A few months back Intuit announced the 20 finalists for their Firm of the Future contest, today at the opening session of the QuickBooks Connect conference being held at the San Jose Convention Center, they announced the 3 top winners of the contest.
In 3rd place was Ingrid Edstrom's Polymath Bookkeeping, LLC of Ashland, Oregon. They provide bookkeeping and payroll services centered around QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Online Payroll. In fact 95% of their clients are using QBO. They offer a variety of 'video based' tips and how-to instruction, making use of social media to 'stay in contact' with clients and potential new clients. Even their 'puppets' have their own 'social media channels' so they can interact with than fan followers.
This year's 2nd place winner is EKS&H LLLP, a nationally recognized professional services firm providing audit, tax, technology, and business consulting services to public and private clients locally, nationally, and internationally. The company's missions statement reads: "We are driven by a passion for our culture, people, and clients. We strive to help business owners and executives reach their goals by delivering proactive, innovative, and comprehensive solutions. As a firm, we are committed to the success and satisfaction of our clients..." Because they are a multi-location firm, they rely heavily on 'the cloud' for not only communicating and sharing data between staff, but also in opening up the lines of communication with all their clients no matter where they maybe located.
The 2015 winner is Two Roads of Knoxville, Tennessee, which uses the best accounting technologies to ensure their partners’ (clients) long-term success. Two Roads is a cloud based bookkeeping company that specializes in relieving the burden of bookkeeping and taxes so that small businesses are free to pursue their greatest passions.
Chad Ridner of Two Roads told the QuickBooks Connect audience that the contest provided a form of validation for what they were doing different 'from the traditional guys'. Every client Two Roads has is in the cloud with all but two using QuickBooks Online, the other two clients are running QuickBooks 'desktop' in a hosted environment.
By embracing modern bookkeeping, Two Roads has reshaped the way their small business 'partners' manage their company financials. In presenting the award, Jim McGinnis, Vice President, Intuit Small Business Group, Accountant Segment, said, “Two Roads exemplifies what it takes to be the winner in our search for the top Firms of the Future in the United States. Their laser-sharp focus on becoming a trusted advisor to their small business clients is evident. Their success also is inspiring for other firms that want to leave compliance behind and embrace online technologies that help deliver value-added services to their clients. We salute their forward-thinking model and ideal business days.”
Insightful Accountant would like to congratulate this years three 'top winners', and encourage you, our readers, to consider participating in Intuit's 2016 Firm of the Future Contest. We think all of our readers are 'winners' and there is nothing we would love to see better than you, and your firm, being next years "Firm of the Future.'