Intuit will be announcing during today’s QuickBooks Connect kick-off of the Accounting Track their newly re-imagined QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program to benefit ProAdvisor members around the world. The new program will make it easier for accounting professionals to grow their business and meet the needs of the more than 705,000 QuickBooks Online users around the world.
Intuit - the New QuickBooks Online Accountant
Client Dashboard 1
View what needs attention via alerts, to-dos and recent activities.
The new QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program is centered around and built into the new QuickBooks Online Accountant, also being introduced today, and allows ProAdvisors to unlock additional benefits by passing certification exams or working with QuickBooks Online clients. New benefits include the QuickBooks Online Advanced Certification (being instructed for the first time ever here at QuickBooks Connect) and free access to a Bill.com corporate account.
Programs Combine to form One Global Program with More Benefits
Beginning in December 2014, the current QuickBooks ProAdvisor and Cloud ProAdvisor programs will combine to become one new global QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program. This new program will also help ProAdvisors and their firms earn more online benefits than previously available, including free online products, training, certifications, support and discounts - everything accounting professionals need to support the clients that rely on them. One new benefit, exclusively for ProAdvisors, provides free access to a Bill.com corporate account with up to three users – a $1,700 annual value. ProAdvisors will also be able to earn points by using Bill.com and making referrals to their clients, points they can redeem for cash, gift cards or charitable donations from Intuit.
Luis Sanchez, Leader, ProAdvisor Program, Intuit
“The online benefits of the reimagined QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program are massive for accounting professionals,” said Luis Sanchez, director of the Worldwide QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program at Intuit. “We listened to member feedback and looked at accounting industry trends globally. The result is the creation of a program that provides benefits most requested by members while also fulfilling the mission of the program itself: to help ProAdvisors grow their practices and meet the needs of their clients.”
Members can Unlock Benefits via two routes: Certifications and Clients
The new QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program will have the same three membership levels that exist today, Silver, Gold and Diamond, but members will have new ways to enjoy greater benefits by advancing to higher membership levels. In addition to ProAdvisors being able to move up member levels by passing QuickBooks certification exams, they will now be able to graduate to a new higher level based on the number of QuickBooks Online clients their firm serves. Only Certified ProAdvisors, however, can be listed on the Find-a-ProAdvisor website, an online directory that receives more than 600,000 visits a year by small businesses looking for help from a QuickBooks expert.
- Silver level: No certification required, or 0 to 4 QBO Clients
- Gold level: Any QuickBooks certification, or 5 to 19 QBO Clients
- Diamond level: Any Advanced QuickBooks certification, or 20 or more QBO Clients
New QuickBooks Online Advanced Certification and New Badges
Education will remain at the core of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program. In Fiscal Year 2014, QuickBooks Online certifications grew by 250 percent worldwide. As a result, the ProAdvisor Program will now offer QuickBooks Online Advanced Certification, a brand new certification that helps accounting professionals further distinguish themselves from their peers and attract new QuickBooks Online clients. For the first time ever, ProAdvisors interested in serving their growing number of online clients can reach the Diamond membership level and enjoy all its benefits, including premium technical support. The new QuickBooks Online Advanced Certification will help ProAdvisors better serve online clients and gain access to more program benefits.
Additionally, a new set of ProAdvisor certification badges will be available for Certified ProAdvisors to use in marketing materials, including business cards, websites and brochures starting in early December.
Built Into the New QuickBooks Online Accountant
As of December 2014, the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program will be accessible directly from the new QuickBooks Online Accountant, doing away with the need for a different username and password to access ProAdvisor member information and benefits. Key elements of the ProAdvisor Program experience within the new QuickBooks Online Accountant include:
- ProAdvisor Dashboard: View ProAdvisor information including member level, number of QuickBooks Online Clients and certification status to quickly understand necessary actions to move to the next level.
- Training and Certification: Improve expertise through a comprehensive QuickBooks training program. ProAdvisors are able to choose from more than 70 optional QuickBooks training courses to expand their knowledge and to prepare and take certification exams.
- Online Directory Profile: Sign up for, view, edit and publish their Find-a-ProAdvisor directory profile.
- Resources: Leverage marketing documents, templates and other resources to help accountants grow their practice.
Pricing and Availability
The new QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program will be “free” for all accounting professionals to join starting in December 2014. Accounting professionals still serving QuickBooks desktop clients, will still be able to obtain QuickBooks desktop software, desktop certifications and desktop support for an additional fee of $549 per year.
Editor's note: Much of this article was reprinted from an Intuit press release issued on Monday 10/20 at QuickBooks Connect; we were not able to garner additional details prior to publication, but felt the information news worthy of our readers.