Unless you’ve been under a rock in the accounting profession, you know that Intuit—makers of some of the most widely used tax and accounting products on the U.S. market—has caused quite a stir within the profession in recent weeks, making some wonder where they stand with the software giant.
For quick review, a growing number of accountants that use of the company’s QuickBooks Online product have had to consider how to pass on rising costs of using the product, on top of where they stand with the company and its seemingly competing QuickBooks Live service. Then, more recently, Intuit began running national TV ads promoting its TurboTax Live service with the message of “break up with your accountant.”
This move, in turn, rankled many tax pros and national organizations such as the National Association of Enrolled Agents and the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP). In fact, the NATP’s dissatisfaction forced Intuit to agree to remove the TV ads altogether and their CEO, Sasan Goodarzi, to apologize to all attendees at its recent Intuit Connect event.
Historically, large software company moves have not always been met with agreement from their respective accountant “channels.” As such, it stands to reason that with the majority of the profession being small tax and accounting firms, there is concern over pricing and marketing that seemingly keeps them at arm’s length. Moreover, it has raised questions about their place in the ecosystem, which consists of some that have supported the company and its products for decades.
At the company’s now eponymous partner event, I was able to sit down with Intuit’s Director, Accountant Partnership and Strategy, Ted Callahan, to discuss his views on accountants’ role with the company, the profession’s future, and the Pro Advisor program in general.
Q: Given all that has transpired recently, I have to ask, where do we do from here?
Ted: If I look at the state of the accounting industry today, I do see an industry that is transforming itself out of necessity and other reasons. I then ask, ‘how do we take our platform strategy and help?’
We provide tools to help run their firms; how do we elevate what QBOA is and balance it with client needs and opportunities? If you then say, ‘let’s look workflow by workflow opportunities,’ that is what I lean into, specifically. The industry needs to see what is coming for them, not their jobs.
COVID elevated the need to evolve what bookkeeping is and how it’s done. Look at the features we built into the product and how we are better serving needs. The whole theme of partnership is that you have to look at how businesses grow and give accountants the opportunity to grow with them. If you think about our end-to-end, look at Mailchimp into Pro Connect. It is to serve the evolving needs of the businesses we are serving.
Q: How do you believe vendor-accountant relations improve?
Ted: We have a deep partnership with accountants. We work directly with them and trust is important. We made a deliberate move so that the community understands where we are going and why.
We always make sure we are starting with ‘why’ rather than ‘what.’ When the community understands intention, they are better at helping us understand the intention. I got feedback last year from some members that said, ‘I trust you, but can you get some non-accountant people to also discuss [the company’s] direction?’ and we are doing that.
Q: What are you hearing the loudest from Pro Advisors?
Ted: I’d say it’s that they’ve been skeptical on what we are up to and this year and feel different. Partnership is woven into everything we talk about. They feel we are leaning into the community more and the opportunity is that they are, by nature, a very focused crew on telling us to “prove it.”
We have to deliver on what we are talking about. They root for us to do the right thing and we are making a bigger case for partnership.
Q: How is the Pro Advisor Program evolving?
Ted: We are moving from a program that serves individuals to one that serves whole firms. We are looking at rule-based access and contracts we build in. There is firm consolidation going on here and as these firms grow, we need to provide the right training and discounts to go from individual needs to whole-business needs.
Vendors have often gotten it wrong [with partner programs]. They start with ‘what,’ and it needs to start with ‘why.’ We also have to figure out the right ways to stay and work with them.
Q: What do you feel is the biggest opportunity in the profession that is not being taken advantage of?
Ted: I’d say there are a few things. First off, there are more small businesses being formed and fewer individuals entering the [accounting] profession. We have also changed how we are learning. There’s new training for Level One and Level Two Pro Advisor. There’s more training on QBOA now as well on technical bookkeeping skills.
There’s a client console for key KPIs in one view of the client dashboard, where the accountant can be ready to meet with a client and have discussion on deliverables. ‘Advisory’ is played out, and we have to be careful of how we talk about it. We don’t even have the right mental models to see where technology will take us.
He gave you a bunch of double speak and never really gave any examples of how they are reacting to the small business market. Maybe they only want the big guys as clients and I should shop software for my small business clients to switch to. The AI platforms out there are gearing to replace data entry jobs where there are dozens of EE’s required. I focus on very small companies with little or no on staff bookkeeping/accounting personel.
Intuit has a lion’s share of the industry, yet they are persisting in changing the methods causing more fees due to suibscription based products. Many small and solo CPA s(me included) resent the loss of desk top usage (buy one and done every three years) versus annual subscriptons that cost more than 3x the program cost. CPAs are now looking for alternatives to QB. And BTW – very few CPAs like the online versions as much as the desktop.
Intuit’s responses seem to repetitively focus supposedly on “why” instead of on reality. Majority of accountants would/will dump Intuit when and if competitors comes up with an acceptable substitute. Intuit seems to duplicate the blind adherence to party (company) mantra instead of the realities of the small business and accounting world. Intuit is out of touch with the accounting profession and the small business accounting market. Think Harris and/or Biden learned a lesson on 11/05?
His answers rival any politician. I’ve seen nothing but a decrease in customer service in recent years. I don’t think Intuit cares what the accounting profession thinks. The giant increase in price has forced us accountants and small businesses to look for alternatives. The elimination of desktop for new customers is also very alarming.
Intuit’s positive relationships with accountants died with Brad Smith’s retirement. I respect that the climate has changed and there are far fewer qualified accountants in the market today. That said, Intuit is not offering us anything for accountants to be excited about either. The ever changing UI scaled to the DIY/unskilled accountant outweighs the efficiency of the product, all while raising prices and telling accountants that they’re overpriced. I have decided to migrate my subscriptions away from Intuit in anticipation of a shift away from accountants. I am a small player in the game (they probably get 20-25k of subscriptions from me annually). Chump change for the big guy. Intuit made a good move by adding QBO Ledger which is allowing me the same product for $10/mo – otherwise I’d be further gone. As an accountant, I want autonomy and partnership with my vendors. Side note: I don’t hate Intuit – they are working for their shareholders and that’s the key. They are a stellar marketing company. Their veins run deep. I simply feel my practice is at a level where can I can get what I need elsewhere.
This article does not in any way reflect the feeling of tax professionals and the accounting community. Intuit sales out of both sides of their mouth and they are actually alienating the accountants in private practice.
My clients want to be able to do their own input of bills and invoice their customers, and to be able to cut checks and apply checks like they use to. The online version they created is totally different and difficult for them to use that they are looking for me to install another bookkeeping system for them to use. I have been using QB for 25 years and find QB online very difficult to move around in and to get the client reports that use to be so easy to do. They have created a terrible replacement product and are going to lose a ton of business.
That conversation did nothing to address the obvious question. Why could they not leave the legacy product in place, and allow users to choose “these great new offerings”. If they were that great, we would eventually come to Intuit to use them. I believe it was out of a desire for more revenue.
You have caused many accountants and CPA’s to ask, what is alternative to QB. If we find it, we will drop intuit ASAP.
I don’t use any Intuit product, this company has no respect for the accounting profession.