You can apply for the 2025 U.S. ProAdvisor Awards HERE or nominate a U.S. ProAdvisor HERE.
Insightful Accountant encourages all Certified ProAdvisors to participate in the 2025 ProAdvisor Awards, which will be launched soon. We have an average growth rate of around twenty percent, representing individuals who have never before participated. We also know that we have an average turnover rate of around ten percent representing ProAdvisors who withdraw from the process in any given year for some reason. Many of those individuals "chime back in" in a subsequent year.
Nevertheless, with this type of turnover and new participation, we must provide some "pre-launch guidance" for the upcoming year. Over the past many years, I have written more than one hundred articles about the process and significant areas of 'questioning' to be found in the formal application form. However, with this year's process starting less than one month after naming the ProAdvisor of the Year, I haven't had the opportunity to write an exhaustive series on these aspects of the program.
As such, I wanted to publish two articles this week that provide key points so you can prepare for the start of the process.
For 2025, we will have two separate and distinct formal applications. One application will be only for United States applicants, and the other will be for all International (everywhere except the United States) applicants.
This article only concerns information contained in the United States application. Insightful Accountant will publish another article later this week regarding information in the International (all except the U.S.) applications.
The U.S. awards process and the formal application are based on various categories related to ProAdvisor practice. While some traits apply to all such categories, many formal application questions address specific criteria for each unique category. Your practice as a ProAdvisor may or may not fit one or more award categories.
Once you affirm that you are a U.S. ProAdvisor, you will be asked to provide your 'Application Date.' This date is important because it drives many 'date-specific events' within the application form.
We recommend you 'change this date' when you select the "Save and Continue (later)" option. The reason is simple: if you start and date your application on the first date possible, there could be items you will not even have the option of answering if you had waited two months. But if you return to your application and update 'the application date,' any new events between those two dates will automatically become available for your review and answer.
General Information Inquiries
Basic applicant information comes next… such as name, address, and other contact information. We then allow you to request information from our various sponsors, who make these arrangements.
Minimum Criteria: Active Client Practice and Current ProAdvisor Certification
Page 5 begins the applicant's eligibility for the minimum criteria. Applicants must have an active client practice with one or more QuickBooks clients. Years prior, this experience had to be with QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop. This year, QuickBooks Ledger has been "added to the mix," permitting applicants working as a firm member to use QB-Ledger.
U.S. ProAdvisors must also possess at least one of three ProAdvisor certifications that must have been received (or renewed) on or after June 30, 2023. To satisfy this requirement, ProAdvisors must upload a copy of their "most current" certificate.
Insightful Accountant accepts QuickBooks Online (Core) ProAdvisor Certification, QuickBooks Online (Advanced) ProAdvisor Certification, or QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor Certification. One is required; however, substantial additional scoring points are awarded for each additional certification you hold.
Professional Stature
U.S. Applicants who completed a 2024 Application form can use the information they provided in that application for their 2025 Application regarding their 'Professional Stature.' This area covers formal education, professional credentials, related U.S. memberships, and other accounting organizations they belong to.
If your information has remained the same since your 2024 application, you can toggle the 'skip this page' option; otherwise, you should complete this page.
Practice Performance
We want to know about 'your' ProAdvisor practice, not the practice or firm you work for. How many years have you been in practice? How long have you been a ProAdvisor? When were you first certified in Q.B. Online or QuickBooks Desktop (as applicable)?
Is your ProAdvisor Profile published, and various information about your profile, including if you participate in the 'Free Consultation' option, the number of 'Stars' in your profile, the number of 'reviews,' etc?
A vital aspect of this page is your self-assessment of your ProAdvisor Practice Categorization. We want to know which categories' primarily describe' your practice, 'is a secondary priority,' or 'is not part of your practice at all.' The categories are:
- General QuickBooks Online Practice
- Up-n-comer (relatively new to QB ProAdvisorship – less than seven years)
- QBO-Advanced Mid-market Specialist
- QBO 'App-ologist' specializing in 3rd-party QBO Apps
- General QuickBooks Desktop Practice
- QuickBooks-Enterprise Large-business Specialist
- QuickBooks Desktop 3rd-party Product Integration Specialist
- Payroll Specialist using QuickBooks Payroll Products
- QuickBooks Educator/Trainer/Writer/Author
- QuickBooks Niche (Highly Specialized) Practitioner
- Client Accounting Services/Business Process Outsourcing Provider
- Tax Specialist/Advisor using QuickBooks Tax Products
- QuickBooks Evangelist/Social-media-mogul
Unless you tell us that a specific category is not related to your QuickBooks practice (at all), you are likely to see questions within the rest of the application form that are directly related to each of these categories; however, in some instances, you may 'opt-out,' and in making such an election, you give up your right to be ranked for standing within that award category.
Practice Dynamics
We need to know how your practice is focused. Are you primarily 'accounting or bookkeeping' focused, do you work primarily with one or just a few different business or industry types (like construction, hospitality, manufacturers, professional services, etc.), or is your practice primarily focused on the QuickBooks' software' itself (installation, maintenance, integrations, etc.).
We will also ask you to provide us with the approximate percentages of your work and the type of services you provide.
Practice Priorities
These questions are data metrics used to identify our applicant's practices concerning current and future priorities, where you think the profession is headed, what you will focus on during the upcoming year, and how you interact with social media.
ProAdvisor Training Opportunities
This section has had significant revision this year. Rather than give you list after list of events that take your time to respond yes or no, we will let you tell us if you went to conferences and conventions, participated in virtual events, attended recurring webinars, or attended live or self-paced short-term courses.
You provide the details of what you took, when, and how many credits (CPE/ CE, etc.) you earned. We will include some Intuit Training options (like Q.B. recertification training) in the applicable list to reduce input time.
Additional ProAdvisor Certifications
You will have the opportunity to tell us about other current ProAdvisor Certifications and your ProAdvisor Certification history. This section can earn you valuable points that will help distinguish you from other ProAdvisors who have just met the minimum requirements.
ProAdvisor Categorical Award-related Inquiries
The following pages/sections/questions directly relate to the ProAdvisor Award categories.
Automatic Selection or Deselection for Specific Categories
Various screening questions are asked in the above sections to determine if you are automatically selected or deselected for questions (pages) related to specific ProAdvisor categories. If you are selected for a section and do not believe your practice is related to that category, you may opt out of that section (on a section-by-section basis.)
On the other hand, if you feel that you have mistakenly been 'deselected' from a specific category, you should carefully go back and examine each question you answered (from the sections, pages, and categories listed above) and try to determine if you failed to provide an answer that would 'select you' for a category.
For example, if you report that you are not involved in Education/Trainer/Writer/Author in the question posed about the various QuickBooks ProAdvisor categories, it is doubtful that you will see the Page (questions) related to that category turned on for you to answer. If you taught webinars or classes at an event (etc.) and feel you should be considered for that category, you would change your prior answer and report that category as primary or secondary emphasis in your practice.
QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor Inquiry
This page allows you to bolster your score in all the QBO-related categories by providing information about your QBO ProAdvisor practice. You may 'opt-out' of this category if you do not support QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Online clients.
QuickBooks Online Advanced Mid-market Specialist Inquiry
This page bolsters your score when actively supporting QuickBooks Online Advanced and QBO Advanced clients. You may 'opt out of this category if you do not support QuickBooks Online Advanced or QuickBooks Online Advanced clients.
Please note that you will be asked the number of QBO Advanced clients you support and the percentage those clients represent of your ProAdvisor practice. You must provide the number of clients for the related business/industry types Intuit defines as target mid-market clients for QBO-Advanced.
In addition, you should be ready to answer the percentage of your QBO-Advanced clients using each of the unique features/functions that differentiate it from other QBO products.
QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor Inquiry
This page bolsters your point score for all applicable categories by providing information about your QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor Practice. You may 'opt-out' of this category if you do not support QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Desktop clients.
QuickBooks Enterprise Large Business Specialists
This page bolsters your point score for all applicable categories by providing information about your QuickBooks Enterprise ProAdvisor Practice. You may 'opt-out' of this category if you do not support QuickBooks Enterprise or QuickBooks Enterprise, clients.
Be aware that you will be asked the number of QuickBooks Enterprise clients you support and the percentage those clients represent of your ProAdvisor practice. You must provide the number of clients you support using each of the four QuickBooks Enterprise Product versions (Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond).
In addition, you will be asked the percentage of your QuickBooks Enterprise clients using each of the unique features/functions QuickBooks Enterprise offers and which differentiates it from other QuickBooks Desktop products.
Intuit QuickBooks Tax Practitioner
This page bolsters your point score for applicable categories (or sub-categories) by providing information about your Intuit QuickBooks Tax Practitioner. You may 'opt out' of this category if you do not support Intuit Tax Products or provide tax services to QuickBooks Clients using Intuit Tax Products.
This page also allows you to provide information about your 'tax training' from Intuit and other tax resources, including the Internal Revenue Service. Again, our approach has changed this year; rather than list the hundreds of tax training events that occur over a calendar year, we will allow you to 'write in' those you participated in (live, virtual, self-paced, etc.).
Client Accounting Services ProAdvisor Practitioner
This page bolsters your point score for applicable categories (or sub-categories) by providing information about your QuickBooks-based Client Accounting Services / Business Process Outsourcing ProAdvisor Practice. You may 'opt out' of this category if you do not provide these services as part of your ProAdvisor practice.
QuickBooks Niche (Highly Specialized) ProAdvisor Practice
This page bolsters your point score for applicable categories (or sub-categories) by providing information about your QuickBooks-based Niche (Highly Specialized) Practice. You may 'opt out' of this category if you do not have a 'highly-specialized/niche' ProAdvisor practice.
Be aware you will be asked to identify your primary niche and any sub-specialization that makes up your QuickBooks Practice. You should be ready to provide information about what qualifies you to provide such specialized services and the number (or percentage) of your practice's clients associated with this specialization.
QuickBooks Payroll / Human Relations ProAdvisor Practice
This page bolsters your point score for applicable categories (or sub-categories) by providing information about your QuickBooks-based Payroll/H.R. Practice. You may 'opt out' of this category if you do not provide these services as part of your ProAdvisor practice.
QuickBooks Educator/Trainer/Writer/Author
This page bolsters your point score for applicable categories (sub-categories) by providing information about your QuickBooks Educator (Trainer/Writer) ProAdvisor Practice. You may 'opt out' of this category if you do not have a QuickBooks Educator/Trainer/Writer/Authorship ProAdvisor practice.
Be aware that you will be asked to provide information about the number of 'hours' of QuickBooks training you taught to 'professionals' (ProAdvisors, Accountants, Bookkeepers). You will also be asked to provide information about the number of 'hours' of QuickBooks training you taught to QuickBooks users.
If you are a writer/author, you will be asked to provide information about the 'number of pages' of instructional content you authored/wrote for professionals or users.
QuickBooks Social Media Mogul/Evangelist
This page bolsters your point score for applicable categories (sub-categories) by providing information about your QuickBooks Social Media/Evangelist ProAdvisor Practice. You may 'opt out' of this category if you do not have a QuickBooks Social Media/Evangelist ProAdvisor practice.
You will be asked questions about your social media presence, including the hours of content you produced and the number of followers (social media users who follow you) for various social media channels.
QuickBooks Ecosystem Activities
This page bolsters your point score for all applicable categories by providing information about your engagement with the QuickBooks Ecosystem as part of your ProAdvisor Practice. The primary emphasis is on your specific interactions related to apps and 3rd-party software that works or integrates with QuickBooks.
You may opt out of this category if you do not use or support any 3rd-party Apps or 3rd-party Software that works or integrates with QuickBooks (QBO or QBD).
Note that you will be asked a series of questions designed to measure data metrics related to our applicant's practices in the analysis and selection of 3rd-party apps or software, as well as current technological trends impacting the ecosystem.
You will then be asked to provide details regarding your interactions with a group of highly popular or highest-ranked apps and software; however, you will also have the opportunity to enter your own preferred apps/software for several specific category types (A/P, A/R, time-keeping, etc.) and provide information about how you interact with those apps.
Be aware this section has the most significant number of possible points associated with it. You should avoid skipping this section, even if you need to 'Save and Continue' (later) to provide as much applicable information as possible.
Summary
Hopefully, this article has given you the knowledge to prepare to join Insightful Accountant's 2025 applicants for the U.S. ProAdvisor Awards.
Be looking for a similar article regarding the 2025 International ProAdvisor Awards later this week.
Thanks to our continuing sponsors (shown below) for this upcoming year.
