Intuit Extends SMB Reach of QuickBooks Enterprise (
Page 1 of 2 )
Updated: Intuit moved higher into the small to midsize business market with the introduction of a new 20-seat license and a new channel promotion for its QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 6.0 accounting package.PHOENIX—Intuit continues to expand up-market through its QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 6.0 bookkeeping and financial management package for small and midsize businesses with the introduction of a 20-seat version and a channel marketing initiative.
The new 20-seat version allows Intuit to market its product to larger organizations that are looking to move from other long-established accounting and bookkeeping products, such as Microsofts Great Plains or Sage Softwares Peachtree package.
Intuit, of Mountain View, Calif., followed up on the QuickBooks Enterprise announcement with news that it is offering the QuickBooks Merchant Service to enable small businesses to accept credit card payments for online sales.
QuickBooks Merchant Service will allow small businesses to synchronize sales and customer data between their online stores and their QuickBooks sales records.
To support the service, Intuit is working with major Web commerce service providers, including Affinity Internet, eBays ProStores, GoDaddy.com, Homestead Technologies and WebSite Pros.
The integration between QuickBooks and online Web stores means business owners wont have to manually re-enter transaction data, according to company officials.
Instead, QuickBooks will automatically create real-time financial reports that track sales, credit card invoices and payments.
Intuit is offering QuickBooks Merchant Service for a one-time setup fee of $59.95 and a basic monthly fee of $17.95.
Web store services range from $6.99 to $249.95 per month based on what e-commerce provider and package the small business selects.
Intuit, of Mountain View, Calif., announced the new 20-seat QuickBooks package and the channel program May 31 at the companys first QuickBooks user conference here attended by about 750 of its 25,000 customers.
Lucchini said the company deliberately limited the attendance at this initial conference because it hasnt decided whether it wants to organize a large-scale user conference as an annual event.
Intuit, he noted, doesnt hold user conferences for its other two mass-market consumer products, TurboTax and the Quicken personal finance application, which are used by millions of users.
QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions is used by close to 400,000 users because multiple employees typically work with the package at each customer site, said Lucchini.
While QuickBooks hasnt yet grown to the same scale as these other two products, it is growing strongly with Intuit reporting that QuickBooks revenue is up 116 percent over the previous year.
Click here to read more about Intuits plans to push deeper into the small to midsize business market with QuickBooks Enterprise.
To further prime the sales pump, Intuit is initiating a reseller program in which "certified solution providers" will receive a 25 percent discount for the product along with training, lead referrals and free software for their own use, company officials said.
While QuickBooks will retain its laser focus on SMBs, there is no question that the package is being used by larger businesses as well, Lucchini said.
"When we first started QuickBooks, it was for very small businesses. These businesses have grown over time, and we have expanded to meet their needs," said Bill Lucchini, vice president of Intuits midmarket sector.
Next Page: Another trend.
Enterprise Applications 
