Press Releases

In addition, Intuit announced the formation of a consolidated Accountant and Advisor Customer Council for Intuit Inc., 2004-2005, whose members will provide input to the company to further develop offerings for accounting professionals. The planned new offerings were introduced today to accountants at the New York CPA, Business & Technology Show & Conference.

"Intuit's relationship with accountants spans more than 20 years. They are among our most valued customers," said Jill Ward, vice president and general manager of Intuit Accountant Central. "We recognize the value that accountants are increasingly bringing to their small business clients. That's why we're working closely with them, listening and learning their specific pain points and then providing them with a suite of solutions to help build their practices and better work with clients."

New Products Scheduled for Release and Available for Pre-Ordering
To meet the needs of smaller accounting firms, the new Intuit Professional Tax products are economical and are being designed to be fast, reliable and easy-to-use. They include:

ProSeries® Basic Edition
This professional-grade software is being designed specifically for new and part-time tax preparers who specialize in 1040 and state individual tax returns. Affordable and easy-to-use, ProSeries Basic Edition is being built and priced for the smaller sole proprietor that has unique needs.

ProSeries Basic Edition is being designed to include:

• All the forms and worksheets needed for 1040 and individual state returns
• A new, simple way of navigating the return through "checklists"
• Step-by-step, in-product guidance to help complete client forms

ProSeries Basic also is being designed to allow users to convert prior-year returns from TurboTax® software, view all client information in one place and e-file unlimited client returns. Conversion of prior-year returns from most other professional tax preparation software products to ProSeries Basic Edition will also be available. Pricing ranges from $250-$525.

ProSeries® Express Edition
A first-of-its-kind product from Intuit, this software is being designed for professionals who process a significant number of bank-product returns each season. ProSeries Express Edition is being designed to streamline accountants' workflow and deliver refunds quickly to clients.

It enables accountants to:

• Prepare returns in less than 15 minutes
• Complete forms needed for e-filing returns with a bank product
• Obtain refunds quickly by facilitating transmission of various electronic financial transaction application forms, including refund transfers, direct deposits, instant loans and refund anticipation loans, where available. ProSeries Express Edition leverages the reliability and efficiency of Intuit's electronic filing center, which processed more than 30 million returns in the past season and is trusted by more than 100,000 tax professionals. ProSeries Express Edition is priced at $795 ($895 with network.)

Scheduled for Release
Intuit also spotlighted three products with new features scheduled for release over the next several months, including:

Intuit® EasyACCT® Professional Series
A comprehensive write-up and accounting package, this software will offer several new features, including the ability to customize financial statements.

Also planned are:

• Seven additional State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) modules, for a total of 21 states
• New Windows-based modules for accounts payable and accounts receivable, allowing professionals to make and track payments and invoices more efficiently
• Faster Internet updates that reduce user download time by allowing them to choose to install only updated program files or tax tables
• Enhanced search and find features help accountants find critical data more efficiently.

QuickBooks® Financial Statement Designer Version 2
By allowing greater customization, this product helps accountants create a complete set of professional financial statements from within QuickBooks. New features to QuickBooks Financial Statement Designer Version 2 include:

• A financial statement editor, providing complete control of the content and format of statements using a familiar and easy spreadsheet interface
• The ability to use the format for one client as a template for others clients
• A notification feature to indicate when clients have added or deleted accounts allowing for quick and easy updating of the financials

QuickBooks Version Detector
QuickBooks Version Detector is a new QuickBooks enhancement which lets accountants quickly identify which version of QuickBooks their client is using without having to open the file. Since accountants often have clients who use multiple years' versions of QuickBooks, this new Version Detector lets accountants identify the version and the release number of QuickBooks used by the client by simply "mousing" over a client's QuickBooks file in Windows Explorer.

Consolidated Accountant and Advisor Councils
Furthering its commitment to listen to accountants and deliver solutions that meet their needs, Intuit also announced a new, integrated Accountant and Advisor Customer Council for Intuit Inc., 2004-2005. Building on the significant contribution of Intuit's previous product-focused customer advisory councils, the 16-member panel will serve as the voice of the accounting industry to Intuit. The group will meet regularly to obtain input from industry colleagues, serve as a sounding board to Intuit executives, and provide input to the company in developing future strategies, products and services.

"Accountants are a great source of information to us. They've made some significant and valuable contributions. That's why we're developing a centralized advisory council. It provides a venue to share their insights with one another and with Intuit," said Rich Walker, director of Intuit accountant and advisor relations.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding new products scheduled for release over the next several months and their expected features and functionality. Actual results may differ materially from our expectations. We will not necessarily update the information in this press release if any forward-looking statement later turns out to be inaccurate. Risks and uncertainties that may affect our future results and performance include, but are not limited to, the fact that products described are still under development and are subject to risks and uncertainties involved in the product development process, including technological difficulties, unanticipated delays and the possibility that we will not release the product at all.