There are several changes at Intuit that impact at least some, if not all QuickBooks ProAdvisors.
ProAdvisor Profile Changes
Intuit
New QBO Adv. Certification Badge
If you haven't checked Your Profile on the Find a ProAdvisor website you may want to do so, you will see that all of the ProAdvisor Badges have been updated to the new style.
The new badges are all 'squares' as contrasted with the previous rectangles, and share a common color scheme (for the most part) with only slight color band distinctions for product differentiation.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like they did a very good job of aligning the new logo's into the existing information, they tend to look smashed and also overlap their descriptions on the site (at least in the 2 browsers I tried viewing them in.) I am hopeful that they may resolve this 'appearance' problem as they continue to work toward the redesign of the ProAdvisor website.
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2015 QuickBooks Certification
The QuickBooks 2015 ProAdvisor certification is now available in your certification center (formerly called course locker). Even though the test is now active, there are some 'issues' with the administration of the exam; at present there is a 48-hour delay in reflecting completions of the QuickBooks Desktop 2015 Certification Exam. Intuit apologizes for any inconvenience the delay may cause and is working to resolve the issue. This delay impacts:
- Your Find-a-ProAdvisor Profile which will be updated 48-hours after completion
- Your Completion Certificate for the exam will not appear until 48-hours after completion
- There may be a delay in unlocking access to the following certification exams: QuickBooks Desktop Advanced Certification,
- QuickBooks Point of Sale Certification, and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Certifications.
VERY IMPORTANT: You must use the latest version of Internet Explorer (11) or Chrome when taking the QuickBooks Desktop 2015 Certification Training and Exam.
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New QuickBooks Online Accountant
Intuit will start rolling out the 'newest' version of QuickBooks Online Accountant which was announced at QuickBooks Connect. All new accountants (and ProAdvisors) signing up for QBO-Accountant will immediately be configured to use the new version. Over the next few months existing users of QBO-Accountant will be phased into the new product; but you will also be able continue working in your current version until your transition date. If you want to learn more about the new QBO-Accountant, you can find out about free training here.
One note, if you have ever had your own QBO subscription in addition to your QBO-Accountant subscription, you will need to contact QBO support to assist you in transitioning your QBO subscription to the 'free' My Books subscription that is provided with the new QBO-Accountant. If you used the MyCompany version of QBO with your existing QBO-Accountant for your own company, that data will be moved to the "My Books" tab in the new QBO-Accountant, but if you used the MyCompany as a 'demo only' file, that file will be available on the Client Dashboard of the new QBO-Accountant.
The New QBO-Accountant product contains an instant link to your ProAdvisor account in the ProAdvisor Center, this link is accessible from the "ProAdvisor" tab on the left-hand navigation bar. It will take you to all the familiar content of the ProAdvisor website including access to training, course locker, certification page, membership levels, ProAdvisor profile and more.
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QuickBooks Online Price Changes
Intuit is 'lowering' the cost of QuickBooks Online subscriptions as of December 3, 2014. The new price schedule is shown below in comparison to the pre-12/3/2014. Intuit's goal with the new pricing is to make QBO more affordable to more clients. Please note these are what Intuit refers to as "everyday" prices, in other words what could be considered as MSRP, they may continue to offer 'sale prices' from time to time just as they did over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Existing QBO Clients will start to see the new prices reflected in their January 2015 billings.
New QBO Pricing
For QBO-Accountant users offering the Wholesale Billing Option
If you currently offer 'wholesale billing' to your QBO clients, those clients will be moved to the new low price as soon as YOU are moved to the new QBO-Accountant version. Once you are moved to the new version, your existing 50% savings will be recomputed based upon the new lower prices, and you will also have the option to add any of your clients who use Online Payroll to the wholesale pricing option.