BS&A

BS&A Software has built municipal software since 1987. Its products run budgets, tax assessments, ordinances, contracts, construction, and licensing for more than 2,100 local governments. The customer portal is where the public meets all of it, and BS&A wanted it to be far easier to use.

The scope was a full redesign with new capability: make it easy to look up and claim a property, and to pay the different kinds of bills attached to it.

Three rounds of research covered the people the portal actually serves: homeowners, real estate agents, and contractors. Two problems came up again and again. People struggled to find and save properties, and they couldn't tell which services applied to them.

Search first. The home page leads with search: pick a municipality, then find a property by address, owner name, or parcel number. Services sit directly below, grouped by who they are for (homeowners, real estate and title companies, contractors), so each person lands on the workflows that matter to them.

Everything about a property in one place. The record page brings details, taxes, assessing, building, and utilities under one set of tabs, with outstanding bills and the options to buy or claim the record alongside.

Bills that explain themselves. Every bill shows what is owed, when it is due, and whether autopay covers it, with filters for payment type, property, and item.

Usability testing with real users came back strongly positive. People said how easy it was to find what they were looking for and to finish tasks like paying a bill. The new portal had not yet rolled out to existing clients, but BS&A was already selling it to prospective customers and seeing more sales than the old platform brought in.