I was thrilled to be invited to attend the Intuit ProLine Productivity Expo and Accountant 2020 Think Tank. Intuit shared with us some products and services that are in the concept stage, beta testing or commercially available already for QuickBooks Accounting, Payroll, Payments, Tax, Practice Management and Practice Growth.
Intuit continues to work on products and services to help improve the productivity of accounting professionals, QuickBooks ProAdvisors, tax professionals, bookkeepers and consultants. I’ll share some of the things I learned about with you in several blog posts so make sure to read the other posts too. In particular, watch for these two concepts in a blog post soon:
- QuickBooks Shared Books – “a way for accounting professionals to instantly access the client’s most updated, “master” QuickBooks files at any time without the client’s involvement.” I’m working with the Product Manager and development team as part of the ‘Accountant Posse’ on QuickBooks Shared Books. I would love to share your comments and suggestions with the team but understand I cannot provide many details (I’m under NDA). I’m REALLY excited about it and I think it will be awesome!
- QuickBooks Online for Accountants– “unique time saving tools just for accounting professionals supporting their QuickBooks Online clients.”
Michelle Long and Rich Walker, Intuit Director - Accounting Professionals Division Communications, Media Relations, and Social Media
This post is about the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program, in the area of Practice Growth: Accountant Client Matching is currently in the Prototype Phase. According to Intuit, “Accountant Client Matching would aim to provide Certified ProAdvisors with a greater number of qualified leads through the Find a ProAdvisor website. It also aims to ensure that small business owners are highly satisfied with their ProAdvisors and with the website experience.”
Intuit is trying to improve the matching of QuickBooks users with Certified ProAdvisors so it is mutually beneficial. Intuit’s Ian Vacin discussed how they are trying to match the needs of QuickBooks users searching for help with the needs of Certified ProAdvisors who want qualified leads and referrals. Depending on the size and nature of the business, the QuickBooks user may prefer an Advanced Certified ProAdvisor with many years of experience or they may prefer a newer Certified ProAdvisor with presumably lower billing rates. Intuit would like the matching process to provide better matches and more qualified leads for Certified ProAdvisors.
Here’s a video of Intuit’s Ian Vacin describing the concept of Accountant Client Matching.
From my perspective, I like what Intuit is trying to accomplish with the Accountant Client Matching. It would be nice to receive fewer calls from QuickBooks users who may not be a good match for me. I think it would be nice if they can filter the search results to better match their needs. For example, someone who is looking for a Certified ProAdvisor with low billing rates wouldn’t be a good match for me (I’m a CPA, Advanced Certified with many years of experience so I have higher billing rates). I would rather they be matched up with another Certified ProAdvisor who is a better match for them (presumably someone newer would have lower billing rates). This would save my time and would provide leads and referrals to newer Certified ProAdvisors to benefit them as well. I see it as a win-win-win for everyone. Ian mentioned several times that they really do want to hear comments and feedback to help them ‘get it right’. What are your thoughts?