Robert Lerias | Savi Finance

Savi Finance

Integrating and educating users about taxes into Savi Finance’s platform

For this project, I was matched with a startup for 4 weeks to gain real-world experience working with cross-functional teams as well as in a team-based environment. I was matched with Savi Finance – a fintech startup that aims to democratize the best financial habits for the world or a one-stop shop for all your finances.

Within four weeks, my team and I were tasked to integrate taxes into the platform that covered tax filing, strategy, and preparation.

Project Type

Industry Design Project

Role

Lead UI/UX Designer

Time

4 Weeks

Tools

Figma, Google Meets, Slack

Savi Finance

Integrating and educating users about taxes into Savi Finance’s platform

Within four weeks, my team and I were tasked to integrate taxes into the platform that covered tax filing, strategy, and preparation.

Project Type

Industry Design Project

Role

Lead UI/UX Designer

Time

4 Weeks

Tools

Figma, Google Meets, Slack

Summary

Problem

Constraints

Secondary Research

Competitive Analysis

Ideation

Testing & Iterations

Conclusion

Reflection

Prototype

summary

15 high school student research respondents felt using the application actually made taxes feel simple.

In the current space, taxes continue to stay a mystery and only thought about once a year. By the time users begin to start considering taxes, it is far too late to make any considerable changes to reduce their tax liability.

With Savi Finance, the goal is to make taxes a year-round factor to help plan ahead and reduce costs not only for the current year but also for the long-term. With an accessible continuously living widget and a clear step-by-step format, Savi Finance has made taxes intuitive and transparent.

summary

15 high school student research respondents felt using the application actually made taxes feel simple.

problem

Taxes are complicated and often ignored until it's too late, resulting in higher liabilities

Success Metric #1

How many users engage and click the tax flow

Success Metric #2

Level of tax understanding before and after use

contraints

Tackling taxes in 4 weeks with an ad-hoc team

A project designed to simplify a complex task within a tight timeline, with a randomly assembled team, presented several constraints and challenges to overcome.

Team

This project was ambitious for this timeframe. What was meant for a team of 3-4 went on to becoming a team of 1. With this, as someone who is admittedly not the most financially literate, I was left tackling tax preparation on my own.

Project

Taxes are complex and highly variable for users. After discussing with the CEO, we decided to take a global-first approach given our reduced team and 4-week timeline. Our project is to focus on a simplified design framework that can serve as the foundation for Savi Finance.

contraints

Tackling taxes in 4 weeks with an ad-hoc team

A project designed to simplify a complex task within a tight timeline, with a randomly assembled team, presented several constraints and challenges to overcome.

Team

Project

secondary research

Bridging illiteracy and accessible financial products

Necessity as the Primary Financial Educator

Financial literacy often arises out of immediate need, leading many to seek knowledge only during financial crises or large purchases.

Disconnect Between Products and Users

Many financial products are too complex, creating barriers for users with limited literacy, making informed choices difficult and prone to predatory practices.

Power of Simplicity and Transparency

Clear, transparent tools build user confidence, allowing for better financial decisions and greater trust in services.

Compliance Through Trust and Clarity

When users trust the system and understand its benefits, they are more likely to comply, especially if information is simple and direct.

Recognizing that financial literacy often arises from necessity, it’s crucial to reshape the relationship users have with taxes. Rather than a once-a-year ordeal, taxes can become an ongoing, approachable conversation with Savi Finance. To foster this shift, the language and UI should focus on trust, transparency, and simplicity, ensuring continuous engagement and empowerment.

secondary research

Bridging illiteracy and accessible financial products

Necessity as the Primary Financial Educator

Financial literacy often arises out of immediate need, leading many to seek knowledge only during financial crises or large purchases.

Disconnect Between Products and Users

Many financial products are too complex, creating barriers for users with limited literacy, making informed choices difficult and prone to predatory practices.

Power of Simplicity and Transparency

Clear, transparent tools build user confidence, allowing for better financial decisions and greater trust in services.

Compliance Through Trust and Clarity

When users trust the system and understand its benefits, they are more likely to comply, especially if information is simple and direct.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Opportunity for engagement, clarity, and automation

Observing and analyzing competing platforms like Boldin (previously NewRetirement), WealthSimple, and TurboTax, there is a lack of an on-going transparent relationship with taxes throughout the year. If there is, it's hard to navigate and observe the effects on future milestones.

TurboTax

Popularly used tax filing service

User-friendly interface

Step-by-step guidance

Tax deduction support

Annual-filing focused

Boldin (NewRetirement)

Comprehensive retirement and tax planning

Long-term tax planning

Comprehensive financial planning

Retirement focused

Complex interface

Wealthsimple

Simple tax filing and investing for Canadian users

Scrollable interface

Integrated financial services

Annual-filing focused

Limited support

Utilizing Savi Finance’s state-of-the-art AI integration, it was critical to follow a clear narrative and be in the mind of the user when approaching how information was presented. It was advised to be one step ahead of the user and display the reason why before displaying the what.

ideation

Breaking down taxes in terms of the current platform

We worked to align team and user expectations while adapting the tax process to fit the platform’s existing layout. By breaking it into clear stages, we aimed for a flow that stayed consistent with the software and met user needs.

Layout

The desktop layout relies on a strict LHS for actions and an RHS for viewing the cash flow graph. Initially, I envisioned the tax feature using a full-screen approach to enhance readability, given the complexity of taxes. However, after discussing with the CEO, we agreed to maintain the LHS/RHS layout for consistency and mobile responsiveness. Considering the field-of-view and the ability to display real-time changes in the cash flow graph on the RHS reinforced the decision to keep actions on the LHS.

Current Layout: LHS and RHS

Preliminary Idea: Modal/Full Screen

Stages

Based on my secondary research, I knew I needed to focus this feature on simplicity and transparency.

Upon sketching, I identified 4 stages that outlined the key flow of tax filing:

Basic Information: number of dependents, current occupation, etc.

Manage Tax Information: tax forms (W-2, 1098, etc.)

Reduce Costs: tax deductions (contribute to your HSA, charitable donations, etc.)

Review & Submit: review information and submit to file

ideation

Breaking down taxes in terms of the current platform

Layout

Current Layout: LHS and RHS

Preliminary Idea: Modal/Full Screen

Stages

Based on my secondary research, I knew I needed to focus this feature on simplicity and transparency.

Upon sketching, I identified 4 stages that outlined the key flow of tax filing:

Basic Information: number of dependents, current occupation, etc.

Manage Tax Information: tax forms (W-2, 1098, etc.)

Reduce Costs: tax deductions (contribute to your HSA, charitable donations, etc.)

Review & Submit: review information and submit to file

testing & iterations

1 week and numerous iterations

After constant feedback from the whole design team and 15 high school students, here are the most critical revisions made.

Tax widget

This feature would be the widget users would click on the Overview dashboard to start preparing for their taxes.

Overview page

Upon clicking the Tax Widget, this would be the overview page that would outline the steps of tax filing and preparation.

Tax form card language

The decision to transform the form-filling experience sparked a pivotal discussion about user engagement. With Savi Finance's state-of-the-art AI, we asked ourselves: how could we leverage it to its full potential?

What was once a rigid, transactional process became an interactive conversation. Instead of simply listing requirements, we guide users on a journey—revealing the why, where, and how behind each step. This approach not only informs but empowers users, creating a more intuitive and meaningful experience.

testing & iterations

1 week and numerous iterations

After constant feedback from the whole design team and 15 high school students, here are the most critical revisions made.

Tax widget

This feature would be the widget users would click on the Overview dashboard to start preparing for their taxes.

Overview page

Upon clicking the Tax Widget, this would be the overview page that would outline the steps of tax filing and preparation.

Tax form card language

conclusion

A framework for democratizing tax literacy

Within 4 weeks and navigating teammate complications, I present you Savi Finance’s new feature: Tax Management. With this, Savi Finance redefines the relationship between users and taxes. By democratizing financial literacy and introducing year-round and long-term planning, users of all backgrounds are able to achieve financial success by taking ownership of their finances with this early framework.

Success metrics consideration

With limited time and resources, we developed a high-level tax-filing framework as a foundation. While we couldn’t track click rates on the Tax Widget, the results were promising: 15 high school students, after going through the flow, found taxes simple to understand—a major success.

conclusion

A framework for democratizing tax literacy

Success metrics consideration

reflection

Building confidence while navigating firsts

This was quite an experience. This was my first time ever working with a startup as well as working in a team-based environment with other UX/UI designers. Additionally, I had no clue what taxes were. That said, the learning curve was huge. Not only have I grown exponentially in my technical skill, but also my soft skills. Navigating team conflict, knowing when to step up for the sake of the client, and maintaining composure was probably the most important and toughest lesson learned in this project. Despite my team conflicts, I’ve only ever seen it as an opportunity to grow and I surely did.

This being my first time in a professional setting as a designer, I expected myself to be shy and feel almost subsidiary. However, my experience with Savi Finance has been completely opposite and rather I am left feeling empowered. The team at Savi Finance is so kind, continuously pushes for growth, and values every piece of feedback whether that be from a tenured software engineer or high school students. The honesty, passion, and optimism are values that I’ve heavily cherished in my time with them. I only plan to carry these with me in any opportunity that I find myself in next.

If I had more time

User Research and Personalization

Explore more specific use cases and develop detailed personas.

Compliance and Integration

Implement integration with legal compliance features.

Filing Options and User Guidance

Review the differences between annual and quarterly filing, improve the error system during filing, and enable non-pro users to manually add deductions.

Project feedback