Welcome survey plus tailored setup checklists: +21% setup rate
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMYOB replaced static home-screen tiles with a two-question welcome survey that routed new users into product-specific setup checklists, and its global setup rate rose 21%.
MYOB's own team made the change, and it was published as an Appcues customer story.
The survey, checklists and tooltips launched together and were compared before and after, so the lift belongs to the whole package.
- Global setup rate for new users: up 21%, as reported by Appcues.
- Some checklists now reach over 40% completion, according to the story.
- One product line started from a 14% setup rate before the change.
- No sample sizes, durations or significance figures were shared.
The change
Static tiles are replaced by a welcome survey that leads to a tailored checklist with tooltips.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
New users saw static tiles at the top of the home screen. Each tile linked to a guided tour for one product line, and few users engaged with them.
Variant
A short survey asked whether users had used accounting software before and what they would use MYOB for. The answers led to a setup checklist for their product line, and each step opened tooltips that pointed to the exact fields to fill in.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Two questions let the product show each user only the tasks that fit their experience and goals.
- Checklists break setup into small steps, like connecting a bank feed or sending an invoice, so progress feels reachable.
- Tooltips on each step remove guesswork on crowded screens.
- Static tiles wait for the user to click. A checklist actively shows what to do next.
Caveats: Bundled: the survey, checklists and tooltips shipped together, so no single element can take the credit. Before/after rather than a split test, and vendor-published.
Who ran it
MYOB ran this test and published the results (Appcues customer story). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on MYOB →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we ask new users two questions and show a setup checklist matched to their answers, then more will finish setup because they only see tasks that fit their situation.
- Primary metric
- Share of new users who complete core setup
- Guardrails
- Survey drop-off rate
- Time to first key action
- 30-day retention
- Who should test it
- SaaS products with several product lines or very different user types. It is less useful for a single-purpose tool where every user needs the same first steps.
Questions
Do onboarding checklists improve activation?
They often help because they show users a clear set of next steps.
In this case the checklist launched with a survey and tooltips, so its own effect is unknown.
How many questions should a welcome survey have?
Keep it short. MYOB used two questions, enough to sort users by experience and goal without adding much friction.
Should I personalize onboarding by user type?
Personalize when different users need different first tasks.
If everyone does the same setup, one well-designed path is simpler to maintain.