Intuit Gives Boost To QuickBooks Enterprise Partners

Qualifying VARs and solution providers will get a 25 percent discount on product for resale as well as free software for their own use, training, marketing help and lead referrals, said Bill Lucchini, vice president of Intuit’s midmarket segment. Current QuickBooks ProAdvisor partners get a 15 percent discount.

The program, along with a new 20-seat version of QuickBooks Enterprise, took center stage at Intuit’s inaugural QuickBooks Enterprise User Conference in Phoenix last week.

Lucchini said Intuit, Mountain View, Calif., needs the solution provider program to ease migrations from rival accounting packages. “We’re getting a significant number of customers coming off [Sage Software’s] MAS/90 or other midmarket solutions and coming to us. … They need experts in the field to help them implement and train, convert their data,” Lucchini said. “We pride ourselves on ease of use, but when you come from other systems, you need help.”

Solution provider partner James Cliame agreed. “The win-win scenario is we provide them with a lower-cost solution and professional services,” said Cliame, president of Net Result, San Diego, a QuickBooks expert.

The new program could boost uptake of QuickBooks Enterprise, some solution providers said. “This product is different from [Intuit’s] off-the-shelf products and serves a different market. It will give us the tools to go against MAS/90 and Great Plains,” said Cliame.

MAS/90 is one of Sage’s accounting programs. Great Plains is a venerable small-business accounting package now going under the Microsoft Dynamics GP moniker.

For low-cost software like QuickBooks Enterprise, the resale margin is of secondary concern vs. billable hours, although getting some points on the sale of software that costs thousands of dollars is gravy, solution providers say.

The five-seat QuickBooks for Enterprise starts at $3,000; the 15-seat starts at $6,000. The new 20-seat edition will be $7,500 to new users and $6,750 as an upgrade. Cliame said the 20-seat SKU is of interest as accounts grow. “My customers are all over the map, but in general, they’re [companies with] 20 to 25 employees,” he said.