduced “Tasks” to make it obvious what actions users need to take to keep things moving.

  • Expectation setting: Added completion date, document received dates, and “Get a response within 2 business days” under the messaging CTA to align expectations.

  • Lower barrier to contact: Simplified contact widget content, making it easier for users to reach out to their bookkeeper.

My Role

I started by reviewing the previous content strategy deck, a recent marketing audit, and conducting my own audit of the product to identify gaps. From there, I drove collaboration with marketing, conducted dozens of interviews, and secured buy-in from product and service teams. Once the new strategy was defined, I partnered with engineering to update content across emails, push notifications, landing pages, in-product messaging, and call scripts. I worked closely with my design partner to redesign the Live Bookkeeping page, rolling out the new roadmap design. Finally, I worked with bookkeeping managers to roll out the new approach through bookkeeper training.

The Impact

  • 15-minute drop in average call times from clearer UI terms, boosting efficiency, bookkeeper availability, and customer satisfaction.

  • Marked decrease in customer confusion and frustration in post-implementation call reviews, reflecting stronger communication between bookkeepers and business owners.

  • Higher document uploads in the first 30 days driven by updated emails and push notifications with accurate navigation guidance.

  • Significant improvement in cleanup service delivery as faster document submission streamlined workflows and reduced delays.