Skiptown
Helping Pet Parents Understand and Use their Service Credits
Summary
In 2023, my team at Skiptown set out to address a key challenge: the confusion our clients were experiencing with our credit system for pet care services. Skiptown is a unique, tech-enabled social club for dogs, offering services like daycare, boarding, grooming, training, and even an off-leash park. While our credit system was designed to help clients pay for these services in a flexible way, it often led to frustration when clients viewed their invoices. Many didn't fully understand how credits were applied or why their charges seemed different from what they expected.
This case study outlines the approach we took to redesign the invoicing system, ultimately leading to clearer invoices, fewer customer support inquiries, and higher client satisfaction.
Approach
The challenge was clear: we needed to make the invoicing process simpler and more transparent for our clients without changing the underlying credit system itself. The credit system allowed clients to use credits for daycare services, and these credits could also be used as part of boarding packages. However, because credits weren’t locked to specific appointments, they could be used for additional services booked before the first appointment took place. This flexibility often caused confusion, with clients unaware that their credits were running low, resulting in unexpected charges when their credits ran out.
To address this, we first conducted a content audit of the mobile invoicing screens, eliminating unnecessary information and focusing on what mattered most: charges, credits, and remaining balances. Next, we designed wireframes that emphasized clarity and ease of use, working closely with the product and engineering teams to ensure technical feasibility.
Alongside this redesign, we identified an opportunity to expand our existing design system. While the system already provided consistency across most of Skiptown’s features, the invoicing system required specific adjustments. We developed new elements to help clients understand their credit usage at-a-glance. These improvements weren’t just about visual appeal—they were about making the invoicing experience more intuitive and accessible to all users.
Outcomes
The results of the revamped invoicing system were immediately apparent. First and foremost, we saw a dramatic reduction in the number of support inquiries related to charges. Clients no longer had to contact customer service to clarify how their credits were being applied or why their charges were higher than expected. This not only alleviated frustration but also freed up our support team to focus on more complex issues, improving overall efficiency.
Beyond reducing support queries, the redesigned invoices also made a real difference in client satisfaction. The new layout was much easier to navigate, and the visual credit trackers gave clients an at-a-glance understanding of how much credit they had left. This simple yet effective feature empowered pet parents to manage their credits more confidently, reducing the likelihood of unexpected charges.
Process
After identifying the key pain points in the invoicing system, we set out to implement our redesign in a structured and collaborative way. We started by refining the content hierarchy, ensuring that the most critical information—charges, credits, and remaining balances—was easy to find and understand. This meant rethinking the way we presented this data and making sure everything was clearly laid out on the mobile screen.
The next step was to create wireframes that would bring these new ideas to life. This was a highly iterative process, with multiple rounds of feedback from both stakeholders and team members. We focused on testing different layouts to find the most effective way of displaying information while maintaining a user-friendly experience. The wireframes acted as a blueprint, guiding the design process and helping the team visualize how each change would improve clarity.
High fidelity wireframes of the invoice screen.
A key part of our process was close collaboration with the product and engineering teams. It wasn’t just about creating a visually appealing design; we needed to ensure it was technically feasible and aligned with the rest of the app’s functionality. Regular check-ins with the engineering team allowed us to identify potential roadblocks early on and adjust our designs accordingly, ensuring we stayed on track.
As we worked through the designs, we also identified areas where our existing design system could be expanded to accommodate new elements specific to the invoicing experience. This wasn’t just a matter of adding new features—it was about integrating them seamlessly into the existing system, maintaining consistency across the platform. For example, we developed a visual credit tracker that allowed clients to see their credit usage in real time, a simple addition that would significantly enhance the clarity of the invoices. The end result was a more cohesive experience across the entire platform, one that helped our clients navigate their invoices with ease.
High fidelity mockups of the old and new invoice screens.
Conclusion
The redesigned invoicing system at Skiptown successfully addressed the confusion and frustration that our clients had been experiencing with the credit system. By focusing on clear, concise layouts and enhancing the visibility of important information like credit usage and remaining balances, we were able to create an intuitive and satisfying user experience. This project not only reduced customer support inquiries but also set the stage for future design improvements, particularly around accessibility and user feedback. Ultimately, the work we did on the invoicing system proved that even small design changes can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction—and it reinforced the importance of listening to users and continuously improving our products based on their needs.