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Secrets of Making a Successful Users Group

Where QuickBooks Meets Meetup

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QuickBooks ProAdvisors, users, developers, trainers, and consultants around the country are recognizing the value of getting together to share knowledge and network with each other on the QuickBooks products and services. QuickBooks users groups are one of the hottest growing trends for this type of local, face-to-face venue.

We spoke with some of the largest groups in the country to identify the secrets of what makes a successful users group.

In common? The intersection of Intuit QuickBooks® financial software as the object of interest, and Meetup.com, as the enabling technology to organize meetings. Learn more secrets following.

Users Group Goals

The primary goal for the vast majority of users groups out there is education and knowledge sharing. The secondary goal is networking. The third goal is for the leaders of the group and the participants to gain recognition in the QuickBooks community. As a good example, let’s start with a conspicuous success story.

Largest Users Group – Florida

Started in March 2006, the South Florida QuickBooks Meetup Group has evolved into what many identify as the largest QuickBooks users group in the country, with 156 members as we go to press. The group is led by two co-organizers: Mike Block, CPA and owner of BlockTax of Fort Lauderdale, and Mario Nowogrodzki, CPA, CITP, and founder and principal of Mendelson Consulting of Pembroke Pines. Both of these QuickBooks ProAdvisors have invested quite a bit of time at Intuit conferences, training, and earning certifications, so they have a lot to offer other ProAdvisors.

To get the group started, Mike, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and a Sleeter Group affiliate, and Mario, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and member of Intuit Solutions Provider Advisory Council, sent email blasts to everyone in their networks. They also mentioned the group at accounting and IT tradeshows. Mike follows up with frequent posts to his BlockTax QuickBooks Blog and the local Craigslist, as well as using the PR Log free press release site. The Meetup site does the rest; with new people joining Meetup every day, they can easily look for QuickBooks-related groups. The automated meeting reminders make it easy to advertise the monthly meetings and receive and post positive feedback from the attendees and group members.

Georgia

Another good example comes from the Southeast. Diana Crawford, CPA and Managing Partner of Crawford, Merritt, and Company of Lilburn, Georgia, organizes the Atlanta Metro QuickBooks Meetup Group, which has about 30 members as of this writing. The group includes Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors looking to network or for specific client solutions, users, software developers, and individuals interested in learning to boost their QuickBooks skills to get a job in the field.

The purpose of this group “is really knowledge sharing,” says Diana, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and QuickBooks Enterprise Certified ProAdvisor. “At the first class I passed out a page of QuickBooks shortcuts and the other Advisors said they never knew they existed. We are focusing more on client problems, but everyone learns when people bring up problems and we walk through how to solve them.” Participants meet monthly for two hours on a Saturday.

The Fastest Growing Users Group - California

The San Francisco Bay Area QuickBooks and Business Coaches Meetup Group is up to 118 members as we go to press, and is thought to be the fastest-growing users group in the country. CPA/MBA Steve Peterson, founder of webKPI LLC, a financial benchmarking provider, emceed the standing-room-only crowd in a bank conference room at a recent November meeting. The participants, mostly highly experienced QuickBooks ProAdvisors who drove as far as 40 miles to attend the meeting, peppered each of the three speakers with questions on POS, Merchant Services, and a remote deposit check processing machine that was demonstrated that night.

The participants were excited to make contacts with other Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors who had expertise in such topics as POS, Enterprise, reporting, and add-ons. “Sharing their knowledge allows each ProAdvisor to offer a deeper level of service to clients and to possibly expand their service offerings into other areas, which hopefully leads to increased revenues for the advisor,” says Steve.

Secrets of Making of a Successful Users Group

A QuickBooks users group can be started by anyone, any time, anywhere. But I’ve learned that a successful group has the following characteristics:

• Leadership. A strong group leader is knowledgeable in QuickBooks or can attract knowledgeable speakers, plus being a bit of a cheerleader for the group.
• Location. A good venue with clear directions and adequate parking is a must. Florida’s group meets at a sandwich shop with a private room and an Internet connection.
• Communication. As you’ll see from the sample sites, successful meeting announcements offer a good description of the potential benefits of attending the meeting and make readers want to attend.
• Promotion. Successful groups get the word out by advertising on free or low-cost vehicles including Meetup, local newspaper announcements, on the State CPA calendar, tradeshows, or using the leaders’ personal contacts.
• Interactivity. A good feedback mechanism lets participants share their experiences and what they want to get out of the group.
• Quality of Meeting. Word of mouth skyrockets when you provide a high-quality speaker or instructor, who provides great information with supporting handouts. Note: You can schedule more than one speaker per meeting. The Bay area group offers up to three speakers in one night so that participants can get a taste of the topic and then pursue in-depth training on it later, if desired.
• Networking Time. Remember that one reason people come to the groups is to have some face time with others. Make sure you provide a chance for individuals to introduce themselves during the meeting and a small amount of time to network.
• Healthy Q&A Time. Successful meetings schedule time not just for a presentation, but for the participants’ interaction, questions, answers, and further knowledge-sharing.
• Free. Successful meetings do not nickel and dime attendees for the meeting itself. Expenses are covered by the group leaders or a program sponsor.
• CPE. Attract local CPAs and Enrolled Agents by making arrangements to provide CPE for attendance. If you are not a CPA yourself, you may be able to partner with a local CPA interested in providing no-cost CPE for his or her firm, and therefore willing to make the arrangements with the state organization.

Ideas for Speakers or Programs

Some of the topics covered in past users group meetings include:

• Conference recaps (Sleeter and Intuit)
• Intuit representatives on various products such as Payroll
• Speakers from the Intuit Trainer/Writer Network (formerly Speakers Bureau)
• New features in 2009 release
• QuickBooks shortcuts
• Product / software demonstrations
• Client case studies
• Networking technologies
• Working remotely
• Backup practices
• The QuickBooks ProAdvisor program
• Intuit Developers Network
• Third-party software add-ons such as bill.com and NumberCruncher
• Enterprise vs. other QuickBooks product lines

Your Turn

If you have a QuickBooks users group in your area, get involved, and attend the next meeting. If you don’t have a QuickBooks users group in your area, start one. The Meetup software, which charges organizers $72.00 for six months, makes it easy to attract members and announce your meetings.

Introducing Stephanie Morris. Intuit has created a single point of contact, Stephanie Morris, for QuickBooks user group members to make it easy to share knowledge between Intuit and the users groups. Stephanie is Intuit’s Online Training and Event Manager and can be reached at Stephanie_Morris@Intuit.com.

Sandi Smith, CPA, is a soft skills trainer and business coach located in Silicon Valley, California. She is a frequent contributor to Intuit ProConnection. Her web site is www.sandismith.com.

Last Updated: 03/18/2009