Tell us what you think... Improve the EFILE design to make it clearer and more consistent

The mock-ups below (click on the images to see the full picture) show proposed changes to the way the EFILE and other transmission boxes appear in the Transmit sidebar.

Please review the designs and reply to this post to ask us questions or tell us what you think. Some of the notes include items that we have specific questions, but please don’t limit your feedback. All ideas and comments are welcome!

#The goal#
Improve the EFILE and transmission design to make it easier to tell the status of each transmission type. In particular, make it easier to distinguish at a glance which transmissions that are still outstanding from those that have been sent.

#The designs#

  1. The Ready to transmit icon will change from the current green checkmark to a blue and grey upload icon. We found that the green checkmark was not easy to distinguish from the green happy face when scanning to see what has and has not been transmitted, which made it easy to miss transmitting something. Do you think the new icon works in the sidebar and in the Client Manager?
  2. Any box that has been successfully transmitted (green happy face) will have a lighter border and fade into the background more.
  3. Any box that needs transmitting has a darker border and a grey background. Do you think this styling is easier or harder to read? Does it help you see that a box needs transmitting? Does it stand out more, or not?
  4. Boxes have the icon on the right and there is no longer an expand or collapse icon. Without telling you what action we think you should do to expand a box, what would be your first instinct to make one of these boxes open?
  5. We’d like to standardize what displays in the collapsed box for a successful transmission. In this mock-up, it shows the Transmission successful and the date in a hyperlink. It used to include the confirmation number, but now you’ll only see that when you expand the box. Does this work for you? Do you have a different idea?
  6. When a box Successful or Rejected transmission box is expanded, the layout will change so that the Document Control Number or Transmission Number is spelled out instead of an abbreviation. The indent will be removed so that there is more room for messages on smaller screens. Is there anything else you expect to see?
  7. Anywhere we have a link to allow you to print a document from the transmit pane, we are considering making this Quick Print so that the dialog box doesn’t slow you down. It would also include a little information about the Quick Print configuration (like Adobe PDF) in a link so that you can click on it to change the printer or settings if you want. What do you think? Should it Quick Print by default? Do you want an option so you can decide?

##A - Different icons and states (click to view full picture)##

##B - Successful EFILE transmission (click to view full picture)##

##C - Failed EFILE transmission (click to view full picture)##

##D - New transmit icon in the Client Manager (click to view full picture)##

#Next steps#

Did you enjoy this process? Check out these other two opportunities to provide EFILE design feedback:

1 Like

Yes we always like to see what’s up with the inner workings of development::slight_smile:

We believe that what you have shown is very nice and simple to understand… :slight_smile:

The design is good as always.

The idea of family e-file is good but I’m happy with what we have now. Back in the day I didn’t like the Batch filing but understand the value::): Also, I’m not filing 50 returns a day ether!

Thanks for asking:)
Michael

Re design of printing client efile receipt:
Better if it quick prints. However, there needs to be a set up option to set up quick print.

My 2 cents.

Question:
When looking at the client manager screen above, why is there multiple records for each client? How do I know which record is the one to transmit?

Sorry @dharnish. That’s my fault. I used a screen capture that referred to several files that were in different locations… The File Name column would show that, but I have it fairly collapsed in the view.

Thanks @michael. I appreciate you taking the time to read through.

1 Like

Two cents are appreciated @dharnish.

Hey Elizabeth…congrats on your new family member :slight_smile:

Really happy your back on the job :slight_smile:

TaxCycle continues to be the market choice for the very best Canadian tax preparation software.

Thanks so much for what you do.
Michael

Thank you @michael. We are thrilled with our little one. I’m also thrilled to be back at work. I missed everyone.