We designed and built Berkheimer’s E-File app in Flutter for iOS and Android, with a secure cloud backend, camera document capture, and official payment processing. Users doubled year over year, and we still look after the app.
- user growth, year over year
- 2x
A sample W-2 tax form on a desk and the Berkheimer E-File app in camera mode. Slide the form under the phone and the app captures it, shows the W2 information and the tax calculations, and confirms the payment with a filing ID.
- 1Capture your W-2
- 2Check the W2 information
- 3See your tax calculations
- 4Payment confirmed
01The ask
An old filing system, and taxpayers stuck at a desk.
Berkheimer has more than 80 years of tax collection and administration in Pennsylvania, and it is the state’s largest tax administrator. Collecting and distributing revenue efficiently is the whole job.
Its electronic filing and payment systems were outdated, hard to use, and not built for mobile. The technology couldn’t scale or meet modern security expectations, first-time and non-technical users struggled, and there was no secure payment platform or mobile document capture.
02In the app
What a taxpayer taps through.
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- A wizard-style flow walks each user through the filing, one step at a time.
A wizard-style flow walks each user through the filing, one step at a time.
03The build
One app for both phones, a cloud backend for the data.
We mapped user flows and built prototypes and interfaces around clarity, so even a first-time filer could get through a complex task. Flutter kept the app consistent on iOS and Android from one code base, which removed the cost of building it twice.
Our team designed and deployed a secure cloud backend for sensitive taxpayer data, built for performance, high availability, and compliance. We wired in the payment APIs for official processing and the Kofax SDK for document capture.
04The launch
Tested hard, then rolled out in steps.
Usability testing, performance stress testing, and security audits came before launch. We rolled the app out incrementally to watch adoption and refine the experience as people arrived.
05What changed
Twice the users, and no mobile team to hire.
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Growth
Users doubled year over year.
User growth ran at 2x year over year.
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Two platforms
iOS and Android from one code base.
Flutter removed the duplicate cost of building for each platform, which Berkheimer’s efficiency goals depended on.
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Ongoing
VGV is the mobile team.
We monitor the app, apply updates, fix bugs, and add features as its requirements grow.
06If you’re next
What we’d tell a team in Berkheimer’s seat.
- 01
Design for the first-time filer. If someone who has never filed can finish, everyone else can too.
- 02
Plug in specialist tools for payments and document capture, and spend the build on the flow around them.
- 03
Roll out in stages. An incremental launch shows you where people get stuck before everyone arrives.
Roll credits.
Who did what, and with which tools.
- Client
- H.A. Berkheimer
- Our part
- Product designUX mapping and prototypesFlutter developmentCloud backendSupport and enhancement
- Platforms
- iOS and Android
- Built with
- FlutterKofax SDKOfficial Payments
Built by Very Good Ventures
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