Managing multiple SaaS subscriptions is complicated and challenging for businesses. NachoNacho simplifies everything in one place.

In the SaaS industry, managing multiple subscriptions can be hard. You might pay for unused seats, forget to cancel a subscription, encounter hidden costs, or struggle with scattered billing cycles. But what happens when the app designed to simplify the process ends up feeling more complicated than the traditional way?

NachoNacho is a B2B SaaS company based in San Francisco that helps businesses manage all their SaaS subscriptions in one place using virtual credit cards. It’s like spend management but for SaaS businesses. They also leverage AI to recommend discounted SaaS products and services from their marketplace of over 25,000 businesses.

In the case study, I discussed how we redesigned NachoNacho to improve the user experience by streamlining onboarding and addressing key UX challenges, ultimately increasing conversions and user engagement.

While we had some assumptions about our problems, I wanted to identify the user's core pain points and gain insights into potential solutions using various research methodologies.

As a fast paced startup with limited time and budget, we couldn’t conduct one-on-one interviews with users. However, I relied on:

• A secondary report based on user feedback collected by the Customer Success team.
• A UX audit analyzing user experience, user flows, and journeys, along with behavioral insights from Hotjar.
• Stakeholder feedback to ensure our alignment with business strategies.
• Additional secondary research on competitors to gather further context and insights.

A deep dive into NachoNacho’s experience revealed several problems.

• The onboarding process was too long: A long KYC form was required before gaining access to the product. Users had to complete KYC for both personal and business accounts before accessing the platform. Many screens contained only a single question, making the process feel unnecessarily tedious and frustrating.
• NachoCard creation was complicated – The standout feature of the product was the creation of NachoCards, a virtual credit card designed to help you manage all your subscriptions. The process spanned multiple pages, involving 10 to 12 steps depending on who the card was assigned to.
• Component inconsistencies – Many components were not scalable, often designed for one-time use without reusability in mind. There was no unified component library to serve as a single source of truth for design and development.
• Poor Accessibility (A11Y):  Color contrast and text sizes did not follow accessibility best practices, making the product less inclusive.
• Outdated User Interface – The UI was outdated and needed a modern, more refined look and feel.

The onboarding process was long and repetitive, requiring extensive personal and business KYC forms upfront. We brought the KYC into the app, allowing users to explore first through a guided walkthrough. This way, they would see what we can offer them. They also get opportunities to create mock NachoCards. This reduced our drop off rate and boosted engagement.

We focused on reducing cognitive load of the KYC by breaking the process into simple steps and incorporating progress indicators for better user guidance.

We initially designed the KYC process as a full-screen experience but ultimately opted for a side sheet layout for better accessibility. This allows users to bring back the KYC page with a single click, keeping the experience seamless.

We also introduced a “Continue Later” button, giving users the flexibility to complete verification at their own pace, making the process feel like a choice rather than an obligation.

The process of creating a NachoCard, a virtual credit card for managing subscriptions, was was very ong, requiring around 10 separate screens. To make it faster and easier, we applied the same side sheet approach used in KYC, reducing it to a single page making it faster and easier for users.

We ensured that the entire journey of creating a NachoCard remained within the side sheet for consistency and ease of use.

Over the years, we've continuously refined our sidebar design to make navigation simpler and more intuitive for our users.

We implemented a clean, minimalistic design for the login screen to reduce cognitive load and ensure a seamless user experience.

We have since the added a host of other features to improve our UX and business offerings. We launched the AI & SaaS Marketplace and the Service Marketplace, along with Shaman, our AI-powered product recommendation system. Currently, we are scaling up and experiencing significant growth as we prepare for our next phase.

We have since the added a host of other features to improve our UX and business offerings. We launched the AI & SaaS Marketplace and the Service Marketplace, along with Shaman, our AI-powered product recommendation system. Currently, we are scaling up and experiencing significant growth as we prepare for our next phase.

Effective Communication: One thing that stood out to me was communication. Like in any organization, we had many ideas that sometimes conflicted. However, through active listening and patience, we ensured that everyone’s ideas were heard, making our process more seamless and efficient.

I particularly learned the value of framing my suggestions in an open-ended way, allowing them to evolve from the idea itself rather than being tied to the speaker. This approach encouraged a more collaborative and fluid exchange of thoughts.

Balancing Speed with Efficiency: It is understandable that the startup ecosystem requires a fast-paced approach. Move fast and break things, as they say. However, if I were to do this again, I would push for more time to better understand our users.

Launching features just for the sake of testing was not the best approach. There should be a balance between moving quickly and taking the time to build things well. No matter how fast you launch, if a feature is poorly designed, it will always fail. It’s a test that is doomed to fail.

Tom Garcy (Design), Andy Karuza (Product), Moché Matagrin (Engineering), Alan Szternberg (Engineering), Igor Schechtel (Engineering) and more