How FreshBooks Used User Acceptance Testing to Launch Cezanne Learning with Confidence
In short: FreshBooks replaced its legacy LMS with Cezanne Learning* by running user acceptance testing with around 100 employees during compliance season, using real content and live deadlines. The pilot shaped the full launch plan. Within two weeks, 80% of the company was on the platform, and 88% of users found it easy to use.
At a glance
- Organisation: FreshBooks, cloud accounting software for small businesses, freelancers and service-based professionals
- Markets: UK, US and Canada
- Employees: < 400
- The challenge: A legacy LMS used only for compliance, with scattered content, thin reporting and heavy manual admin
- The approach: A 100-person user acceptance testing (UAT) pilot, run with real content during compliance season
- The results: 80% of the company on the platform within two weeks, and more than 1,000 tasks completed on time in the first month
Building something that grows with your people
“When you have a partner willing to work with you – and you commit to the process – you build something that works, grows, and evolves with your people.”
– JP Pitta, Senior Learning Partner, FreshBooks
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Who Is FreshBooks?
FreshBooks makes cloud accounting software for small businesses, freelancers and service-based professionals across the UK, US and Canada. Employing over 350 people, its tools cover invoicing, expense tracking, time logging and financial reporting, with the aim of giving business owners back the hours they’d otherwise lose to admin. It’s a business built around making complicated jobs feel simpler. So, when its own learning platform started creating more admin rather than less, the L&D team knew something had to change.
Why did FreshBooks need a new learning management system
FreshBooks’ previous learning management system (LMS) had become a place for completing mandatory compliance training and not much else. People logged in when they had to, finished what was required, and left. There was little visibility of who was learning what, and almost no link between training and anyone’s longer-term development. For JP Pitta, Senior Learning Partner, and the wider L&D team, that simply wasn’t enough.
Four problems kept coming up:
- Learning was scattered. Content lived across Google Drive, shared folders and third-party systems, so there was no single place to find it.
- Reporting was thin. Without good data, it was hard to prove return on investment or adapt programmes to what people actually needed.
- Admin was heavy. The L&D team spent hours tracking completions and sending reminders by hand.
- Skills were hard to see. Employees and managers had no clear way to understand which skills people had, or how those skills matched roles and future opportunities.
The team’s ambitions went well beyond swapping one tool for another. They wanted to change how people experienced learning across the whole organisation, from compliance training through to long-term career growth. When FreshBooks revisited its LMS selection in 2022, the LMS platform now known as Cezanne Learning stood out for its focus on skills, role visibility and partnership. Plus, it would be the foundations of Freshbooks’ new learning platform: the FreshEd Learning Lab.
The Cezanne Learning LMS has supported the development of the FreshEd Learning Lab
“We didn’t want another tool to deliver content. We wanted a platform that would help us diagnose skill gaps, streamline operations, and empower people to own their development.”
JP Pitta, Senior Learning Partner, FreshBooks
That ambition shaped how the team thought about the LMS implementation rollout, too. A checklist-driven go-live was never going to tell them whether people would actually use the platform. They wanted real validation from real users, and a plan with room to improve as they went. User acceptance testing (UAT), where real users test a system with real tasks before it goes live for everyone, became the backbone of the project.
The Cezanne Learning LMS has earned an impressive user rating of 4.5/5 with Freshbooks’ employees
“We always envisioned people loving it, but we knew we had to test it first. UAT wasn’t optional – it was fundamental.”
JP Pitta, Senior Learning Partner, FreshBooks
How did FreshBooks approach the rollout?
FreshBooks ran its UAT in stages, with each one testing a different set of assumptions. Some of the most useful lessons came before anyone outside the L&D team had even seen the platform.
Starting with an honest look at existing content
The first round of testing happened before a single employee logged in. JP and the L&D team exported their courses from the old LMS, then rebuilt them in Articulate 360 and in Cezanne Learning’s own content tools. Along the way, they mapped every learning programme to a core business need. They also prototyped how each programme would appear, behave and report inside the platform. This groundwork surfaced several gaps in the team’s thinking, particularly around automation, content visibility, and how events and blended learning would be run.
Choosing the right pilot group
FreshBooks timed its LMS implementation pilot to run during compliance season. It was a deliberate choice: with mandatory training due, participants had a genuine reason to log in and get things done, rather than clicking around a demo. The team handpicked around 100 people from different departments, roles and levels of technical confidence. Everything about the pilot was real, from the content to the deadlines, so the feedback reflected how people would use the platform day to day.
To make the group as useful as possible, the team set some clear criteria:
- The group had to reflect a genuine cross-section of the company.
- Everyone needed learning activities to complete during the test period.
- Managers and front-line employees both had to be included, so the team heard from each side.
Setting the pilot group up to succeed
Rather than dropping people into the platform and watching what happened, the L&D team built resources to guide them through it. They wrote internal FAQs and Confluence pages tailored to different roles, and recorded short introductory videos covering the platform and its main workflows. Surveys and quizzes were built into onboarding to check the basics had been set up properly, such as time zones and account activation. Live support channels gave people somewhere to ask questions and report bugs as soon as they found them. The aim was to keep pilot users engaged and talking, so feedback arrived while it was still fresh enough to act on.
What happened When FreshBooks launched Cezanne Learning across the business?
Because the pilot of the LMS implementation had already tested and refined the core workflows, FreshBooks could launch Cezanne Learning company-wide with confidence. The full rollout went live with very few last-minute changes and far fewer support issues. Within two weeks, 80% of the company was on the platform. By the end of the first month, more than 1,000 tasks had been completed on time, and 88% of users said they found the platform easy to use.
The Cezanne Learning LMS became FreshBooks’ central hub for compliance tracking and learning programmes. It also brought together internal comms and events, skill mapping, and manager reporting and development planning, all of which had previously sat in different places.
“Because of the pilot, we already knew what would happen. That data gave us confidence – and made our comms sharper.”
JP Pitta, Senior Learning Partner, FreshBooks
How does FreshBooks keep feedback flowing?
Careful planning mattered, but the rollout also relied on something FreshBooks had built long before: a culture where people are used to giving honest feedback. Feedback is asked for early and often across the organisation, not saved for the end of a project.
Every L&D programme includes an open way for people to share what they think. Employees are encouraged to be candid and constructive without worrying about repercussions. Leaders model that behaviour themselves, backed by internal training on how to give and receive feedback well. That made it much easier for the pilot group to say what was and wasn’t working. It also led to one of the more unusual decisions of the whole project.
You can learn more about how you can encourage open conversations about learning in this article: How to Become a Learning Organisation
The various learning communities within the Freshbooks’ LMS
You can’t build an FAQ until you get questions. So we launched with an empty FAQ – and let the feedback shape it.”
JP Pitta, Senior Learning Partner, FreshBooks
The empty FAQ sums up the approach neatly. Instead of guessing what people would need, the team let real questions decide.
So, what’s next for FreshBooks?
The next milestone is making fuller use of Cezanne Learning’s skills features, and FreshBooks is taking the same test-first approach. Managers will go first, piloting the reporting tools and skills functionality before they’re opened up to everyone else. The L&D team is preparing pre-built reports and worked examples, so teams can see what’s possible before building their own. Alongside this, updated FAQs and proactive support will help people find answers for themselves, which takes pressure off L&D.
What can other organisations learn from FreshBooks’ LMS rollout?
Whether you’re implementing a new LMS or rolling out any other people system, FreshBooks’ experience offers some practical lessons. None of them needs a big budget or a large project team.
1. Always run UAT, even on a small scale
Even five to ten people working through real tasks with real deadlines will tell you things you’d never spot from the admin view. It doesn’t need to be elaborate to be worth doing.
2. Plan your feedback channels before you need them
Don’t wait for people to come to you. Set up forms, surveys and direct channels in advance, and use language that makes it clear all feedback is welcome, including the critical kind.
3. Pick your pilot group with care
Aim for a mix of departments, seniority levels and technical confidence. Then tie the test to real content with real stakes, rather than hypothetical tasks nobody has a reason to finish.
4. Let pilot data shape the launch
Look closely at what worked and what didn’t during the pilot. Use what you learn to plan timelines and support, and to sharpen how you communicate the launch.
5. Make test, refine and deploy a habit
The same approach works for every new feature or initiative, not only the first launch. FreshBooks is already applying it to its skills rollout.
If you want to learn more about how to successfully roll out an HR and payroll system, check out our free guide: What to Expect When You’re Expecting
What made FreshBooks’ LMS rollout work?
FreshBooks treated user acceptance testing as a core part of the project, not a formality before go-live. That decision, backed by a culture where honest feedback is normal, gave the team a smoother launch with far fewer surprises. It also built a genuine working partnership between FreshBooks and the Cezanne Learning team, which carries on as they move into skills and manager enablement. For any organisation planning a new learning platform, it’s a useful reminder that how you roll something out matters as much as what you roll out.
Thinking about a new learning platform? Find out how the Cezanne Learning LMS could work for your organisation, or book a demo to see it in action.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cezanne Learning
What is Cezanne Learning?
Cezanne Learning is Cezanne’s learning management system. It brings compliance and mandatory training, structured learning, CPD tracking, and ready-made content from partners including Go1, LinkedIn Learning and Udemy into one platform. Learners, managers and admins each get their own dashboard, with standard reports and CSV export.
Why did FreshBooks replace its old LMS?
Its previous LMS was used almost entirely for compliance. Content was scattered, reporting was limited, admin was manual and there was no clear view of skills. FreshBooks wanted a platform that connected learning to skills, roles and long-term development.
What is user acceptance testing (UAT) in an LMS implementation rollout?
UAT is the stage where real users test a system with real tasks before it launches to everyone. In an LMS rollout, that means employees completing actual training against actual deadlines. It lets the project team fix problems with workflows, content and setup while they’re still easy to fix.
How many people took part in FreshBooks’ pilot?
Around 100 employees, chosen from different departments, roles and levels of technical confidence. The pilot ran during compliance season, so everyone had real training to complete.
How quickly did FreshBooks employees adopt Cezanne Learning?
Within two weeks of launch, 80% of the company was on the platform. More than 1,000 tasks were completed on time in the first month, and 88% of users found the platform easy to use.
How big should a UAT pilot group be?
It doesn’t need to be large. FreshBooks’ advice is that even five to ten people testing real workflows against real deadlines will surface problems you won’t see from the admin view. A good mix of departments, roles and technical confidence matters more than sheer numbers.
What does FreshBooks use Cezanne Learning for?
It’s the central hub for compliance tracking, learning programmes, internal comms and events, skill mapping, and manager reporting and development planning.
Can Cezanne Learning be used without Cezanne HR?
Yes. Cezanne Learning is available as a standalone product and as part of the wider Cezanne platform.
* Previously named Learn Amp