Intuit QuickBooks is focused on providing meaningful updates to its platform of products and services for small businesses and accounting professionals. Some recent updates from QuickBooks including invoicing enhancements for QuickBooks Payments, updates to QuickBooks Payroll and new Advisory Training services show how they are listening to their customers and identifying new ways to help them save time and put more money in their pockets.
QuickBooks Payments and Invoicing Enhancements
To help improve overall cash flow and the speed of payment through our products, we’ve recently rolled out a host of innovations to QuickBooks Invoice solution to deliver an even more intuitive, powerful and fast payment experience. As we continue to listen to all of our customers and expand the benefits QuickBooks Payments provides, we look forward to these enhancements helping our accounting partners evaluate clients' books in real time and empowering you as strategic, impactful advisors. Specific enhancements include:
Autopay and schedule pay:
Now, invoices sent on QuickBooks feature autopay and schedule pay functionality. Autopay allows a client’s customers to securely save their payment information and set up automatic payments for recurring invoices. Additionally, for single invoices, they’re given the option to schedule payment for a preferred date. This new functionality works for ACH and card transactions, and is available for clients who have QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payments accounts. To set up, business owners simply need to send their next recurring invoice or single invoice with QuickBooks Payments turned “on,” and they’re all set.
Estimates:
QuickBooks Payments is also updating the invoicing product experience to mirror the entire workflow of their interaction with a customer. Easy to craft at a desk or on the go, you can create a professional looking estimate in a few minutes. With the ability to save templates, build a library of favorites, and copy existing estimates and invoices seamlessly, you can save time starting new projects for your clients. With this new feature, QuickBooks Invoicing solution provides one seamless process that aligns with the lifecycle of the business relationship with a customer -- from getting an estimate approved, getting a deposit, and then being able to convert that estimate into an invoice for final payment -- simplifying how small businesses work. Once a customer accepts an estimate, QuickBooks automatically turns it into an invoice, taking work off of the business owner’s plate and helping them to get paid faster with the peace of mind of an upfront deposit, while getting a jump on cash flow.
These features will be rolling out to eligible QuickBooks Payments customers in the coming weeks. For information about the new invoicing enhancements, please visit Firm of the Future blog.
QuickBooks Online Payroll Updates
New this month, we’re introducing some exciting updates to QuickBooks Payroll, helping users save time and remain compliant, including:
Payroll for Firm-Billed clients:
With this update, accountants can now add and manage a standalone payroll option for firm-billed clients inside of QuickBooks Online Accountant. This provides more flexibility and the ability to grow. Payroll is now an option in the “Add Client” flow. This also allows existing clients to cancel QuickBooks Online and keep Payroll if they no longer need or use QuickBooks Online. With this new pricing structure, you’ll have the flexibility to accept new clients who might only want to run payroll. Additionally, if some of your payroll clients no longer need a QuickBooks Online subscription, you’ll still be able to run payroll for them. Payroll pricing for firm-billed clients will be available to all accountants at the end of June 2021. For additional information please visit: Firm of the Future blog.
Contractor Payments:
Soon, you’ll be able to tell your clients that paying a contractor is as easy as paying an employee. With this new feature, more small businesses can pay their contractors with same-day direct deposit convenience and complete 1099 e-filing at no additional cost. This can be a great way to introduce QuickBooks Online Payroll to some of your firm-billed clients who don’t have W-2 employees yet. This new Contractor Payments add-on will start rolling out soon and be available to most accountants by the summer. Once rolled out, Contractor Payments will now be available as a product option in the “Add Client” flow. You can add Contractor Payments to an existing QuickBooks Online subscription in QuickBooks Online Accountant. This new Contractor Payments add-on will start rolling out soon and be available to most accountants by the summer. Learn more here.
Payroll Tax Center:
Users can now view, track and complete their upcoming tax payments and filings all from the Payroll Tax Center. QuickBooks created a modernized experience to handle all outstanding payroll tax tasks. Simply, go to Clients, then Payroll and you’ll be able to identify key areas, at a glance, that need your attention. All payment and filing tasks will be clearly displayed with actionable statuses in two clear tables. Plus, you’ll be able to spot changes and discrepancies faster in clients’ accounts (e.g., auto payroll changes, past-due tax payments), so that they remain compliant.
Advisory Services Training
As a part of our ongoing commitment to help accountants grow their practices and scale their impact, we’ve introduced new self-paced Advisory Trainings through the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program. You can take your practice to the next level by going through this free, on-demand training series. Broken into several parts, the training is designed to help you develop the knowledge and skills to become an insightful advisor and better manage your clients’ business goals:
Part One - Framing Advisory Work:
The first part of the series outlines the basics of advisory service. It focuses on what advising is and how it differs from bookkeeping, consulting, and general accounting. You will learn how to ensure that your advisory work is truly proactive and how it brings the kind of additional value to your clients that they will pay for.
Part Two - Core of the Work:
The second part of the training takes a deep dive into the core of advising and how to optimize the chart of accounts. You’ll learn how to select core financial ratios and how to use them to advise your clients on their business’ performance. Additionally, the training highlights how to guide your clients through the forecasting and budgeting processes, as well as how to provide detailed cash flow forecasts.
Part Three - Optimize Your Work:
The final part of the training will help you take your advisory service to the next level and provide strategies for tailoring your work to meet the specific needs and goals of each of your clients. You’ll gain an understanding of how to choose the most useful KPIs for each client across different industries, as well as how to work in tangent with clients on determining what actions to take to improve the KPIs you are tracking.
The training consists of 15 hours of video content brought to you by industry thought leaders, including Hector Garcia, Geni Whitehouse, Laura Redmond, Helina Patience, and Heather Satterley. You can access the training, which qualifies for up to 14.5 hours of CPE credit from the ProAdvisor training tab on QuickBooks Online Accountant.