Your January QuickBooks ProAdvisor® Newsletter |
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Table of Contents
QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program Updates
Connecting QuickBooks Users and QuickBooks ProAdvisors
QuickBooks® Software Updates
QuickBooks Payroll Updates
Tell Us What You Think
Advisor Spotlight
Did You Know?
Algorithms for Display of Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on Referral Database
Our pilot program for the Advanced Certification has resulted in some of the first certifications, which are now showing on the Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor Referral Website.
The algorithm for default search results on the Referral Website has been updated to list ProAdvisors in the following order:
- Advanced Certified ProAdvisors within 50 mile radius, listed by nearest distance
- ProAdvisors certified on QuickBooks 2007, listed by nearest distance
- If there is a distance “tie,” then the ProAdvisor with the highest number of QuickBooks certifications will be listed first
- ProAdvisors certified on QuickBooks 2006, listed by nearest distance
Stay Tuned. If you are interested in this pilot program and meet the requirements, new training courses are being offered later this spring. In the next two months, we expect to announce when you can start signing up.
Recent Improvements on ProAdvisor Member Website
The QuickBooks ProAdvisors team has now given ProAdvisors the ability to upload photos to their profiles from the ProAdvisor Member Website. (See screenshot below.) If you are a Certified ProAdvisor in 2005 or later, we recommend you add your photo by updating your profile on qbadvisor.com.
Adding Advanced Certification to Your Profile. In the above example, the ProAdvisor has completed Advanced Certification. You should check to make sure that the certification shows on the Referral Website. If you believe you have completed the requirements for Advanced Certification, please allow two weeks for the certification to be added to the Referral Website. If the Advanced Certification still does not appear as shown in the earlier story, please contact us so we can address the problem at proadvisors@intuit.com.
Training Guides for QuickBooks 2007. Now training guides for QuickBooks 2007 are available in PDF format from Member Publications on www.qbadvisor.com. This guide can be used to train clients and colleagues on all (or selected elements) of QuickBooks 2007. Included with the guide is the current QuickBooks 2007 Exercise File. TIP: The training guides for both QuickBooks 2007 and 2006 are available in HTML format at the link QuickBooks Training Guide in Member Publications. Use this link to access the accompanying Exercise files.
Change in Accountant Payroll Referral Reward Program
Existing Benefits for All Accountants. For several years, the Accountant Payroll Referral Reward Program has provided incentives to all accountants for referring clients to Assisted and Complete Payroll. For each client referred and successfully enrolled (terms and conditions apply), the accountant has been able to choose from several benefits:
- Pass savings to client in the form of a discount
- Take a credit towards his/her own Intuit Payroll service plan
- Receive a cash payment
Terms of Discontinuation. Effective January 31, 2007, the ProAdvisor membership renewal incentive will be removed from the Referral Reward Program. However, Intuit will honor membership renewals for all QuickBooks ProAdvisors who make three Qualified Referrals** in the twelve-month period from May 1, 2006 to April 30, 2007. All ProAdvisors may still pursue other existing benefits as noted above.
Notes
* We will automatically waive the renewal fee for your QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program membership for one year when you refer a minimum of three (3) Qualified Referrals in the 12-month period commencing May 1, 2006 and ending April 30, 2007. The waiver will be applied to your next renewal date following the qualification of your third referral. This reward does not include waiver of the initial QuickBooks ProAdvisor Membership fee.
** When submitting referrals, it is important that you also provide your name along with your company's contact information. This allows us to reward you after your referrals become a customer. To obtain your rewards, your referrals must become a new Intuit Payroll Services customer within 60 days of your referral. By definition, a customer is anyone who subscribes to QuickBooks Assisted Payroll or QuickBooks Complete Payroll (QuickBooks Complete Payroll: Web/PC Entry after November 7, 2006), is a first time customer of the service, and has run and paid in full a payroll. Upon their payroll submission, you will receive your reward of choice.
Special Opportunity - Connect with Macintosh Users in Your Area
Meet Macintosh Users and Share Your QuickBooks Expertise. Apple and Intuit are once again hosting February Business Days at various Apple stores across the country. Intuit is looking for a select number of QuickBooks ProAdvisors (who are familiar with QuickBooks Pro for Mac and who support Mac clients) to deliver a short training session at a local Apple retail store. All you'll need to do is present an overview of QuickBooks Pro 2007 for Mac followed by a short Q&A session.
We will supply you with the presentation. You'll also have the option to follow the QuickBooks presentation with a short presentation on your “Top Five” tips for managing small business finances. You'll create this presentation and we'll review and approve it prior to the event.
Interested? Send a note to Andrea Nelson at andrea@anelson.com and type the words “ProAdvisor Opportunity” in the subject header. In return you will receive an email with more detailed information.
Deadline: We need to hear from you by January 17, 2007.
Don't miss out. This is a great opportunity to meet Mac small businesses and help those who are either considering or already using QuickBooks for Mac.
Talking to Clients about Windows Vista
To help clients learn more about what decisions they have ahead with the Windows Vista operating system, Intuit has created a new QuickBooks Windows Vista Resource Center at
www.quickbooks.com/support/Vista
Potential Crunch for Clients. QuickBooks 2007 will run on Vista and several earlier versions of Windows. Traditionally, adoption of a new Operating System has been slow. On the other hand, many clients are now using hardware that will need to be updated over the next year. If a client upgrades to Windows Vista, or buys a new computer with Windows Vista pre-installed, the performance of their pre-2007 QuickBooks financial software may be adversely affected.
Reaching Out to Clients. To help you alert clients as to their options with Windows Vista, we have prepared some language you could adapt for your own needs to reach out to clients by letter or e-mail. The language highlights the new QuickBooks Windows Vista Resource Center.
Intuit Outreach. Intuit is also sending out information on Windows Vista to many QuickBooks users on a rolling basis over the next month or so. But we know your clients will look to you for guidance, and we hope the new Resource Center and the sample communications will help you support your clients moving forward.
Updated QuickBooks Improves Messaging. Last month, Intuit released updates to QuickBooks 2004, 2005, and 2006 that in part improved the error message that will warn users of these versions of QuickBooks that the software is not supported on Vista.
Supporting Multiple Versions of QuickBooks. As a practitioner, you do NOT have to upgrade to Vista - even if your client does use Vista - for you to be able to work with files on QuickBooks 2007.
Intuit continues to research ways to mitigate the impacts of a transition to Windows Vista, and we hope to have more to report to you soon.
QuickBooks 2007 Release 5 - Fixes Issue for Some Payroll Clients
Release 5 (R5) Is Expected to Be Available Today. Intuit plans on posting its Release 5 for QuickBooks 2007 as a manual download and as an auto-update as early as Monday, January 8.
Issues Addressed. R5 addresses two separate issues in payroll.
- Semi-Monthly Schedules and Last-Day-of-Month Option. Users who maintain payroll on a semi-monthly schedule are likely to find that the pay period dates are wrong if they use the last-day-of-month option. (Note: This approach is common among small business owners.) Prior to R5, the only workarounds were (a) to not use the last-day-of-month options or (b) to edit each paycheck and change the pay period before the paycheck is actually created.
- Editing the Pay Period on an Existing Paycheck. Users who edit an existing paycheck are likely to see that the Pay Period appears blank on the Paycheck Summary; when looking at Paycheck Detail, the Pay Period begin date is 1/1/1901.
Because the auto-update becomes available as we go to press, your clients who use payroll are likely to have accepted the update. If any clients on QuickBooks 2007 experience the two issues noted above, check first to see if they have updated to R5.
QuickBooks Accountant Edition, Other Intuit Products Score with Readers at CPA Technology Advisor
2006 Readers' Choice Awards. You and your peers are big fans of Intuit software according to the 2006 Readers' Choice Awards, announced in the January issue of CPA Technology Advisor. This is an award with a difference: votes are from working practitioners. Accountants are asked to select their “favorite” products in several hardware and software categories. Results are based on popular votes.
Big Kudos to QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition as Top Write-Up/Trial Balance Software. To quote Technology Editor Isaac M. O'Bannon, “Whoa Nelly!”
He continues: “QuickBooks took this category by an order of magnitude, clearly dominating the other products among the more than 50 percent of voters who cited a product in this category. Although this is not a scientific survey, these results should finalize the debate over whether the professional accounting community has accepted Intuit.”
Tax and Payroll Come in Winners. Intuit's professional tax software products, ProSeries and Lacerte, come in a close second to Drake Software. CPA Technology notes that Drake's users are loyal, coming in with 35 percent of the votes, whereas Drake has ten percent of the market and Intuit more than 45 percent. QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll for Accountants was the clear winner in the Payroll category.
QuickBooks Wins on Client Side. For small and mid-range businesses, QuickBooks comes out on top, the readers say.
QuickBooks Wins in Niches. QuickBooks also comes out on top for Retail/Point of Sale, Construction Accounting, and Nonprofit Accounting.
Limited-Time Only: Offer on QuickBooks Payroll May Reach Some Clients
FOR INFORMATION ONLY: So you won’t be surprised, there is a small chance some clients will be presented with a limited-time offer on QuickBooks Payroll at no charge from within their QuickBooks software. Briefly, the offers are
- Get a one-year subscription to QuickBooks Standard Payroll for free, IF they commit to pay one to five employees using Direct Deposit at $7.95 per pay period. Additional employees are only $0.99 per paycheck.*
- Get a one-year subscription to QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll for a discounted price of $99, IF they commit to pay one to five employees using Direct Deposit at $7.95 per pay period. Additional employees are only $0.99 per paycheck.*
Special Offer. The QuickBooks users who are presented with this test offer will see the “Free Payroll Option” link either in the “Learn about Services Box” on the QuickBooks homepage or in the Employee Center.
We are giving you this heads up in case clients ask you about this special offer. Please do not recommend this to clients who have not mentioned the promotion or been presented with the offer from within their QuickBooks software, as they will not be eligible to purchase it.
Note
* Offer 1 above (QuickBooks Standard Payroll at no additional charge with paid Direct Deposit) requires a subscription to QuickBooks Standard Payroll. Offer 2 above (Discount on QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll with paid Direct Deposit) requires a subscription to QuickBooks Enhanced Payroll. Either subscription offer requires QuickBooks 2006 or higher for Windows, Internet access, and minimum of one to five employees per payroll using Direct Deposit. Minimum Direct Deposit requirements are per EIN, not per subscription. Additional fees apply and activation is required for Direct Deposit; the minimum fee for required Direct Deposit payments is $7.95 per month. A monthly fee of $16 will be charged to the payroll account if there is no Direct Deposit payroll processed within that month. Customers who do not activate Direct Deposit within 30 days of signup will be charged the list price for the payroll service. Free and Discount Payroll is offered to new payroll customers only, is valid for the first-year of the service subscription, and is non-transferable to another payroll subscription. Subscription price will return to list price on the subscriptions renewal date and will automatically renew each year and be charged to the credit card on file. Offer may not be combined with any other payroll offer. Terms, conditions, pricing, features, support and service are subject to change without notice.
QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions: Accountant Edition and Multiple Users
Win a New 4G iPod Nano. We're interested in learning more how you view QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions: Accountant Edition and the need to accommodate multiple users. We would like you to answer no more than ten questions in our five-minute questionnaire.
One Lucky Winner. All of you who take this very short survey will be entered for a chance to win the grand prize: one of the new, 4G iPod nanos, available in your choice of silver, aqua, light green, or, while supplies last, the special edition red iPod nano.
Gita Faust, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor Publishes Book and System
For Property Management within QuickBooks. Gita Faust has a mission: to help property management firms and property owners make the most of QuickBooks to manage their business. This led her to write her book with QuickBooks templates, now available to the public.
Gita's manual is Manage Properties with QuickBooks A Landlord's Guide to Financial and Property Management. Included with the manual is a CD with QuickBooks templates to get started. She welcomes calls if you have more questions (see her Web site for contact information).
Aimed at property management firms with significant volume, the package of manual and CD is priced at $299 (tax and shipping may also apply). Gita offers a money-back guarantee.
Seven New and Updated QuickBooks Webinars
Seven newly developed Webinars range from basic to intermediate level and are designed to help you get the most out of QuickBooks, learn to be an expert in product usage, specialize your practice and work more efficiently with your clients. See for yourself here.
Best Times to Call Tech Support (Callback Service)
Avoid Long Waits. January is “busy season” for the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Technical Support team in Tucson, when accountants are setting up small businesses with their new version of QuickBooks for the New Year.
The busiest time is between the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time, which may result in a relatively long wait time (up to 10 minutes). To increase your chances of a faster response time to your QuickBooks questions, we recommend you call outside of those hours... either earlier in the morning, or later in the afternoon.
As a reminder, the Tucson-based ProAdvisor Tech Support team is available Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Outside of those hours, support remains available as provided by our offshore service providers.
Instead of Waiting on the Phone. Don't forget our callback service, where you can request a callback, by going to https://www.quickbooks.com/callme/step1.asp.
More to Come in January
Our Next Issue. To get you important information for 2007 earlier in the year, we are publishing a second QuickBooks ProAdvisor Newsletter late this month.
If you have any questions or comments, please DO NOT REPLY to this e-mail. Please send an e-mail instead to proadvisors@intuit.com.
For change of address, please update your profile on the QuickBooks ProAdvisor member site at www.qbadvisor.com. Log in, and then go to the "Update Your Profile" link in the Quick Links section on the right-hand side.
© 2007 Intuit Inc. All rights reserved. Intuit, the Intuit logo, Intuit ProConnection, EasyACCT, Lacerte, ProSeries, QuickBooks, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Quicken, and TurboTax, among others, are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other parties' trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as such.
Program terms and conditions, pricing, features and service options are subject to change without notice.
Intuit Inc., Customer Communications, 2800 E. Commerce Center Place, Tucson, AZ 85706