Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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32 December 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com THE PROADVISOR SPOTLIGHT SPONSORED CONTENT Intuit took the structure of the cur- rent ProAdvisor Program, which ofers a desktop-focused program and a sepa- rate online-focused program, and built one complete program. Accounting professionals can sign up for the new QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program for free. In addition, the new program has more online benef its and products incorporated into the program. The new ProAdvisor Program has also been redesigned to allow accountants to completely ma nage t heir tra in ing , certifcation and membership details f rom i n s ide Q u ic k B o ok s O n l i ne Accou nta nt. T he new ProAdv isor Program includes a ProAdvisor Dash- board, numerous marketing resources and access to training, certifcation and your online directory profle (if certi- fied) – all from within Quick Books Online Accountant. "We've consolidated our main Pro- Advisor Program and our Cloud Pro- Advisor Program into one program. We've combined the best benefts of both to create one program and one brand that everyone knows and loves," sa id Lu is Sa nchez, Globa l L eader, Quick Book s ProAdv isor Program. "The world is changing and accoun- tants need tools that will help them ma x imize grow th – for themselves, their clients and their business." ProAdvisors previously had to login to a diferent website with a username and password that were diferent from their QuickBooks Online Accountant credentials in order to access their ProAdvisor membership details. Now users can access their ProAdvisor cer- tif ication and benef its f rom inside Quick Books Online Accountant to sea m lessly v iew a nd ma nage t hei r b e n e f i t s . Q u i c k B o o k s O n l i n e Accountant directly links into ProAd- v isor membersh ip deta i ls, such as status, and lets users know what they need to do to get to the next Quick- Books certifcation level. Tey also have access to the Quick Book s training program and more than 70 Quick- Books optional training courses. Certi- fed ProAdvisors can edit their "Find- a-ProAdvisor" directory profle. As part of the new program, Intuit has also updated the program's certification badges for a more modern and consis- tent look. Certifed ProAdvisors can use these badges in their marketing materials, including business cards, websites and brochures. Te new ProAdvisor Program still has the same Silver, Gold and Diamond beneft structure, but now gives mem- bers two ways to advance through the prog ra m: t h roug h cer t i f icat ion or through engaging with more Quick- Books Online customers. Historically, ProAdvisors started at the Silver level and moved up through certifcation, and Diamond level was only atainable through the desktop certifcation. Now, ProAdvisors can move up levels both by geting certifed and by serving their QuickBooks Online clients. Tis ben- efit does not apply to the number of QuickBooks Desktop clients a ProAd- visor serves, unless they move those clients over to the Cloud. ProAdvisors that have desktop clients can continue to move up based on certifcation. "We learned that lots of ProAdvisors like our certifcation program and want to get educated that way. However, there are some that are more hands-on and they prefer to learn by doing. Tis new program speaks to that learning style by allowing our ProAdvisors to unlock benefts by doing business with clients," said Sanchez. I nt u it has a lso launched Qu ick- Books Online Advanced Certifcation, making it easy for both desktop and online users to get Advanced Certifed. A ll users, regardless of platform, can move from Silver to Gold by geting certifed for QuickBooks Online and advance to Diamond level by geting their QuickBooks Online Advanced Certifcation. While users now have a variety of ways to unlock benefts, the free listing in the "Find-a-ProAdvisor" d i r e c t o r y c a n o n l y b e u n l o c k e d through certifcation. As part of the re-launch, Intuit has also announced a special partnership with Bill.com. Trough the partner- ship, every ProAdvisor gets a compli- mentary corporate account. Tere are no fees to join, although users will still h ave to pay t ra n sac t ion fees , a nd accountants can add up to 50 users. ProAdvisors will also earn points for using Bill.com and making referrals to their clients that can be redeemed for cash, gif cards or charitable donations. "We are extremely excited about announcing our partnership w ith Bill.com. They solve a ver y mean- ingful need for our customers. As our frst big app partner, this represents our frst step into becoming a pro- g r a m t h a t 's a b o u t b e c o m i n g a Quick Books ecosystem, not just a product," said Sanchez. Other benef its ProAdv isors can enjoy include discount pricing on sev- eral products. Quick Books Online Payments functionality is now inte- grated into the redesigned QuickBooks Online Accountant. ProAdvisors can take advantage of this payments inte- gration without paying monthly fees, and receive the lowest rates available to any set of QuickBooks customers. Pro- Advisors can also offer Quick Books Online Payments services to their cli- ents at very favorable rates. ProAdvisors also receive 50 percent off monthly pricing or 66 percent of annual pricing on QuickBooks Licenses, previously known as Docstoc. Tis bundle enables business owners to open their busi- nesses the right way with simple and c u s t o m i z e d l i c e n s i n g g u i d a n c e . QuickBooks Self-Employed is a new product Intuit just launched, and as part of the new ProAdvisors Program, members get t he produc t for one- twelfh of its regular price. Instead of the $9.99 monthly subscription price, ProAdvisors can use it for themselves or ofer it to their clients for $9.99/year for the frst year. "We are reinventing the program a nd add i ng more on l i ne benef it s because we know that our clients want to drive growth and that growth has to take place online," said Sanchez. To help accountants prepare for the launch, Intuit ofered training in the weeks leading up to the release. From their website (accountant.intuit.com), accountants signed up for webinars that took place several times a week. "We really wanted to make sure we gave accountants enough time to learn the new program before its launch. We've been dedicated to doing what it takes to deliver a great product. Tis is one of the biggest pieces of news we shared at QuickBooks Connect, and we've seen a lot of excitement a nd media coverage and press following the announcement," said Sanchez. Quick Books Online Accountant w ith the new ProAdv isor Program launched in early December for U.S. users. Intuit plans to roll out new pro- grams in Canada, Australia, UK and India throughout 2015. Current users w i l l b e m i g r a t e d o v e r t i me , a nd QuickBooks ProAdvisors who serve desktop clients can purchase a Quick- Books desktop add-on to their mem- bersh ip, wh ich of fers Qu ick Book s desktop training, certifcation, support and sofware for an additional fee. "Our c ustomers have a sked for a bet ter experience and we're excited to be able to give them that," said Sanchez. F all proved to be a busy season for fnancial solutions maker Intuit. In October alone, they held their inaugural QuickBooks Connect Conference and announced a newly, redesigned QuickBooks Online Accountant product and a new, free QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program. Intuit's ProAdvisor Program Gets a Cloud-lift