In a changing and challenging working environment, Intuit Ireland offers Irish accountants and SMEs a cloud-based solution to their problems.
In June 2020, global financial platform company Intuit launched QuickBooks in Ireland. QuickBooks is the world’s largest accounting platform, serving seven million customers globally. Intuit has 14,200 employees worldwide, twenty offices in nine countries and generated $9.6 billion in 2021.
Intuit Ireland, having successfully introduced QuickBooks in Ireland, is now looking forward to moving on to the next stage of development, which will see it build its engagement with Irish accountants and SMEs.
“We are the brand leader, and we invest heavily,” says Paddy Carr, Senior Partner Account Manager Ireland at Intuit Ireland. “Last year, we invested $1.5 billion in research and development. We take everything our clients tell us they need and feed it to our development team. We have the power of a well-funded, multi-national corporation behind us, and we take our global expertise and develop solutions locally for our Irish customers.”
What makes QuickBooks an attractive proposition for Irish accountants is that it offers an end-to-end, cloud-based online accounting platform which helps enhance their payment management, payroll and tax return systems, says Carr.
“We have built-in bank feeds, integrated with all Irish banks. We have also brought in new features like receipt capture, which allows SMEs to collect their clients’ invoices, receipts and invoices using mobile phone apps and email, enabling real-time data sharing between clients and their accountants,” he says.
According to Carr, regular communication with their customers is a vital part of Intuit’s business model.
“We talk to our customers regularly, and that enables us to understand their pain points and challenges. A great example of this is our localisation of Irish VAT. We have a fully compliant Irish version of QuickBooks. When you buy QuickBooks Online Accountant, it defaults to Irish VAT,” he says.
Ireland’s reputation as a tech-forward nation makes the country an ideal fit for a global operation like Intuit, says Carr.
“Irish SMEs and accountants have seen the advantages of adapting to cloud-based accounting systems to help drive efficiency and productivity. QuickBooks provides real-time data to help them make informed decisions. When we decided to come to Ireland, we knew there was a massive market for our products with forward-thinking SMEs and accountants,” he says.
Intuit Ireland also offers local support to accountants using QuickBooks and has a strong community network allowing accounting peers to support and communicate with each other, says Carr. “We have created different community groups around social media where QuickBooks users can talk to each other. We also have large investments in local training and education,” he says.
QuickBooks Online Accountant gives Irish accountants access to a one-stop shop that helps them manage client collaboration, client engagement, billing, bank feeds, invoice and receipt collection using accountant-only tools such as book reviews and performance dashboards.
“They can also access exclusive pricing with a 50 percent discount for single files and special bulk pricing, which they can pass on to their clients or their own practices,” says Carr.
Carr acknowledges that the Irish market is competitive. Still, Intuit Ireland believes they are ahead of their competitors in special offerings like receipt capture, bank feeds, and a competitive pricing model.
“When Irish accountants sign up with us, we don’t tie them down to a contract,” he says. “We bill them on a month-to-month basis which allows them to start small and grow. At the start of the relationship, our onboarding team work closely with our accountant base to understand the specific nuances of their business.
“We also offer full telephone support and a call-back support option through the QuickBooks online platform license. This means that someone will call them back within five minutes on a dedicated line if they request assistance. We also offer online chat and community support. Our community helpdesk is a critical element in our support network as it gives Irish accountants access to their own community and industry experts.”
Intuit’s cloud-based model has become increasingly important since QuickBooks entered the Irish market, says Carr, as SMEs have had to adapt to a new working environment since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When accountants were forced to work from home, they had great difficulty in collecting their clients’ data. The ability to access client accounts from anywhere at any time is one of the major challenges facing Irish accountants in the post-COVID-19 environment. Our products allow them to work remotely and communicate with their clients in real-time. It also gives them peace of mind knowing that work can get done if we face different challenges in the future. Accountants can work while they are on the go and send invoices to their clients on the spot. Our receipt capture tool means that if you are out of the office and collecting receipts, you can take a picture of the receipt and submit it directly,” he says.
In conclusion, says Carr, Intuit Ireland have shown their commitment to the Irish market by investing in new products, listening to their customers and taking their feedback on board.
“We want a constant dialogue with Irish accountants and SMEs to ensure that we can continue to develop QuickBooks. If they want to engage with us, they should visit our website at
quickbooks.intuit.com/ie/accountants, where they can see what QuickBooks can do for them.
“Irish accountants want to be able to offer their clients a comprehensive solution to their problems, and that’s where we can help and support them.”
For more information, you can ring Paddy Carr on +353 087 6169143 and +353 01 2408711 or email him at paddy_carr@intuit.com.
This article is sponsored by QuickBooks.
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