Connecting ProAdvisors and QuickBooks Customers

Note: Through several feedback forums, ProAdvisors have asked Intuit to do more to help connect them with QuickBooks customers. In this recurring section, we illustrate new actions and opportunities that Intuit provides to our Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors.

Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors Stand Out in QuickBooks Online Community
More and more ProAdvisors are participating in the QuickBooks Online Community. This online community hosts a freewheeling interchange of questions and advice shared among QuickBooks users. Savvy ProAdvisors and accounting professionals also join in. We help Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors stand out by displaying their certification logo on each message they post.

To post comments that will show your certification logo is a two-step process.

See one example of how the logo looks in a message here.

QuickBooks Customers Find ProAdvisors in Major Search Engines
Brandon Wilson, Intuit’s Senior Accountant Marketing Manager, shares the results of Intuit’s effort to help make sure that links to QuickBooks ProAdvisors show up as an early item in major search engines. He drove this effort in response to one of the main concerns of QuickBooks ProAdvisors in their comments to us.

Search Engine Optimization Working for You. “Looked for QuickBooks advice on Google lately?” That’s the question Brandon asks ProAdvisors. “Intuit is using best practices in Search Engine Optimization to test different ways to help QuickBooks customers find QuickBooks ProAdvisors,” he says. “Now when QuickBooks Customers use a major search engine like Google or Yahoo, the top of the results is likely to include a sponsored link that takes the prospect directly to one of two ways to find a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.”

Brandon notes that Intuit will be testing various search terms and sponsored link offers to identify how best to proceed on a long-term basis. “Right now the prospect might see a sponsored link that goes to the main Referral Database on one try and an offer of one free hour consultation with a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor the next," he says.

Intuit is committed to keeping the Referral Database up at the top of items searched. “We can’t always guarantee we’ll be the first sponsored link found for every search, but we are trying to always be in the top three sponsored links,” Brandon says. Note: As this story goes to press, a test of the three most common search terms were searched across both Google and Yahoo. In all but one of the six tests the top sponsored link was for the official Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor Referral Database.

Stay Tuned. “We’ll report back on our progress with this test and other initiatives to improve the visibility of ProAdvisors to search engines,” Brandon says.

Response to Your Top Issues

New Callbacks for ProAdvisor Technical Support
Tech Support Callbacks Win Many Fans.

By now all QuickBooks ProAdvisors should have received a ProAdvisor Alert about an efficient new way to get QuickBooks technical support. Now ProAdvisors can enter their tech support issue in a simple Web page, and tell Intuit when they want to hear back from Intuit. The new Callback Request Form is at www.quickbooks.com/pap/callback.

With this new option, you will be able to submit your question directly to the support team, who will do their best to call you back within 30 minutes or at a convenient time that you specify during regular business hours (weekdays, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Pacific Time Zone).

Tip: If you provide enough information up front when you log your request, the support agent may be able to call you back with the answer ready to go.

Read real quotes from real ProAdvisors.

Improving Tech Support for QuickBooks Customers
New Callback Support Options for QuickBooks Support Plan Members. The benefits of callback support are also being made available to QuickBooks users in a phased roll out. Today, QuickBooks Basic, QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier customers with an active support plan can submit their questions online and request a callback within 60 minutes during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Pacific Time). Most QuickBooks support plan members have been notified by e-mail, or an announcement on the support line, that this callback support option is available, but please alert your clients about it as well. The Callback Request Form is online at www.quickbooks.com/qbcallback. Over the next few months, Intuit will be testing different aspects of callback support, and eventually, it will also be available to users without a support plan.

More Support Agents. Since February of this year, Intuit has hired and trained over 100 additional technical support agents to improve response times and customer satisfaction.

Reminder: One-Time Support Offers Response Time Guarantee. One-Time support (an option that allows customers to pay for support on a per-call basis, instead of subscribing to a support plan) is available to all QuickBooks customers weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific Time.¹ Intuit guarantees that the customer would be able to speak to a support representative within 15 minutes, or that call is free.²

1. Intuit reserves the right to limit each telephone call to one hour and to limit each call to one incident. Inquiries are limited to the following QuickBooks product areas: installation, upgrade assistance, and basic functionality. Excluding occasional downtime for systems and server maintenance, company events, observed US holidays, and events beyond our control.

2. Intuit guarantees that a technical support representative will respond to a One-Time Support call within 15 minutes after the call is placed in the support queue. Intuit does not guarantee that it will provide resolutions to questions within the guarantee period. Response times are not guaranteed during downtime for systems or server maintenance, company events, observed US holidays or events beyond our control. If a support representative does not take the call within the guaranteed response time, Intuit will provide free support for that call.

QuickBooks Point of Sale (POS) Adds 40 Support Agents
Christiane Hile, POS Accountant Influencer Marketing Manager

Forty additional technical support agents have been added to the Tucson-based support group for QuickBooks Point of Sale, bringing the total support agents to 80, according to Christiane Hile, POS Accountant Marketing Manager. “This measure is in response to requests from Certified QuickBooks POS ProAdvisors to keep our support capability up with the growth curve in this product” she says. “These agents directly support the retailers during their first 30 days in installing and using the product, as well as any purchaser of a support plan.” As a result, “The support team has significantly improved the answering of support calls. This increased quality of service improves the abilities of Certified QuickBooks POS ProAdvisors to support their clients.” Moreover, any issues relating to the transfer of POS Merchant Services to Intuit Merchant Services have been resolved, she reports.

Better Because of You: Improvements in Accountant Edition 2005 and 2004
Ever wondered if your feedback on QuickBooks financial software is heard? We’ve tallied up the practitioner-requested changes made in QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition 2005 and 2004 so you can see why the product today is better because of you.

QuickBooks Software Updates

Five-User Version of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Now Available
A New Option for Your Clients. Based on customer input, Intuit recently released a five-user version of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions to provide a more economical option to smaller businesses. The five user version contains all the same functionality as the ten user version. Up until now, businesses of any size paid for a ten-user license (currently priced at $3,500). The five-user license is currently priced at $2,500. ProAdvisor members receive a 20% discount (with your discount, the five-user version is currently priced at $2,000, and the ten-user version is currently priced at $2,800).

Learn more.

QuickBooks Software Tips & Techniques

Tech Support Reps Step Up Expertise
Tech Support Reps Completing QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certifications. The Accountables group of dedicated technical support reps are expanding their training in a new way – they are all in the process of completing QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certifications.

“We realized that our agents will be even better equipped to relate to the issues of our ProAdvisors who call us if we go through the same process our ProAdvisors go through to gain certification,” says Mike Hahn, Service Delivery Manager.

The group got a head start earlier this year when Daniel Hume, Technical Support Representative, became the first tech agent to successfully complete the certification process. (You may know Daniel from the tip for practitioners he supplied, a tip on laptops and backups of QuickBooks software.)

Tech Support Group Adds Accounting Specialist. To help the Accountables team support ProAdvisors well, they are not only training as ProAdvisors (see above), they also rely on real-world accountants to teach them about the ins and outs of accounting and what it’s like to be a practitioner.

The current specialist is Beverly Donahue, with over ten years experience in accounting for a wide variety of small businesses and nonprofits.

Tell Us What You Think

What Do You Want from Certification?
Win $300. We continue to work to improve the value of our QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certification courses and have created this survey so we can learn what you think. To make sure we capture your thoughts, please take our 10-minute survey. Let us know what your experiences have been like, or what your needs are, and with our gratitude you will be entered to win a $300 check in a random drawing.

Take the survey here.

Read the regulations here.

Intuit News

QuickBooks Tour Coming to a Town Near You
More Cities than Ever. The Intuit Accountant Training Network is finalizing plans now to bring the free QuickBooks 2006 Accountant seminars to more cities across the country. “These free seminars are designed to give accounting professionals practical knowledge to help them get the most out of the new QuickBooks release and understand the solutions that are best for them and their clients. “Our goal is to provide a great learning experience that enables you to serve your clients better,” Intuit’s Rich Golem says. “Last year we visited about 40 cities on the tour, and this year we are planning to almost double that. We’re including additional emphasis on the benefits of using QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition to enhance your productivity.” Rich is Group Manager for the Accountant Training Network.

“We look forward to rolling out the full schedule soon so QuickBooks ProAdvisors can make plans to attend the seminar that is most convenient for them,” Rich says. The tour will take place from Oct. 24 to Dec. 9 this year.

Sales Reps for QuickBooks Point of Sale Are Completing POS Certification
First Time Ever. Sales Reps for QuickBooks Point of Sale sales agents now go through the QuickBooks POS ProAdvisor Certification training process to help them do their jobs better. "The major focus of the retail solutions group is to provide an assisted shopping and buying experience that instills confidence and leads to a purchase,” said John Hurt, the retail solutions group’s sales leader. “The new certification process gives agents the knowledge and tools they need at the moment of truth in the conversation – to instill that confidence in the customer that they are choosing the right product for their particular needs.”

Lacerte Live Seminar: Workflow Solutions
To help busy tax professionals make the most of their time, this special Lacerte seminar focuses on workflow to help them manage client files through the many stages of tax preparation. The interactive, all-day seminar will show practitioners how to improve efficiency, increase productivity, and maximize profitability at every stage. Lacerte trainers take a real-life tax return through the different stages of the tax preparation process, and at each stage drill down to uncover tips and features that can streamline the process and squeeze out redundancy.

Seminars are scheduled from Sept. 26 through Oct. 7.

Learn more.

Master Builder Realigns Master Builder Member Programs
Infrastructure Changes. This month Intuit Construction Business Services (ICBS) realigns its member or channel programs that support Master Builder construction software. The move solidifies the role of the Solution Provider to sell and implement (set up) the Master Builder software and to oversee the end-to-end Master Builder customer experience.

Changes in Brief.

	Certified Intuit Master Builder ProAdvisors will focus on business consulting and supporting the existing Master Builder client base.
	Solution Provider firms have new staffing requirements and management responsibilities, including billing and resourcing the set up (implementation) for new customers.
	Professional Service Consultants (new) will be trained and certified from the ranks of the Solution Provider firms for setting up new customers (implementation).

Note: The Master Builder ProAdvisor Program differs significantly from the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program but offers an attractive venue to additional construction business.

As Seen in Intuit® ProConnection™

We know that some ProAdvisors are not currently subscribed to the Intuit ProConnection Newsletter. From the July issue here are four stories of likely interest to ProAdvisors:

	QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition and GAAP Financial Statements
	Helping Clients Make the Move from Peachtree to QuickBooks
	Sleeter Group Conference
	Estimating Setup Fees for QuickBooks Point of Sale 4.0 – Spreadsheet and Checklist

Advisor to Advisor

Advisor Spotlight: Gordon Slade, CPA, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, over half of the week Gordon Slade serves as an Accounting Manager for the accounting staff of St. Peter’s World Outreach Center. But then for the rest of the week this CPA and Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor supports his specialized clientele of startup and growing churches. “You know, I used to think that QuickBooks was not a real accounting package,” Gordon, an industry veteran of over 20 years, admits. He began to believe in QuickBooks after his wife started using it in her business. Now he recommends it again and again to his church clients as the best accounting package for their needs.

Learn more about how Gordon serves this specialized niche.

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