SMA - Checkout
On the surface, SheetMusicAuthority.com was functional. Orders came through. Customers clicked. But deep in the checkout flow, a friction point was scattering sales. A required login barrier — poorly framed, unintuitive, and disconnected from the user’s intention — was quietly pushing visitors away….
How the House Helped
Project
Sheet Music Authority - Checkout
Brief
Not all friction is loud. This is where it hides.
The Symptom – Barrier at Checkout
Customers attempting to check out are met with a login wall — with no guest checkout option and unclear next steps. If they don’t already have an account, they can’t complete a purchase. Frustration sets in. Conversions evaporate.
The Suspected Mechanism – POS + Gateway Disconnect
Online accounts created through SMA sync into a native POS system (CounterPoint), but with restrictions. These accounts don’t carry over into the in-store transaction flow — requiring duplicate creation and generating friction across both channels. This signals a possible limitation in the payment gateway provider, Ecomitize.
The Risk of Rushing a Fix
Ledger does not fix blindly. A rushed patch here could result in database conflict, double-account issues, or even transaction loss. Until the architecture and flow of these legacy systems are fully understood, no correction will be implemented.
Sometimes, precision matters more than speed.
What Comes Next – Seamless Account Flow Proposal
The current checkout path is under review. Ledger is investigating both backend behavior and front-facing UX to propose a seamless flow — possibly through a separate guest checkout route or enhanced authentication logic. This is not a quick fix. It’s a structural correction in the making.
Where Others Code, We Conjure
Defined by our works
Some problems aren’t solved overnight — they’re solved with oversight. This portfolio entry is not a celebration of what’s done, but a record of what’s being resolved. Ledger documents even the unfinished, because correction is part of craft.
