The QuickBooks Team Blog

Google and QuickBooks - One nice review....

QuickBooks and Google. What is the press saying?

If you have questions about the Yahoo and Google partnership, participate in the discussion:

Learning QuickBooks

Learning QuickBooks? I will be the first to admit that our products are a bit complex. So, we are looking at introducing some additional QuickBooks Tutorial videos. If you want to see the current ones on the site, check out them out.

We know we need to add more so you can have a better understanding of things like C=342, backing up, etc. So, let me know if there are any specific tutorials you need us to add. We will also be fleshing out some of our key industries, such as bookeeping. We need your help in determine what we need to do with these too.

So don't be shy. Let us know. And let us know what you don't like. :  )
- QuickBooksGuy

Spinash and getting what you want

Spinash is top of mind right now. Users are blogging about it quite a lot. And everyone (well at least in my generation) grew up with Popeye.

I'm Popeye the sailor man
Popeye the sailor man
I'm strong to the finish 'cause I eats me spinach
                     I'm Popeye the sailor man

Since we might not be able to get our (inner and physical) strenght from old reliable sources such as Spinash, it might be necessary to tap new resources ---  So even though we might want spinash even more these days (this usually happens when someone tells you that you can't have what you want.. ....and you know that you can't always get what you need), it is important to lean on your business partners, friends, family and Small Business associations for support. It is also important to tap government funded resources to find out what is going on. Or are you the type that doesn't believe our government sometimes?

By the way. Since we should all be thinking about wrapping up our 2006 financials for our accountants, it might be worth taking a few minutes and reflecting on a discussion Popeye had with a tax man:

The Tax Man: You just docked?
Popeye: I has.
The Tax Man: Ah ha, let's see here, that'll be 25¢ docking tax.
Popeye: What for?
The Tax Man: Where's your sea craft?
Popeye: It ain't no sea craft, it's me dinghy and it's under the wharf.
The Tax Man: Ah ha. ahh-ha. This your goods?
Popeye: They is.
The Tax Man: Yeah. You're new in town right?
Popeye: If you call this a town, yes.
The Tax Man: Well, first of all, there's 17¢ new-in-town tax, and there's 45¢ rowboat-under-the-wharf tax, and one dollar leaving-your-junk-lying-around-the-wharf tax, so all together, you owe the Commodore $1.87.
Popeye: Uh, who's this Commodore?
The Tax Man: Is that the nature of question? There's a nickel question tax.

a Step Up for you guys

There seems to be lots of interesting buzz on the Web about the Google deal. But a lot of folks are missing the other partnership. In fact, it's an acquisition. Intuit acquired a little company called StepUp Commerce, Inc.

StepUp will power the new and exicting QuickBooks Listing Service, which helps Small Businesses get placement on (and their images up loaded to) services such as Google's Froogle.

As you can see, we are trying to help our customers build their own businesses. And after listening to them, it is clear that 'getting new customers' is one of their biggest pain points. Boy can I relate to this. When I had my bookstore I constantly thought about how to drive foot traffic into the store. I tried newspaper ads (those are slowly becoming extinct), flyers, discounts, home delivery (not pizza, just books), etc. And that was a few years ago. Now you have Google -- and everyone is going to Google first to find something. I know that Froogle still has a ways to go, but it's getting there..

70% of local customers (the youz and Iz) are using the Internet to find products and services. They are doing price comparison shopping, doing research etc. (such as seeing what other stores are in the hood)

Intuit and Google -- Someting special for Small Biz'

     Could be a marriage made in heaven, eh?

Google and Intuit have teamed up and the Intuit campus is buzz'n about the good news for all the obvious reasons... but most important, it provides some nice little services for our customers, Small Businesses. I am most excited about the Google DeskTop Search.

I love that product -- Google DeskTop saves me at least several times a day, when my manager asks me about an email that was sent 6 months ago. With the Google integrations QuickBooks users will have the option to have Google Desktop search their QuickBooks product OR search the QuickBooks Product and their desktop.

It will be easier for Small Businesses to get their product and services listed on Google Maps as well... and create ad campaigns using Google AdWords.

Ironically, Google and Intuit are just across the street from each other in Mountain View. It's about time we 'did something together.' I am sure we will both learn a lot from each other with this venture.

Below, you can find some of the highlights.

Google Services in QuickBooks 2007: Google Marketing Tools and Google Desktop are easily accessible via the QuickBooks Home page

Google Marketing Tools for QuickBooks:  Small businesses can use QuickBooks to market themselves online by listing their businesses on Google Maps, creating and managing advertising campaigns with Google AdWords and posting their products for sale on Google through Google Base – a free product listing service.

QuickBooks Search Powered by Google Desktop:With Google Desktop, users will be able to quickly find customer, vendor or financial information anywhere within QuickBooks or on their desktop.

More good updates to follow!

I am at the national Small Business Development Conference today ---- so, it will be interesting to hear what they have to say about all of this.

Take a moment

It is 9/11 today.
I am a native New Yorker.
Need I say more. Please take a few moments and reflect on the day.

Beam me up Scotty

It is Star Trek's 40th Anniversary.

So, just a reminder -- when you are developing your enterprise, approach your business as if you are going where no man (or woman for that matter) has gone before.

May your company Live Long and Prosper

Where does all the time go?

     At Intuit, they coach us on focusing on the critical few. And as every small business knows, the biggest challenge is finding the time to build the firm. Whether it is because you have another job or not. Here are some related findings to the Wall Street Journal's Start Up Journal:

 

·     More than 35% of one-person firms say that the toughest part is their inability to focus on generating more business, according to a survey by Score, a nonprofit group of entrepreneurial counselors, and Visa USA

·     And 27% say that stretching themselves across multiple work roles and projects is what they find the most difficult in their nonemployee businesses

      Of the 1,000 owners polled, 52% say that with the help of an additional worker, finding new business would become a personal priority, while 32% say they would also spend more time evaluating and addressing the areas where their businesses needed the most improvement, and 26% say they would take up the activities they are most passionate about.

Yes, where does all the time go? And is it better to just do it yourself or to hire a helping hand. In some cases, it just feels better to just do it yourself, eh?