QuickBooks-Blog

Intuit Stock Dives, Xero Stock Soars

When Intuit stock dives back to where it was TWO years ago (not even keeping pace with the Dow), while Xero stock soars almost 500%, the market is telling us what to expect in company product excellence and related growth.

That is why even QuickBooks insiders like me have been dumping Intuit products for Xero and Drake Software (pro tax). It also is why you should consider doing this.

When Intuit stock dives and Xero stock soars, the market is reflecting a 120% a year increase in Xero customers, while QuickBooks Desktop keeps losing users. When Xero soares this fast, a QuickBooks and Xero user like me can get $300 for a one-hour discussion of the companies with an investment advisor. When Xero stock soars this fast the company must try to explain the increase. It could not do so, so Xero stock soars still more. When Xero stock soars 250%, in ONE YEAR, compared to Intuit, you really should explain why you are not using or investing in Xero:

Intuit stock recently had the biggest one-day drop since March 2003, due to a drop in expected consumer tax returns received. It fell 12.5% in a day, after dropping up to 13.5%. Three analysts cut ratings, after returns received through April 12 fell 2% this year. Intuit expects this to increase 4% for the year, but previously said this division (which creates about 45% of operating income) would grow 10%. In the fiscal third quarter, when Intuit earns about half its annual revenue. It now expects about $2.80 a share, down from $2.88 a share. CEO Brad Smith said, "This was a tough tax season overall."

Yes, it was tough, but not for everyone. I recently saw this when we had our free monthly South Florida QuickBooks Meetup. I co-founded the oldest and second largest QuickBooks Meetup, with Brad's help. However, I learned that none of us still used Intuit pro tax products (Lacerte and ProSeries/Proline) and few still use TurboTax. After hearing that soe Intuit tax support calls took more than an hour on hold, vs 15 minutes for UltraTax, I strongly suggested Drake Software. Their far better support, with no second person referrals, takes less than 9 seconds on hold ALL YEAR. They even did this on the Saturday evening before April 15 and at noon on April 15.

For $1,500, ($1095 in May, 2013) Drake has the fastest program, unlimited support, unlimited e-filing and unlimited users, with document management, multiple computers, networking and much more. They even have links from your website, to a $10 and $20 consumer tax programs, which pay 80% commission. Compare that to these approximate costs:

    Intuit ProSeries – Proline $4,500 (several years ago)
    UltraTax $6,000
    Intuit Lacerte $7,500

That is why the 2012 CPA Advisor Reader's Choice Awards gave Drake a 42% rating, vs 13% and 12% ratings for Lacerte and ProSeries. It also means Brad should have many more tough seasons.

 

Get TurboTax Data Back, Get QuickBooks Online Data Back, Contact Intuit

This excellent How to get TurboTax data back article and my post show you how to Get TurboTax Data Back, Get QuickBooks Online Data Back and even how to Contact Intuit.

Author Robert Mitchell found out that blogging about why he needed his TurboTax Online data back was how to Get TurboTax Data Back (repeated for search engines). Long time TurboTax VP Bob Meighan saw the Get TurboTax Data Back article and quickly got back the data. Bob said, "Personally I am strongly in favor of providing the data file when customers download the PDF. It's just a matter of convincing everyone else."

TurboTax Online should give you old source files for next year rollover of depreciation details, which are often in such files but not in tax returns. You also want this if you have original and amenddnext year rollovered returns, but the original is better for rollover. Besides, TurboTax desktop lets you do that. Not having  source files access in TurboTax Online shows that online and desktop products are offend very different.

Robert's article reminded me that Get TurboTax Data Back was really a primer on Get QuickBooks Online Data Back and Contact Intuit. You may really need to know how to Get QuickBooks Online Data Back if you or a client discontinues QuickBooks Online for a while and later need QuickBooks data detail for bank, Internal Revenue or other purposes.

You may not succeed right away in your Get TurboTax Data Back, Get QuickBooks Online Data Back or other Contact Intuit efforts, but it often helps. Intuit may not always succeed in keeping customers happy, but it help to have that as one of its major goals.

You do not need a popular blog to do this. All you need is one barely hidden insider secret for your Contact Intuit efforts. The first part of the Contact Intuit secret is this Intuit Executive Profiles page. It shows who is in charge of everything. Now for the really simple Intuit secret on Get TurboTax Data Back, Get QuickBooks Online Data Back and other Contact Intuit efforts:

Intuit email addresses!

The Intuit email addresses are generally simple:

FirstName_LastName@intuit.com

For example, the email address of TurboTax VP Bob Meighan (not on the Executive Profile list) is:

Bob_Meighan@intuit.com

It also helps to associate some Intuit executives with related products. For example, Dan Maurer, Consumer Group, includes TurboTax and Jill Ward, Accounting Professionals Division includes QuickBooks and its QuickBooks ProAdvisors. So good luck with your Get TurboTax Data Back, Get QuickBooks Online Data Back and other Contact Intuit efforts.

My Contact Intuit efforts began when I answered 7,000 mainly QuickBooks questions before Intuit had much of a web presence. The accelerated when I won two consecutive QuickBooks beta tests by wide margins. I needed Intuit help to answer some questions and to help those who did not get appropriate support from Intuit. That made me repeatedly email formet CEO Steve Bennet and many of his top assistants, including Brad_Smith@Intuit.com (now Intuit's CEO). This often resulted in very fast and helpful email exchanges, especially with Brad. For more on this see BestQuickBooksCPA.com

I actually succeeded so that that Brad personall assigned me my own Intuit liaison (John_Yarno@Intuit.com). Brad did in a long phone call, on learning that he was becoming Intuit CEO, two years after I told him I expected it. However, this resulted in a breakdown of the relationships I had with many Intuit friends, including Brad.

Most Important QuickBooks Preferences: Open Window List, Desktop View

The most important QuickBooks Preferences are the easiest to use.

One click lets you instantly switch between several different QuickBooks windows, forever. It also lets you instantly see when you have more open windows than you need. Extra open windows are the fastest way to slow down QuickBooks, especially if you make the mistake of opening the previous set of open windows when you start. Many QuickBooks professionals, like me, consider these the most important QuickBooks preferences.

To keep your QuicklBpooks windows list open forever, for all clients, simply go to the main View Menu and choose Open Windows List. To avoid the long wait that often occur when open QuickBooks after closing it with many open windows, go to the main Edit, Preferences menu and choose Desktop view. Then click on My Preferencs, Multiple Windows and Don't Save the Desktop. To close too many open windows quickly, go to the main Window menu and Close All. 

Combining these most important QuickBooks Preferences (Open Windows List, and Desktop View) will make a big differences in how fast your work gets done. 

QuickBooks - Undeposited Funds

Some say that your Undeposited Funds account should always be zero. This is an overly absolute statement.

In QuickBooks 2013, you can start by changing your top menu Edit, Preferences, Payments Company Preferences, to Use Undeposited Funds as a default deposit account. You can then receive customer payemts today and not deposit them until tomorrow or later. However, this account should be zero after you make this deposit. 

 

QuickBooks Online Starting Over

Is QuickBooks Online really starting over?

Yes, I actually can prove that Intuit already decided to start over with QuickBooks Online. Intuit may deny that QuickBooks Online is starting over, but here is how you can quickly find out the truth about many secrets like whether QuickBooks Online is starting over.

Companies often accidentally reveal their secrets in their help wanted ads. However, this Intuit ad is especially good at showing that QuickBooks Online is starting over:

Senior Design Manager, QuickBooks Online

As the Design Manager for QuickBooks Online, you will be responsible for REINVENTING (emphasis added) the core user experience, MANAGE A TEAM OF DESIGNERS making QuickBooks Online simpler and more innovative . You'll partner with development, product management, and marketing partners to identify user needs, develop testing strategy and deliver design solutions... Experience working with fortune 500 companies ... disruptive design improvements... turn your ingenious ideads into reality.

Therefore, a new outsider (no accounting experience needed) will:

1. Reinvent the core QuickBooks Online user experience.
2. Manage all Quickbooks Online designers
3. Make QuickBooks Online simpler and more innovative 
4. Identify QuickBooks Online user needs, develop tests
5. Deliver design solutions and disruptive improvements to QBO
6. Turn ingenious ideas QuickBooks Online into reality

That sure sounds to me like QuickBooks Online is starting over. Of course, many of Intuit's best friends (like me, according to Intuit's CEO when he came to Intuit) spent years begging for this and for more accountant focus. It is too bad that many, including the former Intuit QuickBooks ProAdvisor manager, already gave up on Intuit. However, we increatingly found that there was far more innovation and accountant focus at Xero.

After all, if you must start over anyway, you may as well use the fastest, easiest, safest (see 15 Reasons Why QuickBooks is the Worst Place for Your Data), least expensive and most automatic accounting software.