It’s official. Intuit
Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU) today named Cloud
Bookkeeping Services the grand prize winner of the 2018
Intuit QuickBooks Global Firm of the Future contest during the
Accountant Main Stage at the fifth annual QuickBooks Connect in San
Jose, California. The Canadian firm was awarded $30,000 USD total in
cash prizes as the global firm that best embraces the future to
help their small business clients succeed and prosper. Brighton Sport &
Wellness Centre, a small business client of Cloud Bookkeeping Services,
was also named a winner in the contest and received $20,000 USD total in
cash prizes. PJCO of the United Kingdom, Reconciled of the United
States, Regional Business Services Pty Ltd of Australia and Wealth Café
Business Advisors Pvt Ltd of India were also announced as finalists and
respective country winners in this year’s contest, with each firm along
with its small business receiving a cash prize of $5,000 USD.
“This year’s finalists have truly raised the bar for what it means to be
a Firm of the Future. Not only do they embrace online technologies, but
they have also gone above and beyond to find new technological
innovations that automate processes, so they can spend more time as
trusted advisors,” said Ariege Misherghi, global leader of Intuit’s
Accountant Segment, Small Business and Self-Employed Group. “We are sure
that Cloud Bookkeeping Services and all of our finalists will continue
to serve as an inspiration to other firms around the globe.”
In June, Intuit began its search to find the most future-ready
bookkeeping, full-service accounting and tax firms in Australia, Canada,
India, the United Kingdom and United States, receiving entries from solo
practitioners to large firms. Ariege Misherghi and a panel of qualified
judges from Intuit’s global sites selected the top five finalists whose
written submissions best embodied the attributes of Firms of the Future.
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Cloud
Bookkeeping Services of Canada: Cloud Bookkeeping Services is
committed to using online technologies and artificial intelligence for
all new clients and believes in promoting education. As volunteer
mentors with Futurepreneurs Canada, the firm uses the time saved with
QuickBooks Online to work with mentees to give back to the business
community. The firm hosts a Bookkeepers Bootcamp and recently launched
a similar Business Bootcamp, which is offered to all small- to
medium-sized businesses, not just bookkeeping clients. Cloud
Bookkeeping Services successfully transitioned its client Brighton
Sport & Wellness Centre to the cloud and now has more time to serve as
the client’s strategic advisor.
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PJCO
of the United Kingdom: In 2016, the firm invested in a specialist
cloud services department and recruited a team of recently graduated
ACCA trainees to research and develop their knowledge of business apps
and cloud accounting while pursuing their ACCA qualification; and PJCO
hasn’t looked back. The Cloud Services Manager and his team freely
share their understanding of how technology can be used to solve small
business owners’ problems. PJCO’s charity partner, Norwich FoodHub,
collects food that would otherwise be wasted by supermarkets and
redistributes it to people in need. PJCO introduced technology to make
operations more efficient and better for volunteers, and as a result
they now offer over 60 volunteering slots each week, across 14 stores,
filled by a volunteer base of over 100 people.
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Reconciled
of the United States: Reconciled is an online bookkeeping and business
advisory firm that has grown from one bookkeeper to a team of 16 in
less than three years by leveraging online sales efforts. The firm is
active on social media, using Facebook Live once a month for a video
series called "Everyday Entrepreneur" in which the firm interviews one
of its small business clients or an entrepreneur in its network.
Reconciled also leverages email marketing and its brand story to
connect with new customers. Its client Ogee wanted to have accounting
systems ready as it launched its product, and Reconciled advised Ogee
on the best method to record sales by channel, including how to
invoice wholesale customers from QuickBooks Online. Ogee was able to
focus on making and selling their product, knowing that they had a
strong accounting process and partner behind them.
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Regional
Business Services Pty Ltd of Australia: Thanks to the power of
QuickBooks Online and online technologies, Regional Business Services
now serves 450 businesses each year across the Eastern Australian
Coast, and has developed its own specific finance system and workflow
process. The firm has worked with client Townsville Service Group for
the last five years, since the client’s start. Now the client turns
over more than $2 million per fiscal year, and Regional Business
Services meets every month with the client’s accountant, with whom
they have a great relationship, to discuss performance, strategy and
areas for improvement.
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Wealth
Café Business Advisors Pvt Ltd of India: Wealth Café serves close
to 125 small businesses end-to-end for bookkeeping, accounting and tax
requirements and has been using QuickBooks Online since the product’s
launch in India. Having the firm’s entire process on the cloud has
enabled it to implement a policy internally wherein it has a
turnaround time of no more than four hours to resolve a client query.
Its client Pepper Mint Studios transitioned its entire finance
operations over to Wealth Café, thanks to the robust system the firm
set up to meet its client’s needs.
As part of this year’s contest, Intuit will make a $25,000 USD donation
to Kiva.org
in recognition of every vote received during the voting period, which
ultimately determined the grand prize winner.
Access Cloud Bookkeeping Services’ video here.
To join the conversation, share on Facebook and Twitter using #QBFirmOfTheFuture.
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