Intuit Sets New Integration with QuickBooks Online Accountant

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Vendor Corner

Intuit research shows that full-time and part-time freelance workers have grown from 6 percent of the workforce in 1989 to 34 percent today. These numbers are expected to make up 43 percent of the workforce by 2020.

So Intuit has been reaching out to the hundreds of thousands of self-employed workers who really should be using something more than an envelope or shoebox to track their Schedule C business ventures. 

The tool of choice for many of these individuals is QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE). 

QBSE automatically can track tax-deductible mileage using a mobile app. It also can connect to banks, credit companies and mint accounts to load work-related transactions with ease. QBSE then makes it easier to categorize transactions as business, personal or split. The use of rules makes it possible to categorize things like Schedule C expenses and home-office costs.

But even though QBSE helps self-employed workers prepare for Quarterly Tax Estimate payments based upon their income and expenses, these Schedule C taxpayers need a trusted advisor who can help and guide them in their new business ventures. 

When I was first introduced to QuickBooks Self-Employed – shortly before the product's release – I asked the development team if QBSE would be able to link to QuickBooks Online Accountant like other QuickBooks Online user accounts.

When I explained that QBSE users need an accountant, bookkeeper or ProAdvisor just as much, if not more, than other QBO users, I could see the wheels spinning in their minds.

You see, accounting professionals who serve Schedule C clients spend a disproportionate amount of time identifying and organizing their finances, separating their personal from business expenses in order to prepare their tax returns.

And while QBSE can help their users get organized, segregate business from personal expenses and even help them pay their quarterly tax estimates, it doesn't take the place of a trusted advisor.

Well, now it meet the needs of accountants and self-employed workers, as Intuit seamlessly is integrating QuickBooks Self-Employed and QuickBooks Online Accountant. Not only does this integration benefit the full-time and part-time freelance workers by linking them to a trusted advisor who can provide strategic advice to ensure their long-term success, it also presents a huge opportunity for professionals to serve a client base that's currently underserved by the accounting industry.

With the QuickBooks Online Accountant integration, QuickBooks Self-Employed users invite their accounting professional to access their account inside the self-employed product.

The QuickBooks Online Accountant – QuickBooks Self-Employed integration team also is working on the process, whereby QBOA accounting users actually could begin the process by setting up new clients as QuickBooks Self-Employed users. The exact date for that future integration presently is unknown, but I would suspect it would be sometime within the next several months.

Once the accountant has accepted the new QuickBooks Self-Employed client's invitation, the QBSE user will see the accountant's information on their homepage (see the red box below).

At the same time, the accountants will see their new QuickBooks Self-Employed clients listed on their QuickBooks Online Accountant dashboard.

Via the client dashboard, accountants with one click are able to go directly into their clients’ books, manage them and ensure they're accurate and correctly prepared, especially for tax time.  

Accountants also will have access to an accountant toolbox, which includes quick navigation to key reports, uncategorized transactions, the quarterly and annual taxes tab, the rules management page, and a guide inclusive of tips for the accountant and resources for their clients.

“I love the integration between QuickBooks Online Accountant and QuickBooks Self-Employed," said Mariette F. Martinez, EA. "It provides a seamless, collaborative client workflow that accountants can count on and definitely saves me time by eliminating the extra step of logging into a separate portal. The accountant-specific toolbox helps me better manage my clients’ books throughout the year and gets us both ready for tax time. And my clients love QuickBooks Self-Employed because of the automatic mileage tracking feature and how easy it is to identify business expenses. QuickBooks Self-Employed is redefining how my clients are taking ownership of their business finances. I am now excited and looking forward to preparing their books and taxes come tax time.” 

Are you ready to expand your practice to countless numbers of self-employed workers in need of your help?

If so, then QuickBooks Online Accountant is your avenue for success. To learn more about the QBOA integration with QuickBooks Self-Employed, visit https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants/self-employed.