- QuickBooks Online launched to solve major financial problems for Irish Small Businesses
- QuickBooks Online Accountant unveiled to help Irish accounting professionals run and grow their practice
- Announcement made at virtual launch hosted by speaker and businessman, Bobby Kerr and writer and comedian Colm O’Regan
- New research also launched today by Intuit QuickBooks finds cashflow is a major worry for Irish SMEs
18 June 2020: Intuit, the global financial platform company, has announced the launch of QuickBooks in Ireland. QuickBooks is the world’s largest small business platform serving 7M customers globally. Intuit unveiled two QuickBooks products at a virtual launch event that took place around Ireland: QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Online Accountant.
QuickBooks Online is software designed to solve the specific financial challenges of Irish Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMEs) such as cash flow, the burden of admin and confidence. QuickBooks Online Accountant is software that can help Irish accounting professionals run and grow their practice. Both products were built and launched after extensive research with Irish SMEs and accounting professionals.
Jolawn Victor, Director Emerging Markets at Intuit QuickBooks International, comments:
“SMEs are the backbone of the Irish economy and there has never been a more important time to back them on their road to recovery and resilience. We’ve worked closely with accountants and SMEs to understand the challenges that Irish businesses face and I am delighted to launch these new products into the Irish market to help address some of the pain points they face when it comes to managing their finances.”
The launch event, hosted by writer and comedian Colm O’Regan, was attended by over 150 accountancy professionals, while broadcaster and entrepreneur Bobby Kerr, was a keynote speaker. Also unveiled at the launch were the findings of research into Irish SMEs by Intuit QuickBooks.
There were 248,344 SMEs in Ireland at the start of this year and according to the Central Bank of Ireland, SMEs account for over 68% of total employment in the Irish business economy.
The research by Intuit QuickBooks showed the top three financial management concerns for these small businesses are: having cashflow data in one place; being able to predict cashflow with supporting insights and getting paid for their work. Specifically regarding cashflow, the findings showed nearly 7 out of 10 (69%) of Irish SMEs say late payments are a considerable pain point when it comes to managing their business finances(1).
The research by Intuit QuickBooks also showed that 43% of Irish SMEs surveyed don’t feel prepared for the impact COVID-19 is having on their business(2). At a time when SMEs throughout Ireland are experiencing unprecedented challenging times in the midst of the COVID-19 virus, and in an economy that relies heavily on SMEs for employment, the insights revealed by Intuit QuickBooks are cause for concern.
Guest speaker at the Intuit QuickBooks launch event Bobby Kerr, Broadcaster, Entrepreneur and presenter of Newstalk’s ‘Down to Business’ radio show, said:
“As a business owner myself, I know only too well the administrative burden that comes with running a business – time that could be spent on other things. Speaking to small business owners week in week out for Newstalk’s ‘Down to Business’ programme, I know cashflow concerns can keep them awake at night. Moving financial management online with QuickBooks is a game changer for small businesses, helping them to become more streamlined, manage cashflow more easily and allow them to focus on what they do best – sustaining and growing their business.”
Through QuickBooks Online Accountant and QuickBooks Online, Intuit QuickBooks provides a secure digital platform to allow accounting professionals and their small business clients to work productively together, supporting better cashflow management, greater automation around a range of financial processes and functionality to more efficiently and accurately make online VAT returns. Intuit QuickBooks data shows 89 percent of small businesses say they are more successful when working with an accounting professional.
The cloud-based online accounting platform helps ensure accountants across Ireland are better placed to support SMEs to stay on top of things like late payments, payroll and tax returns, allowing them to spend more time on shaping their business towards recovery and resilience post-COVID-19.
Commenting as a trialist of QuickBooks in Ireland, Barry McCall, Owner of McCall Media said:
“QuickBooks has transformed the way I manage my business. Cashflows have improved dramatically and I no longer look forward with dread to the end of year accounts process.”
QuickBooks Online
Intuit QuickBooks data shows QuickBooks Online can save an SME eight hours a month managing their finances.
Customers can access and manage their books anywhere in the world from multiple devices. QuickBooks Online’s integrated solution enables businesses to create access privileges to work alongside colleagues and accountants at any time. Other features include:
- Track sales, expenses and profits
- Create and send invoices
- Track and manage VAT
- Works on PC, Mac and mobile
- Manage and pay bills
- Transact in multiple currencies
- Generate sales quotes
- Track inventory
- Create purchase orders
- Track profitability
Value Added Tax is the key compliance job impacting small businesses in Ireland today, which QuickBooks can easily support with last-mile product localisation of indirect tax. The software also makes the process of bank reconciliation simpler by connecting client accounts to import transactions from AIB and Bank of Ireland personal and corporate accounts as well as accounts on Revolut and Transferwise. The software is fully compliant with PSD2 Open Banking and allows for readily available bank feeds without any additional cost.
QuickBooks Online customers get paid quickly with an average of 24 days on invoices paid through the new QuickBooks Online invoice management and tracking tool, now available in Ireland. SMEs can see when invoices are sent and viewed by customers through QuickBooks Online or other integrated applications such as Gmail, G-suite or WhatsApp. Payment status is also tracked in real time.
QuickBooks Online Accountant:
QuickBooks Online Accountant can help Irish accounting professionals run and grow their practice with QuickBooks data from other markets showing the software can help accounting professionals manage 26% more clients and save 5 hours per week on administration (3). Already, almost 1.5 million small businesses around the world are connected with accounting professionals through QuickBooks Online Accountant.
QuickBooks Online Accountant allows professionals to have more control and better collaboration with clients by allowing customers to manage their firm and their clients’ books all in one place. QuickBooks Online Accountant features include:
- Managing workflows effortlessly – track clients and projects from start to finish, giving confidence nothing will fall through the cracks
- Complying with confidence – ensure the books are correct with advanced audit trails and the ability to close prior periods
- Connecting with clients – when an accountant’s clients use QuickBooks Online, they can connect to their books with one click.
For more about Intuit QuickBooks, please go to https://quickbooks.intuit.com/ie/
