Top 10 ProAdvisor Nominations
The term, "Third time is the charm," comes to mind in that after three times of using the exhaustive process of the past, we have learned a few lessons that may help streamline things a bit this year.
As always, the process begins with your nominations. You can nominate yourself and, as many other QuickBooks ProAdvisors as you feel are worthy of consideration. After we close nominations, you'll be advised about the receipt of your nomination and the timeline for formal application submission.
Let me stop right here and remind you: You cannot be considered for this award if you're not a currently "Certified" QuickBooks ProAdvisor. We use Intuit's definition for that.
So, you must either hold a current QuickBooks Online certification, since they're valid for only a 365-day period or, you must have earned a QuickBooks Desktop certification within any one of the three most current certification years. In other words – 2017, 2016 or 2015.
A word to the wise: There is only one person you can count on to nominate you for this award, and that is yourself.
Nominees must then complete their formal applications to continue on in the process. In the past, we have required all nominees to complete the standard (and quite lengthy) application to proceed.
But this is where some of the streamlining has come into play this year.
New for this year – if you have been in our Top 100 in either 2016 or 2015, you'll have the option to complete a very short, "Update Application," which is designed to give us the latest details regarding your certifications, clients and other key other factors.
These factors will be used to update your highest score from the prior two applications for use in this year's scoring process.
This year's nominees who have not been in the Top 100 during 2016 or 2015, as well as any nominee eligible for the short update application, but who chooses not to take that option, will need to complete our regular (lengthy) "Full Application" in order to proceed.
At the close of the Application process, all nominees having completed either the "update" or "regular" applications will be advised as to the remaining steps and time line associated with the selection process.
You cannot even be considered if you're not nominated, so we encourage "self-nominations." Let's face it – nobody knows you as well as yourself.
If you garner 1,000 other nominations from your colleagues, that's great. But please don't get left out just because someone else didn't nominate you.
And let me add one other thing here that I was recently asked about. Some people think if their practice is solely QuickBooks Online based or that they only have QBO ProAdvisor certifications that they can't compete.
That just isn't so.
Each year we recognize a Top QBO advisor within our top 10 categorical winners, because each Category stands on its own merits. So don't rule yourself out just because you're a QBO Only ProAdvisor and didn't nominate yourself.
Best of luck to all of you. Out of the 150,000-plus QuickBooks ProAdvisors in the world, I'm once again looking forward to meeting the "Best of the Best" in 2017.