QuickBooks Connect 2023 Recap

Gather 'round, accounting aficionados! Intuit, the grand maestro behind QuickBooks, TurboTax, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp, has descended from the financial heavens to grace us with their 10th QuickBooks Connect extravaganza. It's a sold-out spectacle in Las Vegas, where over 2,500 bean counters and financial wizards are about to witness innovations that will undoubtedly change the way we pretend to enjoy crunching numbers for small businesses.

Seamless

The new "buzzword" of the conference is "Seamless." It's the new "amazing" for the Intuit marketing team. As you review the Intuit/QuickBooks websites, You will see a lot of these features using this term, but as an accounting professional, you are the seamstress of small business owners, and you know where all the seams are, and how many stitches are needed.

QuickBooks Ledger:

Enter the QuickBooks Ledger – a cost-effective marvel specially crafted for accountants dealing with the thrilling world of basic accounting needs. With features like automated bank feeds, financial statements, and 1099 tracking, it's like a rollercoaster for accountants who crave the excitement of standardized platforms. Coming soon to Canada, the UK, and Australia because the world desperately needs more standardized accounting experiences.

It's important to note that the target audience of this product is the full charge bookkeeper who is still using QuickBooks desktop to manage their client files who are relatively low transactions or a non-entity division. Real Estate investment, pass through entities are a good fit. The feature set is centered around managing expenses. There is not invoice module meaning no customers, estimates, invoices, products or services, or sales tax. The client "can" have access to it, but I really couldn't see a need for it without any revenue options. It is a sub-Simple Start version so as far as reporting and features, that is where you are starting from.

Migration can be made from QB Desktop to Ledger, but you cannot (as of today November 20) downgrade an existing subscription from Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, or Advanced to QB Ledger. You can however upgrade Ledger to these version.

Low Cost - The cost of QB Ledger is $10 a month, but is currently only available as a firm billed option. So this is an "accountant only" version of QBO.

Look for a new course soon spotlighting the specific functions of QB Ledger from us real soon!!

QuickBooks Online Accountant Improvements:

Hold onto your calculators! QuickBooks Online Accountant (QBOA) is getting a facelift, offering accountants more customizable roles and permissions. Because who wouldn't want to limit access to the thrilling world of banking, sales, and expense data? And forget about the creativity drain – now you can use ready-made templates for chart of accounts. The improved client onboarding experience is a game-changer – because adding clients and connecting payroll and time tracking is the stuff dreams are made of.

New QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program:

Cue the confetti for the revamped QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program! Now with pre-written email campaigns and templates for client relationship management. Because, let's be honest, who has time to craft original emails when the template world is at our fingertips? And let's not overlook the premium customer support extended to Gold ProAdvisors – because nothing screams "premium" like an extended phone call wait time.

This was "announced on the final day without any details so we really couldn't dissect the details, but according to Intuit's Firm of the Future Articles, here are the highlights:

• Refreshed Badges that spotlight your work with our brand and your expertise. All ProAdvisors will now have access to refreshed badges, designed to increase engagement and recognition. Existing badges have been redesigned in partnership with accountants, and the introduction of community and knowledge badges.
• App recommendations, spotlit by your peers so you know you can trust them—accessible to all ProAdvisors, starting with construction apps and expanding to other verticals.
• Best in market pricing for Mailchimp just for you, increasing from 15% to a whopping 75%, and available to all ProAdvisors!
• For tax experts, we're incorporating generous discounts on our tax products.
• Access to email templates supporting communication with clients, the Find-a-ProAdvisor directory, premium support, and many more benefits available to Gold tier-and-above ProAdvisors.
• Elite ProAdvisors can now schedule time with a dedicated firm growth consultant to support their business expansion and strategic vision. In addition, Elite ProAdvisors can expect a new, annually changing benefit that includes exclusive events, sweepstakes and contests, unique experiences, and even event discounts.

FAQ's and other Resources:

We know you have questions, they have an FAQ Article to help answer those burning questions.

Here is are all the details of the New ProAdvisor Program

QuickBooks Online Ecosystem Improvements:

In the grand finale, QuickBooks Online Advanced takes center stage, offering flexibility for growing businesses. With expanded role-based access controls, custom reports, and a fixed asset module, it's almost as if they've cracked the code to running a successful business – in 2023, no less. The roles are enhanced to allow greater permissions such as create, edit, delete, and print on a transaction basis.

QuickBooks Payroll:

Hold your laughter – QuickBooks Online Payroll is now the go-to solution for streamlined team management. Enjoy the perks of an HR hub, payroll cost allocation, and a fancy new partnership with Allstate Health Solutions. Because nothing says "efficiency" like managing employee benefits through your trusty accounting software.\

Payroll Job Costing:

One note worthy addition which did get a smattering of applause is the ability to assign classes and projects to earnings items (much like you can in QB desktop payroll). Part of the "QBO doesn't do job costing" complaint is that when you are doing payroll in your QBO, you really can't get a good handle on employee job costs because you could not assign classes and projects per earnings items, which then QB would proportionately allocate the other additions, deductions, and company contributions proportionately across those classes and jobs. It remains to be seen how this actually works, but this is definately a step in the right direction.

QuickBooks Online E-commerce Innovations:

And for the pièce de résistance, QuickBooks introduces e-commerce innovations to help small businesses manage inventory across multiple sales channels. Because who needs pen and paper when you can sync sales channels and identify growth opportunities with the click of a mouse? There wasn't anything new delivered here from last year, so it remains to be seen what the timeline of the rollout of these features. I did have Kat join us to discuss these features in detail on a recent QB Power Hour Webinar. Click Here to watch the replay

In conclusion, let's raise our calculators to Intuit for revolutionizing the way accountants and small businesses navigate the financial maze. Here's to eagerly awaiting the next conference where they unveil more features we never knew we desperately needed – cheers!