Modernizing QuickBooks Desktop, and the move to cloud
QuickBooks Desktop · Intuit · Group Product Design Manager · FY2021–20241.2M customers moved to Online · $1.9B → $2.9B revenue
serve them and move them, at the same time
1.7MDesktop customers, inherited
QuickBooks Desktop had the oldest, stickiest and most loyal customers QuickBooks had. I joined Intuit to lead its design, and inherited 1.7 million of them.
Many worried they would lose ownership of their data, and didn't know what the cloud could do for them. We had to serve them well while we gave them reasons to move.
The askMove them to a subscription.Bring them onto one Intuit sign-in.Over time, help them move to QuickBooks Online.
Three decisions
Retention first.I came from new product development, so this was a shift. Every feature had to keep customers while giving them a reason to move. Staying, or moving within the franchise, both counted.
Bring the cloud to them.We offered Online's ecosystem inside Desktop: getting paid, Mailchimp, Credit Karma, employee benefits and 401(k). Customers who needed more moved on their own.
Modernize in their service.We kept Desktop current for the people who chose it.Security essentials · Advanced bank feeds · Receipt management · Automated payment reminders · Custom payment receipts · Customer groups · Smart Help · Invoice history · Mobile app · QR code payments
The team
14 full-time, with 3 content writers and 2 researchers, and 9–14 contingent. I worked in a pod with product and engineering; the three of us sat on the GM's staff.
Shipped · modernizing Desktop
One Intuit sign-in
Bank feeds
Receipt uploads
Payment links
The move to Online · customers moved, by year
~200KFY21
~300KFY22
~400KFY23
~300KFY24
Still on Desktop, FY24
700K+New customers kept joining the franchise, so Desktop kept serving them.
FY21 · ~200KReady for OnlineNewer customers with one company and bank feeds on. Nudges showed them what they'd gain.
FY22 · ~300KBetween SKUsTwo to five companies, past Simple Start but at the top of Essentials. They got Online's advantages, and some features came to Desktop.
FY23 · ~400KAccountant-ledAccountants and the firms they manage, with more than 5 employees and 10+ years. Training and help moved many clients together.
FY24 · ~300KPayroll and Data holdoutsThe remaining customers ran payroll and worried that they wont be able to move their data before the next payroll cycle. Moving would cost them. We showed the benefits, and promised business continuity.
What it became
Desktop still runs for the customers who chose to stay. The ones who moved found the ecosystem waiting for them.
