An app’s user-friendliness is in the eye of the beholder. For example, as a developer of an app for accountants, you know exactly how your app works (as you should—you came up with the great idea in the first place!) and the app, to you, seems pretty darn user friendly. However, if the people using your app are less tech savvy than you, they may disagree and end up not using your app.
Thankfully, offering comprehensive, easy-to-understand training guides can get you and your users on the same page (and make it more likely they recommend your app to their colleagues).
How to better serve your clients with user-friendly apps and training guides
QuickBooks Advanced ProAdvisor Alicia Pollock has been turning her Royalwise Solutions, Inc. clients into QuickBooks Online “Rockstars” for 14 years, specializing in “QuickBooks Online training, setups, and troubleshooting, for businesses of all sizes.”
Her expertise, responsiveness, helpfulness, and professionalism have garnered her 59 five-star reviews (and counting) on her ProAdvisor Profile. In fact, one reviewer traveled through a blizzard to see her, saying in part, “I drove across town in a snowstorm because I was beyond frustrated … she didn’t let me down that day, and she hasn’t ever since. Frankly, she is very astute and QBO is lucky to have her!”
As an expert accountant, advisor, and teacher, it’s not surprising that Alicia first looks for a comprehensive and easy to understand interface when recommending apps to her clients. She found a user-friendly interface in Rewind, an app that provides automatic backups and fast recovery for QuickBooks Online users.
In this short video, Alicia describes how Rewind gives her and her clients “peace of mind” and helps her to better serve her clients.
“I recommend that the app makes sure their training resources are thought out in terms of the clients’ workflow and describes the detail the app developers themselves take for granted,” she says. “Video demonstration walk-throughs are really helpful.”
Alicia easily uses Rewind as the developer means it to be used, and she advises app developers to help their users do the same with the help of user-friendly video tutorials or training guides.
A perfect example of this is the QuickBooks Tutorials page, a wonderful resource offering helpful videos you can access any time. The videos range from high level overviews to 1-2 minute tutorials on specific application features.
Additionally, Alicia recommends you:
- Find QBO’s pain points and features QuickBooks Desktop has that QBO doesn’t (such as Loan Manager) and build apps to incorporate those missing pieces.
- Have a Wiki with step-by-step instructions that the client can search.
- Provide off-hours support because a lot of people implement software outside of business hours.
- Offer “reasonable rates.”
- Include information about the ramifications of turning on and off certain settings.
Referencing the last point, Alicia says, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve unchecked or checked a box that I thought was innocent that broke another feature somewhere else.”
Keep it simple, reap the rewards
We thank Alicia for her friendly, knowledgeable advice from an accountant’s perspective, reminding us all that developing apps for accountants that are easy to use by less tech-savvy folks and offering “clear step-by-step instructions and a training center” should be at the top of any developer’s product roadmap.
The result? Apps that are considered user friendly by app developers and users alike.
For more great advice on building apps accountants want to use and recommend to their clients, check out:
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