Simplifying Crypto Tax Reporting
Fintech
Role
As the sole designer for Accointing within Glassnode's suite, I led the end-to-end design process. I collaborated directly with front-end and back-end engineers to create intuitive experiences for crypto tax reporting. My focus included simplifying complex tax calculations, maintaining the design system, and ensuring seamless report generation.
Intro
Accointing, a product within Glassnode, provides automated cryptocurrency tax reporting solutions across multiple jurisdictions. The challenge was designing a streamlined interface that simplifies complex tax calculations while ensuring accuracy and compliance. Our goal was to help users efficiently manage their crypto portfolios and generate comprehensive tax reports with minimal friction.
Key Projects
Accointing by Glassnode
Navigation Refresh
Problem
The previous side menu lacked hierarchy and overwhelmed users with too many colors, making navigation harder.
Users struggled to quickly locate key sections as the visual noise overpowered the page content.
A/B Testing
We tested a top-bar navigation that was cleaner and made steps easier to follow, especially for the multi-layered menu navigation, however:
Existing customers were accustomed to the side menu and found the drastic change disruptive.
Users didn’t recognize old patterns, leading to discomfort and confusion.
Solution
Refined the side menu instead of a full redesign to maintain familiarity.
Improved hierarchy & spacing to make sections clearer.
Reduced unnecessary colors, allowing content to stand out.
Kept key elements in familiar positions to ease the transition
Impact
✔ Enhanced visual readability, making navigation more intuitive.
✔ Maintained user comfort while improving usability.
✔ Minimized disruption, ensuring a smoother transition for existing users.
Accointing by Glassnode
Transactions Review
Project Scope
The platform flagged potential errors when users imported crypto transactions via API or CSV, but the fragmented verification process—spread across multiple sections—created confusion and frustration for both novice and experienced users, leading to increased support requests.
Key challenges included:
High cognitive load from thousands of transactions
Duplicate error handling across different tabs
No prioritization of critical tax-impacting errors
Manual-heavy workflows for fixing flagged transactions
The goal was to simplify the transaction review process, reduce friction, streamline error resolution, and enhance workflow efficiency.
Research Methods
Due to time and budget constraints, traditional usability testing was not conducted. Instead, insights were gathered from:
App Flow Analysis
We conducted a deep dive into the platform’s existing transaction verification process to uncover:
Error distribution: Where errors occur across the platform
User navigation patterns: How users move between sections to resolve issues
Friction points: Key areas causing user frustration
Information hierarchy: How error-related information is structured and surfaced
Data Analysis
By analyzing user behavior data, we identified:
Drop-off points: Where users abandon verification
Time spent on review steps vs. expected completion time
Error resolution rates: % of errors users successfully resolve
Support ticket trends: Common complaints related to error verification
Stakeholders & Expert Interview
We collaborated with internal teams to understand:
Most common and high-impact errors affecting tax accuracy
Key pain points for customer support (e.g., repetitive issues users struggled to resolve)
Compliance & regulatory considerations shaping error validation
Competitors Analysis
We examined other crypto tax platforms to identify:
Best practices in transaction verification
Automated vs. manual resolution workflows
How they surface critical errors & impact clarity
Key Findings & Insights
Fragmented Error Management
Errors are split between "Transactions" and "Review" tabs, forcing context switching.
Lack of clear hierarchy leads users to focus on minor issues while missing critical errors.
Navigation is unclear, making it difficult to track progress or understand the impact of actions.
Users face excessive information load, with long lists and unclear priority indicators.
Error Resolution Pain Points
Missing fund errors are the most critical for tax accuracy but are hard to locate.
Price discrepancies require manual input without proper guidance.
The system detects unknown currencies (e.g., fake/spam tokens) but lacks explanations or automation.
Classification lists are too long and complex, requiring unnecessary user effort.
Support Burden
High drop-off rates occur when switching between sections, leading to incomplete reviews.
Support teams spend too much time explaining navigation and error resolution.
Balance discrepancies aren’t well explained, leading to confusion.
Competitive Insights & Best Practices
Leading platforms centralize error handling, reducing friction.
Guided verification workflows help users complete reviews faster.
Clear priority indicators help users focus on high-impact issues first.
Bulk actions, tax impact visualization, and contextual help improve efficiency.
Expected Flow
Actual Flow
UX Improvements & Redesign Solutions
Updated Flow
Expanded & unified errors on transaction screen
Improvements
🔹 All errors are now resolved directly in the Transactions tab—no more Review tab.
🔹 Users see all flagged errors on the transaction list instead of partial warnings.
🔹 Clicking a warning or transaction reveals a detailed breakdown with actionable solutions.
Impact
✅ Centralizes error handling in one place, reducing navigation friction and cognitive load for a smoother experience.
✅ Encourages users to fix multiple issues at once, speeding up resolution times and reducing drop-off rates.
✅ Lowers support tickets by making errors easier to find and fix.
Filter Options for Faster Error Resolution
Improvements
🔹 Users can now filter transactions by error type:
Unclassified
Missing Funds
Missing Price
Most Critical to Review
🔹 Multiple filters can be applied simultaneously.
Impact
✅ Users can prioritize critical errors instead of getting overwhelmed.
✅ Improves efficiency for tax professionals and power users.
✅ Reduces unnecessary scrolling/searching.
Improved Classification Selection with Contextual Descriptions
Improvements
🔹 When selecting a classification, users now see:
A short description explaining the classification.
A split view between untaxable vs taxable classifications.
Two tabs for Deposit and Withdrawal to make selections clearer.
🔹 Classifications dynamically adjust based on jurisdictional tax laws.
Impact
✅ Users classify transactions correctly with less effort.
✅ Reduces misclassification errors and tax reporting mistakes.
✅ Makes the interface more beginner-friendly while still serving advanced users.