When Intuit began updating the legacy ISP program, careful consideration was given to the program’s ability to uniquely serve the needs of customers, members and Intuit. The resulting changes are focused around these stakeholders with three core objectives:

1. Provide clear and unique program value propositions that make it easy for members to find the right program to meet their business needs.
2. Create an environment of highly engaged relationships focused on delivering the best overall business results.
3. Maintain a true reward-for-performance set of program benefits where members can choose where they want to focus time and resources.

The new Intuit Reseller Program offers two program levels designed to serve a variety of reseller business objectives: Premier and Authored.

The Premier Level is the top tier within the Intuit Reseller Program. Designed for members with consistent and robust sales, this level is available to resellers with ongoing annual Intuit sales greater than $30,000, and clearly defined IT-related add-on services and customized solutions. Members in this tier receive access to Intuit managed sales and marketing benefits along with several incentive-based rewards.

The Authorized Level is designed for newer program members still ramping up their Intuit line of business or those members for whom Intuit sales may not be the primary focus. This newly created level offers access to specialized solutions and pricing, along with marketing and sales support managed through Intuit’s select distribution partners, Ingram and Blue Star.

These new program tiers have been designed to complement other great Intuit programs, such as the QuickBooks ProAdvisor^® Program and the Affiliate Program, and provide a well-rounded selection of business relationship options.

If you are interested in learning more about the Intuit Reseller Program, visit the Program page.

Here’s our upcoming schedule:

• May 16-17: 2012 New Jersey Accounting, Business & Technology Show
• June 4-5: 2012 California Accounting & Business Show & Conference
• August 22-25: National Society of Accountants Conference
• June 17-19: Scaling New Heights
• August 23-24: Midwest Accounting & Finance Showcase

The 2012 results of some 2,259 respondents can be found in a PDF on the AICPA website, and some interesting things emerge from reading the report. The first one to strike me is that both the top priority and the top initiative are about “information security.” Since we are entrusted with private data, keeping it that way is paramount. However, reading between the lines of all the priorities and initiatives, you can see the respondents’ greater struggle is in sharing and exchanging information through every means possible, yet ensuring the information only reaches the intended recipients when and where they need it.

Digging down even one level further, information expertise is quickly becoming equated with technology expertise – they are no longer separable. But, when you combine the increasing change and volume in information with the increasing change and volume in technology, you can get a recipe for disaster. That’s why I found it interesting that much of the report is written from a risk management perspective; instead of asking how we create technologies ourselves, the report asks how we manage the risks from those that create technology for us.

What does all this mean for the future? To me, it means the clouds are not fleeting. The clouds take information sharing and information security to the next level — information is available when and where you need it, and secured by vendors who are fully focused on delivering it only into authorized hands. When this happens, our internal resources are free to bring the insight to that information, which then triggers beneficial actions by our customers.

I really see the top 10 priorities and initiatives pointing to five new realities of our times, driven by the cloud:

1. The ability to automate: We don’t need to manually initiate processes, they just happen.
2. The ability to share: The barriers preventing information flow are getting smaller and smaller.
3. The ability to leave paper and its constructs behind: Paper is just data in limbo, waiting to move from one system to another.
4. The ability to integrate: Applications are finally acknowledging that they live in an ecosystem, not their own island, and they are understanding it’s a competitive advantage to work with others.
5. The ability to access anywhere: Offices are no longer the only place real work can be done. Client sites, coffee shops and soccer fields are now on the grid.

With these new realities, highlighted in the AICPA report and gathering in the clouds, technology really asks us to re-evaluate our whole model. What underlying assumptions are no longer true and should be abandoned, and what previously unimaginable value creations are now possible? As an industry, perhaps that’s the biggest priority and initiative for us to answer.

Editor’s Note: Several of Intuit’s^® products are available in the cloud, including Intuit Tax Online and QuickBooks^® Online. In addition, Adrian Simmons’ previous article he wrote for Intuit News Central, “How ProLIne Tax Import Helped Our Firm,” is still available for reading.

PCI DSS is a standard created by the payment card companies (AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa) to help ensure the safe handling of cardholder data throughout the payments chain.

All organizations, regardless of size or number of transactions that process, store, or transmit cardholder data must comply with the PCI DSS.  As a merchant service provider, Intuit must ensure that its customers are compliant with PCI DSS.  We know that PCI services can be costly when procured by small businesses on their own, which is why Intuit has partnered with ControlScan and RGS to provide you with this extensive PCI-compliance support package and associated benefits at a reasonable price.

What is the PCI service and how much does it cost?

The PCI service helps you understand and comply with your security requirements as a participant in the card processing system. 
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council (an organization formed by the card brands) created the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) to help merchants protect customer account data. You are responsible for protecting card information and complying with the PCI DSS. Failure to comply could result in costly fines, audit costs, restrictions or worse should a breach occur.

PCI DSS compliance is an ongoing process. 
The first part of the PCI DSS process is completing an annual Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). This PCI services use a SAQ tool to help identify the questions you must answer about your handling of card information and your processes for submitting cards for payment. The SAQ uses real life examples to help you navigate the process.

One potential outcome of the SAQ is identifying you as being required to conduct systems scanning. Among other situations, you will be required to perform system vulnerability scanning if you submit transactions for processing over the internet. 
PCI DSS requires scans to be conducted by an Approved Scanning Vendor, or ASV. The PCI services enable you to satisfy this requirement with easy to use tools.

If scans are required, they must be conducted on no less than a quarterly basis. The included external vulnerability scans check for cross-site scripting, SQL injection, remote file inclusion and many other application and network-based vulnerabilities. An output of the scan is a report that identifies any vulnerabilities and contains detailed instructions for correcting identified problems.

At the end of the process you can obtain a certification of your PCI Compliance. If you encounter questions or challenges in the process, the PCI services provide for support over the phone, via email and live chat.

What is the cost of the PCI Fee?

The fee varies depending on the number of transactions you process annually and ranges from $35 – $100.

Is the PCI service fee a monthly/recurring fee or a one-time fee?

The PCI service fee will be assessed once per year.

Why comply with the PCI security standards?

Compliance with data security standards can bring major benefits to customers businesses, while failure to comply can have serious and long-term negative consequences.

• Compliance with the PCI DSS means that your systems are secure, and customers can trust you with their sensitive payment card information.
• Compliance improves your reputation with acquirers and payment brands — the partners you need in order to do business.
• Compliance is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. It helps prevent security breaches and theft of payment card data, not just today, but in the future.

If you are not compliant, it could be devastating.

• Compromised data negatively affects consumers, merchants, and financial institutions
• Possible negative consequences also include:
• Forensics audit costs
• Card replacement costs
• Compliance fines
• Cancelled accounts
• Brand damage

How do I become PCI compliant?

Protecting credit card information through PCI compliance is a constantly evolving process. You need to know the standards and assess your data protection procedures against them regularly to make sure you’re meeting all the requirements.

Can Intuit help me?

Yes. Take advantage of the following services to help you protect yourself and stay safely in compliance:

ControlScan’s PCI-Compliance Solution


Intuit has partnered with ControlScan to provide you with this extensive PCI-compliance support package. ControlScan’s PCI 1-2-3 Solution features tools that help you assess your vulnerabilities and meet the standard.  For details and to access your ControlScan account:

1. Access the Merchant Service Center

2. Choose Account > Customer Credit Card Protection

3. Click Visit your ControlScan Account

Security Breach Coverage

As part of your payments account, you have data breach coverage through Royal Group Services. You’re covered for up to $50,000 of damage resulting from a data security breach.

How do I access these services?

1. Access the Merchant Service Center

2. Choose Account > Customer Credit Card Protection

You’ll see information about PCI compliance and links to related services.

I currently use another provider for PCI compliance and don’t need this service. Can you remove the fee from my account?

Yes, after we receive proof of the other providers coverage. To open a request, please open an email inquiry by clicking on the following link IPS_carecenter@intuit.com and provide us with the following information:

1. Tell us that you already have a provider.
2. Provide the name of the provider.
3. Send a copy of your scan from the provider.
4.  Include your business name and merchant account number.

We will investigate whether the fee can be removed and advise you within 24-48 hours.

As a ProAdvisor I was told I wouldn’t have any PCI fees, why am I now being charged PCI fees?

As a merchant service provider, Intuit must ensure that its customers are compliant with PCI DSS.  We know that PCI services can be costly when procured by small businesses on their own, which is why Intuit has partnered with ControlScan and RGS to provide you with this extensive PCI-compliance support package and associated benefits at a reasonable price.

We know that the information on our website is incorrect and we apologize for the confusion it has caused.   We are working to update the website to accurately reflect the PCI fees ProAdvisors will be charged.

I didn’t receive an email notifying me of these charges. 

Emails were sent to the customer base in mid-March notifying them of the charge and the effective date of April 1.  If the email was returned as undeliverable, we followed up with a hard copy letter, sent to the address on file, in early April.

I have other questions regarding these changes, who can I contact?

Please email your questions to IPS_carecenter@intuit.com and be sure to include your business name and merchant account number so that we can respond to you within 24-48 hours.

Russell writes, “Both Colorado and Illinois laws were found to be unconstitutional. In Illinois, a state court held that the Illinois Amazon statute violated both the Commerce Clause of the Constitution and the Internet Tax Freedom Act. In Colorado, a federal court upheld an injunction and found that the Colorado law was unconstitutional. The Illinois law, as with the laws in a number of states, requires out-of-state and Internet vendors to collect taxes on purchases made by in state residents even though the vendors have no physical presence in the state. Nexus, the required relationship between the out-of-state business and the state that allows the state to require collection of the tax, is based on two clauses in the Constitution: the Commerce Clause, which prohibits states from unduly burdening interstate commerce, and the Due Process Clause, which requires a minimum connection between a state and an entity it wishes to tax.”

Read the entire article on AccountingToday.com.

#1: Show them where they really stand with their personal debt situation – shock treatment. Don’t just show the client how much they owe today on all of their debts; show them how much it will cost to actually pay off their debts. We know that if you have a credit card balance of $10,000, that doesn’t mean you will pay $10,000 to get out of that debt. In fact, when paying minimum balances only, the debtor could pay up to double or triple that over the life of that debt.

Teach them this quick tip: Pay off the lowest debt, first, and once that is paid off, take that money that was going to that card and add it to the next lowest debt. With a simple plan like this, you will be showing them how pay off their debt much faster than their current course. And, with some simple analysis, you can show them alternatives that will save them money and time, and helps them significantly add to their retirement savings. How do you benefit? Your counsel and guidance ultimately creates customer loyalty and locks them into you and your services.

#2: Get them to stop using the credit cards except for emergencies (explain that going to the movies and dinner is not an emergency) and have them start tracking their spending. Clients are typically not doing a good job of monitoring their spending, if they are doing it at all. Make sure they have a clear, written plan to get them to understand the importance of getting and staying out of debt, and that they can really achieve the goal of becoming debt free.

#3: Get buy in. You can’t take prisoners. If they really want it, they can get it. It is much like a diet or workout plan; they have to have guidance. It is difficult to figure it out on their own and they need a plan in order to stay on track.

BONUS TIP: Refinancing a home to pay off that debt just extends that debt out 15 to 30 years. Who wants to pay for a Saturday night out or a vacation for decades? The thinking needs to change. There are better alternatives.

Editor’s Note: Kevin Lane is offering a free download of his report, The Great Escape.

Click here for a full PDF with the entire Tip presented in steps with screen shots.

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of 10 tips on improving your productivity in QuickBooks. A new tip will be posted each Wednesday on Intuit^® Accountants News Central under “Ways to Be More Productive.”

According to a story by Michael Cohn on AccountingToday.com, the report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that server virtualization technology allowed the IRS to reduce the number of computer servers it needed to maintain for tax administration and lower operational costs to the taxpayers. The IRS expects to save approximately $1.3 million annually in decreased electrical costs beginning in fiscal year 2013, thanks to the technology. In addition, the report noted that the number of servers could be further reduced for increased efficiency and cost savings of approximately $7.73 million.

Server virtualization is a technology that allows a number of virtual servers to run on one physical host. The technology enables improved hardware utilization, electrical savings, and reduced server replacement costs. Virtualization helps an information technology organization improve efficiency and productivity by simplifying server deployment and administration.

Read the full story at AccountingToday.com.

It is important to understand the challenges of those who came before us. A successful entrepreneur is always learning, looking for new information and listening to unique perspectives. To be a successful Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, it is imperative that you apply these skills to your work to better serve your clients.

Before I became an accountant, a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and a QuickBooks Real Estate Consultant, I was a stay-at-home mom recovering from medical issues. Starting my own practice was ideal because it gave the chance to set my own hours and allowed me to work around my health constraints. My previous experience as an assistant controller for a manufacturer and my educational background drew me to the accounting field because I enjoy helping others accomplish their financial goals.

Starting my practice from scratch definitely posed a number of challenges. At the end of the day, every aspect of the business is your responsibility. Even if you are passionate about working with clients, you have to define your own business plan, and implement marketing and sales strategies to stay afloat. I learned about my strengths and weaknesses through trial and error, using all of the resources I could find to become a better business person. The QuickBooks ProAdvisor program provided access to numerous learning materials that helped me understand QuickBooks beyond a casual user’s knowledge.

In addition to the challenges of starting a business, I had to explore my interests to find my niche. Before starting your own QuickBooks practice, you need to put in perspective that you have to sell your skills and define yourself as a product or brand, asking yourself a few questions: Who are you? What can you offer? Why should a company hire you as their trainer, consultant or accountant?

You must keep your eyes and ears open because your clients will tell you exactly what they need. One of my clients challenged me to create a real estate and property management system to streamline its business and highlighted that there was no QuickBooks specialist in the real estate industry. The ProAdvisor program helped me develop my business strategy and training materials to take my interest in the real estate industry to the next level. Find the passion and drive to push beyond your comfort zone to become the “expert.”

Once you discover your niche, find out who else is providing similar services. The key is to distinguish yourself from the competition in some way. Even if you do not find someone in your specific niche, observe who has been successful in a similar industry and attempt to replicate their efforts, playing on your strengths. Getting in touch with the right people can bring you knowledge, understanding and even new business prospects. It is important to stay connected with other people in your field so you can always stay ahead of the curve and keep getting new clients.

Through the ProAdvisor program, I found a host of resources and a network of truly helpful individuals who were happy to point me in the right direction. Despite the competition among ProAdvisors, we are a close-knit community sharing our special tricks for our respective niche industries.

In addition to developing a niche, you must continue to expand your knowledge, not only about QuickBooks, but also about marketing, technology and third-party integrated solutions. I worked to develop a total solution for the real estate and property management client taking into consideration existing business practices and future business goals to integrate QuickBooks seamlessly. The resources and certifications I found in the ProAdvisor program made my business a success and allowed me to offer similar solutions to my clients for their business. This allowed to immerse myself in my clients’ successes and gain the trust from my clients.

The most important thing in starting any new business, especially an accounting practice, is the dedication and passion you bring to your craft. If you take this advice to heart, I believe that you too can do well. I wish you the best of luck.

To Learn More about the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program, visit www.proadvisor.intuit.com.

Last month while I was at one of my clients doing the typical review of the company’s QuickBooks^® file, the client was expressing that money was tight. Typically, cash flow was never an issue, but due to the changing economy, he was seeing a drastic change in his Accounts Receivable. He approached me to implement some new procedures to streamline his collection process. He felt as if he was not using the full functionality of the QuickBooks program.

As I began the assessment of the client’s procedures, it was important to understand their system versus how they were using QuickBooks. During the interview process, I inquired as to how they were collecting money, how often they invoiced, what their payment terms were, when they were reviewing collection reports, how frequently they were making collection calls and what their documentation process was. What I concluded from the answers I received was that the client needed to fully use QuickBooks in order to improve his overall Accounts Receivable process.

As I dug deeper into my investigation, I discovered that the client was already using QuickBooks Merchant Services, but had not set up the recurring payments to automatically process through Intuit^® Merchant Services in order to get the money in more quickly. I recommended implementing the Billing Solutions Feature in order to simplify their billing process and get invoicing out quicker. It is a resourceful way to handle the invoicing, and allows the client to get paid faster. Since they were already using QuickBooks Merchant Services, adding in the Billing Solutions Feature simplified the process because all the online payments downloading directly into QuickBooks and automatically matched to the appropriate invoices.

In reviewing their current collection process, I noticed that there wasn’t any consistency; they seemed to make calls when they had the time. In 2011 and up, QuickBooks and Enterprise Solutions includes a “Collection Center.” This was ideally what the client was looking for to handle its collection issue.

The Collection Center allows the client to send bulk emails to its customers with overdue or almost overdue invoices. I demonstrated this feature to the client by opening the customer center and then clicking the link at the top of the window. There are two tabs, one that shows overdue Customers and the other tab that shows the ones that are almost due.

This demonstration impressed upon the client that the company was not limited in who it could send bulk emails to because it could send emails from either the Overdue or Almost due list. They had the ability to sort the list by the Customer Name, Customer Balance or Days Overdue. The Collection Center is in a centralized location where you can access the customers Contact information, as well as document phone conversations by writing notes about the collection calls and date stamping them.

The feature that the client liked most in the Collection Center was the fact they could select which customers received an email by clicking the checkbox to the left of the invoice number. Selected invoices are then attached as PDF files to email and a customized email message is already in template form. No more saving invoices one by one to a PDF and inserting it into an email.

Taking the time to review the client’s current Accounts Receivable process helped them realize areas where they could strengthen their processes and improve collections through QuickBooks. By showing them what the software was capable of, and then implementing just a few small changes within their daily use of QuickBooks – such as changing the use of the recurring payments transactions, implementing Billing Solutions and using the Collection Center – helped to put a simplified process in place to be able to collect the money they needed to run the organization and reduced their Accounts Receivable, significantly!