Harness for Advsiors
Digitizing tax workflows to help advisors thrive during busy season
Launch
Overview
Harness for Advisors is a client portal that automates back-office tax prep and planning. As Harness evolved from a consumer-focused advisor marketplace into B2B SaaS, we needed a product that would scale with firms through busy season—without losing our #1-rated client experience.
The goal: Help advisors (1) do less admin and more advising, (2) stay ahead of clients, and (3) feel confident and in control during the most intense months of their year.
Role
0→1 Lead Product Designer
→ Research, flows, wireframes
→ Mid/hi-fi prototypes
→ Usability testing
→ Project management
→ Visual + marketing design
Team
Eng, Product, Design:
- 1 Head of Product
- 5–6 Engineers
- 1 Sr Prod. Designer (joined later)
- Stakeholders: Sales, Client Success, PMM, CEO
The Problem
90% of an advisor’s work is loaded into just 2 months.
Advisors manage up to 300 clients, with 90% of the work packed into a 10–16 week sprint. Most rely on a patchwork of PDFs, spreadsheets, and email, creating a chaotic, error-prone, high-stakes workload.
Opportunity
How might we
make
advisor–
client
collaboration
smarter
,
faster
,
and
calmer
?
We saw an opportunity to design a product that gave advisors back control, structure, and peace of mind during busy season — and gave their clients a simpler, more professional experience in return. More time spent advising, less time spent on back-and-forth
Target Users
Advisors
Through market research and user interviews, we identified which users were getting the most value from our product suite. Boutique firm owners with 150–500 clients had acute digitization needs to avoid burnout in staff:
- Startup advisor → Grow their book → Marketplace product
- Solo Advisor → Grow client lifetime value → Upsell services
- ⭐️ Boutique firms → Create efficiency → Client portal
Clients
- Tech employees, founders, and investors
- Busy, high-trust users who wanted a professional, modern experience.
- Expectations of Notion/Dropbox experience (vs government portal).
Design Principles
Given the audience and stakes, we established 3 key principles from the start:
Clarity under pressure
Advisors needed to instantly see what required attention. No noise. No clutter. No ambiguity.
Be more helpful than another hire
We replaced the chaos of spreadsheets, emails, and PDFs with one proactive system that worked like a digital teammate.
Simplify the experience
Busy season isn’t the time to learn new tools. The system had to be obvious, trustworthy, and frictionless for both clients and staff.
Process
0 → 1 Highlights
We mapped the entire advisor-client lifecycle: from onboarding through upselling. Then, we broke it into modular flows that aligned with how advisors actually work to break down problems to solve.
This provided us insight into just what we needed to build for our 1st season — not an all-in-one platform, but something focused, realistic, and immediately valuable.
We mapped the entire advisor-client lifecycle: from onboarding through upselling. Then, we broke it into modular flows that aligned with how advisors actually work to break down problems to solve.
This provided us insight into just what we needed to build for our 1st season — not an all-in-one platform, but something focused, realistic, and immediately valuable.
This provided us insight into just what we needed to build for our 1st season — not an all-in-one platform, but something focused, realistic, and immediately valuable.
- Iterating & Prioritizing Ruthlessly
Ultimately, we prioritized differentiation over feature parity to existing workflows. Despite strong demand for CRM and task management, we scoped out in favor of solutions that streamlined their workflow — our biggest opportunity to add value.
We bridged gaps with HubSpot in season one, then expanded the product based on real usage and advisor feedback in the second. We went through many iterations of design before we landed at a product that met our criteria.
This let us move faster, test earlier, and avoid overbuilding features we weren’t sure users needed yet.
- Triage Dashboard
One glance to see the full picture: which clients are stuck, ready to file, or need a nudge. Built on MUI with visual cues that reduced noise and drove action.
- AI-supported communication, at scale
We automated 99% of functional client communication with modular templates, client reminder batching, and smart advisor notifications. Plus, AI-powered document interpretation helped drive clarity and context — flagging missing items, extracting summaries, and tagging files automatically. Advisors now set expectations, answer questions before they’re asked, staying out of email ping-pong. This replaced 80% of advisor-client emails.
- Embedded Research and Feedback Loops
Early advisor panels helped us test each flow before and after launch with Figma prototyping and video inteerviews—shaping not just usability, but roadmap priorities and ensuring we focus on real-world needs and value.
Outcome
Launched for tax season with strong engagement:
98%
Advisor activations (Invite accepted)
+150%
Client activation YoY (70% clients activated)
30
New advisor firms closed in Y1
2x
NPS lift (35 → 70+)
Reflection
Building this product was a balancing act of both sides of the tax season equation: advisors under pressure, and clients needing clarity. We built something calm, confident, and incredibly useful that not only served both sides, but created trust and value at the connection point of advisor and client.
Designing for a seasonal business meant we had one shot — advisors needed a tool they could trust during the busiest months of the year. Early end-to-end prototyping, and rigorous testing to find edge cases ensured we shipped a product that was ready to go under high pressure usage. In the finance world, even small gaps in logic, lingo, or process can break trust.
Ultimately, the amount of deals closed in the first year (35 total) didn’t hit our estimated projections and we have been continuing to experiment with roadmap innitiatives to unlock
Other Projects
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Beauty Picked for You
Each month, your personalized beauty box subscription will include five product samples. You'll get to try all types of products (from haircare to skincare to makeup).
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Coming soon
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CONTACT
caroline.lukins@gmail.com
SOCIAL
Site developed by Caroline Lukins 2025
Harness for Advsiors
Digitizing tax workflows to help advisors thrive during busy season
Launch
Overview
Harness for Advisors is a client portal that automates back-office tax prep and planning. As Harness evolved from a consumer-focused advisor marketplace into B2B SaaS, we needed a product that would scale with firms through busy season—without losing our #1-rated client experience.
The goal: Help advisors (1) do less admin and more advising, (2) stay ahead of clients, and (3) feel confident and in control during the most intense months of their year.
Role
0→1 Lead Product Designer
→ Research, flows, wireframes
→ Mid/hi-fi prototypes
→ Usability testing
→ Project management
→ Visual + marketing design
Team
Eng, Product, Design:
- 1 Head of Product
- 5–6 Engineers
- 1 Sr Prod. Designer (joined later)
- Stakeholders: Sales, Client Success, PMM, CEO
The Problem
90% of an advisor’s work is loaded into just 2 months.
Advisors manage up to 300 clients, with 90% of the work packed into a 10–16 week sprint. Most rely on a patchwork of PDFs, spreadsheets, and email, creating a chaotic, error-prone, high-stakes workload.
Opportunity
How might we
make
advisor–
client
collaboration
smarter
,
faster
,
and
calmer
?
We saw an opportunity to design a product that gave advisors back control, structure, and peace of mind during busy season — and gave their clients a simpler, more professional experience in return. More time spent advising, less time spent on back-and-forth
Target Users
Advisors
Through market research and 30+ user interviews, we identified which users got the most value from our product suite: Boutique firms (400-1,000 clients, 2-3 partners) looking to create efficiency to avoid staff burnout.
Clients
- Tech employees, founders, and investors
- Busy, high-trust users who wanted a professional, modern experience.
- Expectations of Notion/Dropbox experience
Design Principles
Given the audience and stakes, we established 3 key principles from the start:
Clarity under pressureInstantly show what needs attention. No noise. No clutter. No guesswork.
Design a teammate, not a toolReplace spreadsheets, emails, and PDFs with one proactive, intelligent system.
Simple and accurate
Busy season isn’t the time to learn new tools or second-guess. Make it obvious, frictionless, and right.
Process
0 → 1 Highlights
We mapped the entire advisor-client lifecycle: from onboarding through upselling. Then, we broke it into modular flows that aligned with how advisors actually work to break down problems to solve.
This provided us insight into just what we needed to build for our 1st season — not an all-in-one platform, but something focused, realistic, and immediately valuable.
- Iterating & Prioritizing Ruthlessly
We went through many iterations of design before we landed at a product that met our criteria. Ultimately, we prioritized differentiation over feature parity to existing workflows.
Despite strong demand for CRM and task management, we scoped out in favor of solutions that streamlined their workflow — our biggest opportunity to add value. We bridged gaps with partner products, like HubSpot and Trello in season one, then expanded functionality based on real usage and feedback in the second.
This let us move faster, test earlier, and avoid overbuilding features we weren’t sure users needed yet.
- Triage Dashboard
One glance to see the full picture: which clients are stuck, ready to file, or need a nudge. Built on MUI with visual cues that reduced noise and drove action.
- AI-supported communication, at scale
We automated 99% of functional client communication with modular templates, client reminder batching, and smart advisor notifications. Plus, AI-powered document interpretation helped drive clarity and context — flagging missing items, extracting summaries, and tagging files automatically. Advisors now set expectations, answer questions before they’re asked, staying out of email ping-pong. This replaced 80% of advisor-client emails.
- Embedded Research and Feedback Loops
Early advisor panels helped us test each flow before and after launch with Figma prototyping and video inteerviews—shaping not just usability, but roadmap priorities and ensuring we focus on real-world needs and value.
Outcome
Launched for tax season with strong engagement:
98%
Advisor activations (Invite accepted)
+150%
Client activation YoY (70% clients activated)
30
New advisor firms closed in Y1
2x
NPS lift (35 → 70+)
Reflection
What I’m most proud of is how the product respected both sides of the equation: advisors under pressure, and clients navigating a complex financial landscape. We built something calm and confident — a tool that helped professionals do their best work without burning out.
As a designer, this project was a masterclass in prioritization, scoping, and designing for behavioral change in a high-stakes, low-tolerance environment. I had to learn how to ship less, but with more clarity and more impact, while learning a new subject matter on the fly.
Other Projects
Coming soon
fine hair
balanced skin
fine hair
fine hair
Beauty Picked for You
Each month, your personalized beauty box subscription will include five product samples. You'll get to try all types of products (from haircare to skincare to makeup).
fine hair
fine hair
wavvy hair
fine hair
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Coming soon
See Project
CONTACT
caroline.lukins@gmail.com
SOCIAL
Site developed by Caroline Lukins 2025
Harness for Advsiors
Digitizing tax workflows to help advisors thrive during busy season
Launch
Overview
Harness for Advisors is a client portal that automates back-office tax prep and planning. As Harness evolved from a consumer-focused advisor marketplace into B2B SaaS, we needed a product that would scale with firms through busy season—without losing our #1-rated client experience.
The goal: Help advisors (1) do less admin and more advising, (2) stay ahead of clients, and (3) feel confident and in control during the most intense months of their year.
Role
0→1 Lead Product Designer
→ Research, flows, wireframes
→ Mid/hi-fi prototypes
→ Usability testing
→ Project management
→ Visual + marketing design
Team
Eng, Product, Design:
- 1 Head of Product
- 5–6 Engineers
- 1 Sr Prod. Designer (joined later)
- Stakeholders: Sales, Client Success, PMM, CEO
The Problem
90% of an advisor’s work is loaded into just 2 months.
Advisors manage up to 300 clients, with 90% of the work packed into a 10–16 week sprint. Most rely on a patchwork of PDFs, spreadsheets, and email, creating a chaotic, error-prone, high-stakes workload.
Opportunity
How might we
make
advisor-
client
collaboration
smarter
,
faster
,
and
calmer
?
We saw an opportunity to design a product that allows advisors to spend more time advising, less time spent on back-and-forth. It would give advisors back control, structure, and peace of mind during busy season — and gave their clients a more clear, custom, professional experience in return.
Target Users
Advisors
Through market research and user interviews, we identified which users were getting the most value from our product suite. Boutique firm owners with 150–500 clients had acute digitization needs to avoid burnout in staff:
- ⭐️ Boutique firms → Create efficiency → Client portal
- Solo Advisor → Grow client lifetime value → Upsell services
- Startup advisor → Grow their book → Marketplace product
Clients
- Tech employees, founders, and investors
- Busy, high-trust users who wanted a professional, modern experience.
- Expectations of Notion/Dropbox experience (vs government portal).
Design Principles
Given the audience and stakes, we established 3 key principles from the start:
Clarity under pressureInstantly show what needs attention. No noise. No clutter. No guesswork.
Design a teammate, not a toolReplace spreadsheets, emails, and PDFs with one proactive, intelligent system.
Simple and accurate
Busy season isn’t the time to learn new tools or second-guess. Make it obvious, frictionless, and right.
Process
0 → 1 Highlights
- Understanding & Mapping Workflow
We mapped the full advisor–client lifecycle and broke it into modular flows, aligned to how advisors actually work.
This provided us insight into just what we needed to build for our 1st season — not an all-in-one platform, but something focused, realistic, and immediately valuable.
- Iterating & Prioritizing Ruthlessly
We went through many iterations of design before we landed at a product that met our criteria. We prioritized differentiation over feature parity—cutting CRMs and task tools in favor of purpose-built flows. We bridged gaps with Trello/HubSpot and expanded only after real usage feedback.
This let us move faster, test earlier, and avoid overbuilding features we weren’t sure users needed yet.
- Triage Dashboard
One glance to see the full picture: which clients are stuck, ready to file, or need a nudge. Built on MUI with visual cues that reduced noise and drove action.
- AI-supported communication, at scale
We automated 99% of functional client communication with modular templates, client reminder batching, and smart advisor notifications. Plus, AI-powered document interpretation helped drive clarity and context — flagging missing items, extracting summaries, and tagging files automatically. Advisors now set expectations, answer questions before they’re asked, staying out of email ping-pong. This replaced 80% of advisor-client emails.
- Embedded Research and Feedback Loops
Early advisor panels helped us test each flow before and after launch with Figma prototyping and video interviews—shaping not just usability, but roadmap priorities and ensuring we focus on real-world needs and value.
Outcome
Launched for tax season with strong engagement:
98%
Advisor activations (Invite accepted)
+150%
Client activation YoY (70% clients activated)
30
New advisor firms closed in Y1
2x
NPS lift (35 → 70+)
Reflection
Building this product was a balancing act of both sides of the tax season equation: advisors under pressure, and clients needing clarity. We built something calm, confident, and incredibly useful that not only served both sides, but created trust and value at the connection point of advisor and client.
Designing for a seasonal business meant we had one shot — advisors needed a tool they could trust during the busiest months of the year. Early end-to-end prototyping, and rigorous testing to find edge cases ensured we shipped a product that was ready to go under high pressure usage. In the finance world, even small gaps in logic, lingo, or process can break trust.
While our usage metrics were strong, ultimately we didn’t meet our key goal: 35 deals closed in the first year didn’t meet our benchmark indicators (45+) and the team has continued experimenting with AI enablement and task management solutions that could unlock higher product-market fit.
Other Projects
Coming soon
fine hair
balanced skin
fine hair
fine hair
Beauty Picked for You
Each month, your personalized beauty box subscription will include five product samples. You'll get to try all types of products (from haircare to skincare to makeup).
fine hair
fine hair
wavvy hair
fine hair
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Coming soon
Coming soon
CONTACT
caroline.lukins@gmail.com
SOCIAL
Site developed by Caroline Lukins 2025
