I have been a member of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program since 2004 and I love it. I’ll confess—I didn’t join it for several years. I was hesitant to spend the money and I didn’t think it I needed it. Boy was I wrong! I wish I would have joined sooner but I didn’t realize all of the benefits that were part of it.
I often hear people ask, “Should I join the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program?” or “What are the Benefits of the ProAdvisor Program?” or “Is the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program really worth it?” I hope this article will h
elp answer your questions. My opinion is YES it is worth it and YES you should join it! I think the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program is invaluable for accountants, bookkeepers, tax professionals, IT consultants or anyone who will be working with QuickBooks and supporting clients. I even made a quick video about why I recommend it.
You could WIN a FREE QuickBooks ProAdvisor Membership with Enhanced Payroll for Accountants — enter the contest before 12/14/2010.
There are many benefits of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program, but the following are a few of the key benefits:
Software:ProAdvisors receive more than $3,000 worth of software and services, including:
- QuickBooks Accountant Plus 2011 –– includes subscriptions to Connected Services:
- QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Accountant 11.0 (single user) with
- QuickBooks Enterprise Advanced Inventory
- QuickBooks Online Plus and QuickBooks Online Essentials
Tech Support: ProAdvisor members get a dedicated tech support number. Plus, if you call during normal business hours (6 am to 6 pm Pacific time) you get U.S. based tech support. There is online chat support which is very efficient if you have quick questions and it is faster than calling tech support. I really like the ProAdvisor tech support and being able to contact someone when I have a QuickBooks question or need help with a client problem or issue.
Training and Certification: As a member of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program, you can become a Certified ProAdvisor at no additional cost (it is all included in your membership fee – there is no additional testing fees or anything). There are training courses, webinars and PDFs and many of the courses are eligible for CPE if you need it (also free). You can earn the following certifications:
- QuickBooks Certification
- QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Certification
- QuickBooks Point of Sale (POS) Certification
- QuickBooks Advanced Certification (must be certified for most recent 3 consecutive years to be eligible — 2009, 2010 and 2011)
Benefits of Certification: Once you earn the QuickBooks Certification, then you will be listed on the Find-a-ProAdvisor referral website. This is a GREAT source of leads and potential clients. I get a lot of calls from people who have found me from the Find-a-ProAdvisor website. The Find-a-ProAdvisor website gets an average of 40,000 hits per month from people looking for QuickBooks help from a Certified ProAdvisor. Other benefits of getting certified include:
- Your ProAdvisor profile can now appear at the top of search engine results (like Google) when prospective clients search for QuickBooks help in your area
- Use the official Certified ProAdvisor logo to promote your practice (include the logo on your website, business cards, etc.)
- Improve your ranking on the Find-a-ProAdvisor website by adding client ratings
and a picture on your profile (and make sure to fill out your profile completely) - Help your ranking on the Find-a-ProAdvisor website by getting certified in the current year and earning additional certifications (QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Certification and QuickBooks Point of Sale Certification)
Discounts: ProAdvisors get discounts on products and services such as:
- Intuit QuickBooks Payroll Enhanced for Accountants — process payroll for up to 50 clients with live or after-the-fact payroll, client-ready payroll reports and more for only $175.
- Intuit Merchant Services for QuickBooks — accept credit cards from clients. (One-year subscription of credit card service for $69/year).
- Intuit Statement Writer ($99 each; Intuit Statement Writer requires its own individual copy of QuickBooks Accountant 2011).
As you can see, there are many benefits to joining the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program and it is a GREAT investment! You can get all the details on the ProAdvisor website.
NOTE: If you are starting or growing your business, check out my new book How to Start a Home-Based Bookkeeping Business or Successful QuickBooks Consulting
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants/proadvisor/ to sign up for the ProAdvisor Program and then you’ll be able to access the certification training.
guide me how i can subscribe and start certified Proadvisor training.
I have been a ProAdvisor since 2006 and really like the program. Having the newest versions of QuickBooks keeps me at the forefront of the changes each year. It also helps me advise my clients on when I feel it is best to upgrade.
I know that being able to put the Intuit ProAdvisor logo on my business card is a definite plus when I am engaging new clients. It lets them know that I understand how the QuickBooks software works.
I particularily like having the accountants editions, as it assist me in making changes and fixing client errors that would take much longer in a different version.
I am just really satisfied with my membership. I also want to thank you as I know I have come to you more than once for advise for correcting a problem and you have always responded with answers to my questions.
Hi Brian! There are links to payroll resources (marketing, pricing, checklists) in the Practice Management section of my website here: http://www.longforsuccess.com/resources/websites One thing to keep in mind — your accounting classes may teach you how to accrue payroll but not how to process payroll. There are a lot of deadlines, due dates, etc. You can learn more about payroll at http://www.irs.gov and there is an organization too (check the resources section of my website for a link).
Michelle,
I love your website. I really appreciate your thorough review of the benefits of QuickBooks and becoming a Pro Advisor. I am currently an accounting student at my local university. I want to start my own payroll and bookkeeping business. What are the best resources to begin learning what I will need to know to be successful? I am planning on buying your book for the bookkeeping portion of my business, but if you have any input on learning how to start the payroll part I would really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Brian
Thanks Michael! Once you join the ProAdvisor Program, I’d encourage you to complete the 2011 and 2012 Certifications. Do 2011 first and keep in mind it will only be available until about the end of June.
Michelle,
I just found this post and wanted to thank you for the information. I have been tossing this idea back and forth now for a few months and have convinced myself to go ahead and get certified. Great information!
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Thank you so much! 🙂
If you join the ProAdvisor program, you will get the software and have access to the certification course locker. There are 9 webinars / courses to help you learn more about QuickBooks. So, it will help improve your skills and knowledge of the program which should help you get experience. I would think being a Certified ProAdvisor would help you get a job or position. If you decide to join, do it by Sept. 12 and you can save $100.
Hey Michelle,
I have been thinking about becoming a QuickBooks Proadvisor. I recently graduated with a BBA in Accounting, and have some experience in bookkeeping. My question is, how helpful is this program if you don’t have a lot of experience? I thought I would work as a bookkeeper to gain some experience, but all the positions I looked into or applied for, require you to be proficient in QuickBooks.
Thank you,
Saira
Michelle,
Thank you for your sharing your experience. It sounds like I have some research and reading to do. I’m wondering if others have had similar experiences as a result of becoming certified as QuickBooks ProAdvisors?
Best,
Elizabeth
I had some help with my website getting it setup and customized the way I wanted it.
Very Nice website. I just finished mine and i was looking for some ideas and your website gave me some. Did you develop the website alone?
Thank you
QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program is a great program. I just need to make some time for completing the QuickBooks Advanced Certification.
Michelle,
I have my web site up and running! WOOHOO Let me kow what you think.. My picture may not be working.