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.
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!