Google And Intuit Strike Alliance, Develop Links Between G Suite And QuickBooks Online

Accounting and financial management software maker Intuit has struck an alliance with Google through which the two companies will integrate their cloud applications to make them easier for small businesses to use.

Google and Intuit are collaborating to integrate Google's G Suite, previously known as Google Apps for Work, and Intuit's popular QuickBooks Online cloud accounting software.

The companies have already built links between Google Calendar and QuickBooks Online in a way that will allow QuickBooks Online users to schedule billable client work and appointments within Google Calendar, a link that will make invoicing customers and managing finances easier for small businesses.

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Without such integration, business managers have to manually enter in QuickBooks activities in their Google Calendar for billing and financial management tasks, the companies said.

"Our data indicates that 56 percent of QuickBooks customers are using Google Calendar to book appointments, schedule meetings and track client work," said Vinay Pai, vice president and head of the Intuit developer group, in a statement. "By bringing our technologies together, we will create important efficiencies between two solutions customers are already using."

Intuit, in a statement, said its "2016 Application of Small Business Study" found that small business owners look for such integrations when deciding what applications to use to run their businesses. Such links, Intuit said, saves time, eliminates errors and improves overall productivity.

Intuit and Google also said that customers can now sign up for QuickBooks Online through Google's G Suite Marketplace and use new single sign-on capabilities, allowing customers to sign in and manage their QuickBooks information from their Google account.

Intuit is a significant player in the channel, relying heavily on resellers to carry its on-premises applications such as Intuit QuickBooks and Intuit Payroll Solutions.

Under the vendor's QuickBooks Online Distribution Partner Program, solution providers co-develop solutions around the cloud application set and are paid for subscriber referrals. The alliance with Google could make QuickBooks Online more attractive for small businesses and create new opportunities for solution providers.

Google Calendar for QuickBooks is now available as a public beta in the U.S. and a private beta in Canada, Australia and the U.K.

The announced alliance comes just before the start of the QuickBooks Annual Conference in San Jose next week where Intuit plans to demonstrate the calendaring integration.