Project (6)
~ EIN Proofing, H&R Block

Objective

The objective was to design a solution for business clients of H&R Block to access digital copies of their business returns.

Problem

Entity clients could not digitally access their business returns for current or prior year taxes. Enabling business clients to access their returns within the MyBlock application allowed for simplified tax management.

Solution

There were two use cases for this solution:

1. Discovery within the Taxes section: The link for EIN verification was shown as a CTA on the current and prior year sections of taxes. The return was displayed within the individual years of the documents section.
   
2. Prompting during Identity Proofing: The second use case involved showing EIN verification as a secondary process after completing the ID proofing process. The client would be prompted on an additional screen to verify their EIN and access their business return.

Design Thinking

Once key issues and goals were identified, relevant information pertaining to the ideal solution was gathered. This included exploring consumer behavior and collecting observational data. When available, any previous or current insights from research were also considered. Prototyping, testing, and refining followed.
 

Functions

EIN Verification occurred in the following scenarios:

1. Prompting the user to enter the EIN of the return they wished to see
   
2. "Next" button
   
3. "Cancel" button
   
4. Verification success
   
5. Showing a failure screen if EIN verification failed

Conclusion

The designs executed for this project proved to be successful. Insights were gained from closely examining how business clients manage their returns and the solutions created to meet their needs. With H&R Block's new EIN Proofing, clients were able to enjoy a simple, straightforward process that catered to their complex, and sometimes unconventional tax goals.