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Frustrated with QuickBooks? Here’s How to Make Your Voice Heard and Drive Real Change

Earmark Team · July 18, 2024 ·

Have you ever been frustrated by a clunky QuickBooks feature or wished for a simpler workflow? You’re not alone, and the good news is that Intuit is listening.

In a recent episode of the Unofficial QuickBooks Podcast, hosts Hector Garcia and Alicia Katz Pollock explain the crucial role feedback from accounting professionals plays in shaping QuickBooks’ development.

How Does User Feedback Drive QuickBooks Improvements?

Though it might not feel like it at times, Intuit is listening to user feedback and actively using it to guide improvements to the platform. As highlighted in the podcast, many of the most impactful recent updates to QuickBooks Online were direct responses to user requests and reports.

Take, for example, the new ability to filter reports by inactive accounts and custom fields. This powerful feature allows you to easily track down transactions that used now-defunct entities or slice your data by custom parameters, and it was a top ask from accounting professionals.

“Getting custom field data to flow through to reports properly is crucial for reporting accuracy,” Hector emphasizes. “Now you can filter by those custom fields. So, say you want to run a detailed report of sales by rep. If you have a rep in a custom field or sales by a particular regional location that you were tracking in custom fields instead of by class or location, you can now pull that up in reports.”

But it’s not just shiny new features that user feedback helps bring to life — it’s also the less glamorous but equally important bug fixes. Hector shares a recent win: “Have you ever been in a P&L, clicked on a drill down for a particular account, and then gone back to the P&L and the P&L doesn’t show complete—it’s filtered by the account you just drilled down to? I’m happy and excited to announce that this particular bug has been squashed. Now, when you go from summary to detail and back, it should show the report correctly.”

From strategic additions to crucial fixes, user feedback guides QuickBooks’ evolution. Alicia notes that she and Garcia each run Facebook groups with over 10,000 members where QuickBooks issues are often raised. Pain points and wish lists shared in forums are actionable intelligence that Intuit’s team is eager to mine. But how can you ensure your input is as impactful as possible?

How to Provide Feedback That Gets Results

Now that we’ve established the power of user feedback, how can you ensure your input stands out and drives real change? As Hector and Alicia discuss, crafting effective feedback is equal parts art and science.

First and foremost, specificity is king. Provide as much detail as possible when reporting a bug or suggesting a feature. The more context you give, the quicker the QuickBooks team can pinpoint and tackle the issue.

But persuasive feedback goes beyond just technical details. To make a compelling case, highlight your suggestion’s business impact and benefits.

Hector shares a recent real-life example of “retainage” for the construction industry: “What’s interesting about retainage specifically is there are some contracts in which you’re allowed to hold back money from your supplier. People always get tripped up on accounting for those holdbacks because it’s not a natural transaction. You have to build workflows outside of QuickBooks reminding you to manage it.”

If QuickBooks could remind you that you have money in retainage sitting there for months, it would eliminate confusion and mistakes for contractors and other businesses that have these types of clauses in their contracts. You want to share that kind of detail to build a persuasive argument for prioritizing this improvement.

Finally, provide input early and often. Participate in beta programs and user research initiatives to give feedback early in the development cycle. The sooner you flag issues or suggest tweaks, the more likely QuickBooks is to address them. Supercharge your feedback’s impact by combining specificity, business context, and proactive input.

Building Bridges: Forging Relationships with Intuit’s Team

One more way to maximize your influence: cultivate direct relationships with Intuit’s team.

Industry events and conferences are golden opportunities to connect with Intuit’s developers and product managers. These face-to-face interactions allow you to put a human face to your feedback and forge personal connections that can pay long-term dividends.

But your relationship-building efforts don’t have to end when the conference does. Consider volunteering for customer advisory boards and user groups to establish an ongoing dialogue. These longer-term connections provide a platform to share your experiences and suggestions, learn from your peers, and gain insights into Intuit’s priorities and plans.

Bonus: Expert Tips & Resources

In addition to unpacking strategies for driving QuickBooks change, Hector and Alicia share some of their favorite recent bug fixes and resources:

Grouped reports. Previously, when you grouped reports in QBO, you couldn’t edit the group to change the schedule. That’s now fixed, so you can group multiple reports, like the P&L, balance sheet, cash flow statement, etc., and schedule them to be emailed monthly or weekly.

Price rules. Price rules allow you to increase or decrease prices in bulk. For example, you can assign different prices to retail and wholesale customers or put all your prices on sale for a week. While QuickBooks worked on making price rules available on new invoices, the feature was unavailable on classic invoices for about a week. “Price rules are up and running again in classic invoices, and QuickBooks is actively working on getting them up and running in the new invoices,” Alicia shares.

Keyboard shortcuts. Hector shares handy shortcuts built into RightTool for QuickBooks Online for quickly accessing audit log histories (Ctrl+Alt+H) and transaction journals (Ctrl+Alt+Y) from an invoice, check, bill, or purchase order.

Educational resources. Alicia highlights her recent “Tricky Situations” and “Next Level Accounting” classes that cover complex QuickBooks use cases and advanced bookkeeping techniques. Hector also has a series of videos on his YouTube channel focused on QuickBooks for construction and project-based firms.

Find links to those resources and listen to the full episode of The Unofficial QuickBooks Podcast.

And congratulations to Hector and Alicia for hitting 50,000 downloads!

Alicia Katz Pollock’s Royalwise OWLS (On-Demand Web-based Learning Solutions) is the industry’s premier portal for top-notch QuickBooks Online training with CPE for accounting firms, bookkeepers, and small business owners. Visit Royalwise OWLS, where learning QBO is a HOOT!

Work Smarter, Not Harder: The 3.3 Rule for Accountants

Blake Oliver · July 14, 2024 ·

Want to 2x your productivity while working way less? Sounds like a pipe dream, right? According to CPA John Briggs, it’s not just possible – it’s the key to thriving in accounting.

I recently chatted with John on my Earmark Podcast, and he explained his game-changing “3.3 Rule.” This approach challenges the traditional 70-hour workweek and billable hours model that’s been burning out accountants for decades.

John says the 3.3 Rule is the secret sauce for boosting efficiency, reclaiming work-life balance, and improving profitability.

So, what exactly is this magical rule? And how can you implement it in your firm? Let’s dive in.

Understanding the 3.3 Rule

The 3.3 Rule is based on cognitive science research showing that the average office worker is only truly productive for—get this—2 hours and 53 minutes in a typical 8-hour workday.

John takes advantage of this natural productivity pattern by structuring work in focused bursts of up to three hours, followed by strategic recovery periods.

As John puts it, “The rule, simply stated, is the most efficient workday consists of working up to three hours at a time, followed by a 30% recovery period.” So, if you crush it for three hours straight, you’ve earned yourself a full hour of downtime before diving back in.

The beauty of the 3.3 Rule is that it adapts to different work styles:

🏃‍♂️ “Sprinters” who work in short, intense bursts (think 60 minutes of work, 20 minutes break)
🚶‍♂️ “Joggers” who can maintain focus for 1.5 to 2 hours
🧘‍♂️ “Zen masters” who can work for the entire three hours straight

The key is to know your rhythm and match your work style to the task at hand. As John says, “If I feel like I’m losing focus after an hour, that’s totally fine.” It’s all about working smarter, not harder.

Implementing the 3.3 Rule

So you’re sold on the 3.3 Rule. But how do you make it happen in your firm?

First things first: mindset shift. John emphasizes the importance of self-awareness. “If I feel like I’m losing focus after an hour, that’s totally fine,” he says. The key is to match your work style to the task at hand.

By implementing this methodology, John’s firm has maintained an average of just 42 hours per week during tax season for the past three years. You read that right – 42 hours. In busy season.

So, what’s the secret? Two words: value pricing.

John advocates for setting prices based on the value provided to clients, not the time spent. “I don’t necessarily think billable hours is actually a great way to bill in general. I like value pricing or fixed pricing,” he says.

Value pricing complements the 3.3 rule by:

💸 Allowing firms to benefit financially from increased productivity
🙅‍♂️ Removing the pressure to “look busy” during less productive hours
🎯 Focusing on outcomes for clients rather than inputs from accountants

But wait, you might be thinking – how do you measure productivity without billable hours?

John’s firm uses job descriptions and result-based metrics. For example, they might track the number of tax returns completed or the complexity of clients managed. They use a weighting system where complex clients are equivalent to multiple simple clients, ensuring fair workload distribution and accurate productivity measurement.

Implementing the 3.3 Rule isn’t always easy. It requires a fundamental shift in how we think about work. But the payoff? Happier staff, better work, and a healthier bottom line.

What Happened at John’s Firm

What’s it like to implement the 3.3 Rule? John shares his journey of transformation:

“When I started my firm, I said, ‘I refuse to put my team through the same crap that I had dealt with,’” he recalls. For John, that meant hiring more staff to ensure everyone could work at about 80% capacity, allowing room for those crucial recovery periods.

And the benefits? They go way beyond just happier employees (though that’s a huge win in my book!).

John notes, “When you work, you work.” Those focused work periods lead to higher productivity and fewer errors. Plus, this approach helps retain top talent in an industry where competition for skilled professionals is fierce.

The 3.3 Rule doesn’t just benefit your team – it benefits your clients, too. You’re delivering real value by focusing on outcomes rather than hours logged. And when you’re not stuck in the weeds of busy work, you have more bandwidth for the high-level strategy and advisory work clients crave.

Of course, implementing the 3.3 Rule isn’t always a cakewalk. John recalls, “When I introduced it to my team, they were weirded out. They’re like, ‘Is this a trick to get me fired because you’re going to catch me not working?'”

Leadership buy-in and clear communication are crucial to overcoming these challenges. You’ve got to walk the walk and lead by example.

The 3.3 Rule, combined with value pricing, offers a blueprint for firms to align their work practices with human cognitive limitations and client needs. By focusing on outcomes rather than hours worked, firms can achieve the holy trinity: increased productivity, improved work-life balance, and enhanced profitability.

It’s a win-win-win for accountants, their firms, and their clients. And in an industry long overdue for a shake-up, that’s something to get excited about.

Get all the details by listening to this episode of the Earmark Podcast.

The Horizon Scandal: How a Flawed IT System Shattered Lives and Eroded Public Trust

Earmark Team · July 14, 2024 ·

By: Greg Kyte, CPA

Picture this: You’re running a small post office in England, minding your own business, when suddenly you’re accused of stealing thousands of pounds. Your life savings? Gone. Your reputation? In shambles. Your freedom? Gone.

Now imagine this nightmare playing out for hundreds of innocent people over two decades, with a trusted national institution as the bad guy. Sounds like the plot of a dystopian novel, right? Nope. This is the very real, very messed up story of the Horizon IT scandal that rocked the UK Post Office and ruined countless lives.

On an episode of our podcast Oh My Fraud, my co-host Caleb Newquist and I dove headfirst into this shocking miscarriage of justice. A lot of people have said that the Horizon IT scandal is one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history. And remember, the British did colonization, slavery, and the Crusades. That should give you an idea of just how bad this whole situation was.

The Birth of a Digital Disaster

Let’s rewind to 1999. The UK Post Office, in all its infinite wisdom, decided to roll out a new accounting and inventory system called “Horizon.” The idea was to drag their paper-based branch accounting into the digital age. Sounds great on paper (pun absolutely intended), right? Well, not so much.

As Caleb said in the episode, “Almost immediately, subpostmasters started complaining that the Horizon system was shit. Specifically, it was falsely reporting accounting shortfalls, sometimes to the tune of thousands of pounds.” But here’s where things get really messed up. When these subpostmasters raised concerns, the Post Office basically told them to shut up and pay up because the system couldn’t possibly be wrong.

Spoiler alert: It was very, very wrong.

The Contract from Hell

Now, you might be thinking, “Okay, Greg, so there was a glitchy system. What’s the big deal?” Well, let me introduce you to the contract between the Post Office and these subpostmasters. Caleb read out a particularly chilling part during our podcast: “The operator shall be fully liable for any loss of, or damage to any Post Office cash and stock… Any deficiencies in stocks of products, and/or any resulting shortfall in the money payable to the Post Office Limited must be made good by the operator without delay.”

In plain English? If the system says you’re short, you better cough up the cash, even if you know you didn’t take a penny. It’s like playing Monopoly with a computer that always accuses you of stealing from the bank, and then your real-life savings gets wiped out because of it.

Lives in Ruins

The numbers here are staggering. Of about 11,000 subpostmasters in the UK, around 3,500 were affected by Horizon’s “oopsies.” Even worse, 900 of them were criminally prosecuted for theft and fraud. We’re talking about people’s lives being shattered here.

Take Seema Misra’s story. She became a subpostmistress in 2005, and right from day one, she knew something was fishy with the accounting. Despite selling her jewelry to cover Horizon’s phantom shortfalls, she was accused of stealing £74,000. In 2010, while pregnant with her second child, she was sentenced to 15 months in jail. She fainted when the verdict was read out. Can you imagine?

She was imprisoned in the largest female prison in the UK. Actually, it’s the largest female prison in all of Europe, where she was convinced her life was in danger, as was the life of her unborn baby. She was at rock bottom and said that the only thing keeping her from suicide was the fact that she was pregnant with her second child.

But Seema’s story, as horrific as it is, isn’t unique. Martin and Gina Griffiths paid over £100,000 to the Post Office to balance their books, wiping out their life savings. The Post Office’s response? They revoked the Griffiths’ status as subpostmasters. Martin, unable to bear the injustice, took his own life at 58.

Then there’s Peter Huxham, who was convicted of stealing £16,000. He believed the system was right and accused his wife, Jackie, of theft, ending their 22-year marriage. Peter spiraled into alcoholism and isolation. His body wasn’t found until weeks after his death.

The Fight for Justice

These stories are just the tip of the iceberg. But amidst all this darkness, one guy refused to roll over: Alan Bates. When his contract was terminated in 2003 over a £1,000 shortfall, he didn’t just get mad; he got even. He created a website to find other screwed-over subpostmasters, which grew into the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance.

Bates led a civil litigation against the Post Office, representing 555 subpostmasters. They won a £58 million settlement in 2019, but after legal fees, each person only got about £20,000. That’s peanuts compared to what they lost.

But here’s the awful part: By 2017, the Post Office knew that errors in the Horizon system or remote tampering could explain these losses. Yet they kept going after subpostmasters, insisting there was no explanation besides theft and fraud. That would mean that overnight, between 8% and 30% of all subpostmasters turned evil and started stealing money from the Post Office.

Those numbers don’t make sense.

The Aftermath and Lessons Learned

A public inquiry in 2021 has since shown that it was the Horizon system’s fault all along. But for many, justice has come too late. Over 60 affected subpostmasters have died waiting for justice, including four by suicide. The British government is now offering compensation, with some convicted subpostmasters potentially receiving up to £600,000. But as Caleb rightly noted, “No amount of money can truly compensate for the years of trauma, lost livelihoods, and shattered reputations.”

So, what can we learn from this colossal screw-up? First, blind faith in technology is dangerous, especially when it’s paired with an institution more interested in covering its ass than finding the truth. We need robust oversight, independent audits, and systems that listen when people say something’s wrong.

Secondly, never underestimate the power of people coming together to fight injustice. This whole mess might have stayed buried without Alan Bates and others like him.

Lastly, and this is something I can’t stress enough: We need to stay vigilant. How many other Horizon-like scandals might be happening right now, hidden from view? What can we do to prevent this kind of systemic failure in the future? And how do we ensure that when injustice happens, the victims’ voices are heard?

The Horizon IT scandal might have happened across the pond, but its lessons hit close to home. It’s a wake-up call for all of us to stay alert, demand accountability, and never be afraid to question authority – even when that authority is a trusted institution or a fancy computer system.

If you want to dive deeper into this wild story (and trust me, there’s a lot more to unpack), check out our full Oh My Fraud episode. Caleb and I break down all the nitty-gritty details, and I promise you’ll find yourself saying “Oh My Fraud!” more than once.

Remember, folks: Just because a computer says it’s right, doesn’t mean it is. Stay sharp, stay skeptical, and for goodness’ sake, if a system accuses you of stealing thousands of pounds, don’t just take its word for it. Learn from the Horizon scandal – sometimes, the real fraud is the system itself.

Can Intuit and Accountants Find Symbiosis in QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted?

Earmark Team · July 9, 2024 ·

In a recent episode of The Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast, hosts Hector Garcia and Alicia Katz Pollock delve into the implications of Intuit’s new $50/month QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted service. This move represents a significant shift in Intuit’s strategy, prioritizing direct revenue and control over its long-standing partnership with accounting professionals.

What is QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted?

QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted is an add-on service for QuickBooks Online users that provides on-demand support from QuickBooks-certified bookkeepers. For $50 per month, users can get assistance with how-to questions that require more bookkeeping expertise than standard phone support.

While QuickBooks Live virtual bookkeeping services has been around for a few years the new QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted marks a departure for Intuit in two key ways:

Aggressive marketing to all QuickBooks Online users, even those already working with an accountant.
Significantly lower pricing compared to typical bookkeeping rates.

The Shift in Intuit’s Strategy

This approach signals a clear change in Intuit’s strategy. Previously, the company had committed to not marketing QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping, a competing service, to accountants’ clients. By altering this promise and targeting QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted to all users, Intuit is demonstrating a new willingness to bypass accounting professionals and monetize QuickBooks users directly.

As Hector Garcia points out, “Intuit will market this to every single QuickBooks Online client, whether they have an accountant or not.” For many accountants, this feels like a betrayal, leading the accounting community to “make a much bigger deal and dissect and analyze” the implications and repercussions.

Impact on the ProAdvisor Community

QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping and Expert Assisted have both become a flashpoint in the broader debate about Intuit’s relationship with accountants and its long-term strategy. While Intuit frames it as a way to serve users better, some accountants see it as a direct threat to their livelihoods. The low $50/month pricing can potentially disrupt accountants’ business models and client relationships.

Hector speculates that Intuit may be taking a “gym membership” approach, hoping that many people will pay for the service but not fully utilize it. This could allow them to boost market share and gather valuable data even if QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted operates at a loss.

The Disruption of a Symbiotic Relationship

To understand why QuickBooks Live and Expert Assisted has sparked such intense controversy, it’s essential to understand the historical context of Intuit’s relationship with accountants:

The ProAdvisor Ecosystem: For decades, Intuit has nurtured a thriving ecosystem of accounting professionals (ProAdvisors) around its QuickBooks platform through training, certification, support, and community-building.
A Mutually Beneficial Partnership: This investment paid off as grateful ProAdvisors became QuickBooks’ most effective evangelists, recommending the platform to their clients and providing free support and training.
Cracks in the Foundation: Recent moves by Intuit, including QuickBooks Live, Expert Assisted, and the sunsetting of QuickBooks Desktop, have led many ProAdvisors to feel that their needs are being deprioritized in pursuit of short-term profits.

Collateral Damage: The QuickBooks Ecosystem at Risk

The fallout from Intuit’s strategic shift extends beyond its direct relationship with accountants. An entire ecosystem has emerged around QuickBooks, including app developers, trainers, and bookkeeping services. As Intuit pivots to direct monetization through offerings like QuickBooks Live, many in this ecosystem fear being caught in the crossfire.

Alicia uses the metaphor of a multi-legged stool to illustrate the risks. Just as a stool becomes unstable if you remove one of its legs, the QuickBooks ecosystem could falter if Intuit alienates the accountants, app developers, and other professionals integral to its success.

Seeking Symbiosis: Opportunities for Collaboration

Despite the tensions, Hector and Alicia see the potential for Intuit and accountants to find a mutually beneficial path forward with QuickBooks Live:

Include the ProAdvisor directory alongside the QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted sign-up, allowing users to find local accountants for more comprehensive services.
Provide referral credits to ProAdvisors who recommend QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted for basic support.
Leverage QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted as a resource for basic client questions, freeing accountants to focus on higher-value advisory services.

However, the success of this collaboration depends on Intuit delivering high-quality service with well-trained, knowledgeable support staff. If QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted consistently answers basic questions and provides reliable bookkeeping support, it could be a valuable tool for ProAdvisors to augment their services.

Navigating the New Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities

The introduction of QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted presents both challenges and opportunities for accounting professionals:

Addressing an Industry Pain Point: The accounting profession is facing a labor shortage. There are not enough bookkeepers and CPAs to serve the growing small business segment. This service provides a low-cost solution for micro-businesses and startups
Supervised real-world training: Fledgling and underutilized bookkeepers can gain hands-on training with professional oversight.
Differentiation: While QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted may provide instruction for basic tasks, it can’t replace the personalized, context-rich service that experienced accountants provide.
Upselling Opportunity: Accountants could incorporate QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted into their service offerings, potentially increasing their rates to cover the cost and using it as a first line of support.
Focus on High-Value Services: With basic Q&A support tasks potentially handled by QuickBooks Live, accountants can shift their focus to more complex advisory services that showcase their expertise.
Potential for Collaboration: If executed well, QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted could become a valuable tool in an accountant’s arsenal, allowing them to serve more clients efficiently.
Continuous Learning: The changing landscape underscores the importance of staying adaptable and continuously expanding one’s skill set to remain competitive.

As the accounting software ecosystem evolves, professionals who can navigate these changes and find innovative ways to add value will be best positioned to thrive. While QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted presents challenges, it also opens up new possibilities for those willing to adapt and leverage the service to their advantage.

To learn more, listen to the full episode of The Unofficial QuickBooks Podcast.

From Tax Updates to Yoga: The Surprising Evolution of Accounting Conferences

Earmark Team · July 8, 2024 ·

Imagine walking into an accounting conference and finding a yoga session next to a tax update seminar. Sound far-fetched? Welcome to the new world of accounting professional development.

In a recent Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast episode, hosts Hector Garcia and Alicia Katz Pollock discussed the transformative changes sweeping through accounting conferences. From the evolution of QuickBooks Connect to Intuit Connect to the emergence of niche events like Appy Camp, these industry gatherings are undergoing a radical makeover.

At the heart of this transformation is a simple yet powerful idea: modern accounting conferences are moving beyond technical skills to address the whole professional. They’re integrating topics like wellness and communication, reflecting a growing recognition of the multifaceted challenges faced by today’s accounting professionals.

The Rise of Specialized Conferences

Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all accounting conferences. Today’s professional gatherings are becoming increasingly specialized, catering to specific niches within the accounting world.

Take Scaling New Heights, for instance. This conference has become a cornerstone event for many QuickBooks-focused accounting professionals. As Alicia explains, “Scaling New Heights is one of the best conferences for really good tangible education in the sessions. And also the community is just huge and vibrant.” The conference offers deep dives into QuickBooks functionalities, advanced reporting techniques, and strategies for growing your accounting practice.

Specialization doesn’t stop there. Appy Hour Camp takes niche focusing to another level. This invite-only conference is specifically designed for educators in the accounting space. Alicia describes it as a place “trying to find up and coming trainers who need to kind of grow into their voice and stand in their confidence about what it is that they have to contribute to the world.” The conference fosters collaboration among trainers and even explores cutting-edge topics like the integration of AI in accounting education.

This trend towards specialization mirrors the broader changes in the accounting industry. As roles become more diverse and technology more complex, there’s a growing need for targeted, in-depth knowledge. These niche conferences are stepping up to meet that need, providing spaces for deep learning and community building.

Integrating Wellness and Personal Development

As accounting conferences evolve, they increasingly recognize that professional success requires more than technical expertise. Enter conferences like Bridging the Gap, which is pioneering the integration of wellness and personal development topics into the traditional conference format.

The origin of Bridging the Gap speaks volumes about its mission. As Hector explains, “Randy himself ten years ago had a stroke. And he blames the stroke on overwork, on stress, on all the things that plague our profession – bookkeeper, CPA, tax attorney or otherwise.” This experience led to a conference that blends technical accounting concepts with wellness topics, featuring unique offerings like yoga sessions, meditation workshops, and even massage rooms alongside traditional technical sessions.

This shift reflects a growing awareness of the accounting profession’s stress and mental health challenges. For QuickBooks professionals, managing multiple clients, keeping up with software updates, and ensuring accurate financial reporting can be overwhelming. By addressing these issues head-on, conferences like Bridging the Gap acknowledge that a healthy, balanced professional is ultimately more effective.

Adapting to Changing Technology and Industry Trends

As the accounting industry evolves, so too do its conferences. Perhaps no example illustrates this better than the transformation of QuickBooks Connect into Intuit Connect.

When QuickBooks Connect launched in 2014, it had a broad focus. As Hector recalls, “QuickBooks Connect was about the word connect, which was a play on words for multiple things. It was connecting small business with accountants… Connecting developers with accountants.” The conference served as a melting pot for stakeholders in the QuickBooks ecosystem, with sessions ranging from basic bookkeeping to advanced app integrations.

However, the conference has shifted to a more accounting-centric approach over time. In recent years, we have seen an increase in advanced technical sessions, discussions on advisory services, and workshops on leveraging QuickBooks data for business insights. This change reflects the growing complexity of the accounting profession and the evolving needs of QuickBooks professionals taking on more advisory roles.

The rebranding to Intuit Connect signals even broader changes. As Alicia speculates, this could indicate a move towards integrating Intuit’s other products, like Credit Karma and TurboTax, into the conference content. This shift mirrors the trend in the wider industry towards more integrated, comprehensive financial services.

Other conferences are also adapting to technological changes. For instance, Appy Camp is incorporating sessions on AI in accounting education, reflecting the growing importance of this technology in the field.

These changes in conference focus and content provide a window into the future of the accounting profession. They suggest a move towards more integrated services, increased specialization, and a growing emphasis on emerging technologies. For QuickBooks professionals, this means opportunities to expand your service offerings, deepen your technical expertise, and stay ahead of industry trends.

Your Next Step: Leveraging Modern Conferences for Professional Growth

The evolution of these conferences reflects the broader transformation of the accounting profession itself – from number crunchers to strategic advisors, from software users to technology integrators. By adapting to address the changing needs of accounting professionals, these conferences play a vital role in shaping the industry’s future.

From specialized gatherings like Scaling New Heights and Appy Camp to wellness-focused events like Bridging the Gap to the technology-driven evolution of Intuit Connect, these conferences are adapting to meet the multifaceted challenges faced by today’s accounting professionals.

The accounting profession is evolving rapidly, and staying connected with these trends through conference attendance can be a key factor in your professional success. These events offer invaluable opportunities to learn, network, and glimpse the future of our industry.

Ready to explore this transformation in more depth? Listen to the full episode of the Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast, and consider which of these innovative conferences might be your next game-changing professional development experience.