Have you ever heard of people who study actuarial science? They love statistics. So do the students of biostatistics. What you probably didn't know is that I have studied both.
I know what you want to ask me, "Murph, are you a glutton for punishment?"
Maybe that was true once, but today, I just like to know what the numbers tell me.
One of the things I like best about the new survey tool we are using for this year’s Formal Application for Top 100/ProAdvisor of the Year is the quality of analytics it provides—even as the data is being gathered from applicants.
So while I am not going to give away any numbers, I will say that from a statistically pure standpoint, they are interesting.
Of those already completing their formal applications:
- 44% are first-time applicants
- 96% have their Find A ProAdvisor Profile published
- 69% participated in the Free ProAdvisor Consultation offering
- 91% perform Bookkeeping services
- 61% provide Payroll services
- 56% perform Business Analytics & Forecasting
In addition, applicants are highly diverse in terms of their client base:
- A significant number support construction and trade clients
- About the same number support manufacturing and fabrication clients
- A large number support not-for-profit entities of all types
- About the same number support retail and wholesale, including ecommerce
- A vast majority described themselves as supporting other business types
Other interesting tidbits include:
- 65% hold the ‘Elite’ tier as QuickBooks ProAdvisors
- 43% are sole practitioners
- 42% are in firms of two to five practitioners
- 62% describe themselves as ProAdvisors supporting both QuickBooks Online (QBO) and QuickBooks Desktop (QBD)
- 76% report that QBO makes up 70% or more of their practice, with QBD represents 30% or less of their practice
The vast majority of applicants describe themselves in terms of their QuickBooks practice as it relates directly to our award categories in this manner:
- 65% QBO general practitioners
- 25% QBO Advanced mid-market specialists
- 38% QBD general practitioners
- 24% QB Enterprise large business specialists
- 30% QB Point-of-Sale retail specialists
- 29% ecommerce specialists
- 31% payroll specialists
- 19% QBD Integration (app) specialists
- 19% QBO Appologists
- 27% educators/writers
- 32% client accounting/business outsourcing providers
- 14% social media evangelists
- 32% niche practitioners
- 35% international practitioners
Of the current US applicants:
- 80% hold current QBO (Core) ProAdvisor Certification
- 67% hold current QBO Advanced ProAdvisor Certification
- 73% hold current QB Desktop ProAdvisor Certification
- 27% hold the new QBO Payroll Certification
Of the current International applicants:
- 71% hold current QBO (Core) ProAdvisor Certification
- 66% hold current QBO Advanced ProAdvisor Certification
- 25% hold QuickBooks Online International Certification for Accountants
Here are some other interesting nuggets:
- Up-n-Coming ProAdvisors tell us their No. 1 priority in the upcoming year is to "expand their advisory services."
- International ProAdvisors completing their applications report having used 60%, collectively, of the 60 third-party apps we selected to get an idea of how apps are used in today's practices.
- At least 69% of the 75 third-party apps selected for the Domestic ProAdvisor app analysis have been reported thus far as being used in one capacity or another.
So, like I said, these are some interesting numbers. Now it is time for those of you who have only partially gone through your application form to get back to work. Finish it so your numbers can get added to these truly fascinating statistics.
And for those of you qualified applicants who haven't even started yet, let's get rolling. I want some cool graphs and pie charts to show the next time.
Speaking of pie, I think I'll grab a slice of apple right now.
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