Intuit plans to bring a campaign to New York to encourage more people to open their own small businesses.

The accounting and tax software vendor claims that 64 percent of New York residents "dream of one day owning their own business." The company has launched a nationwide campaign, Just Start, at www.iwilljuststart.com, to encourage more small businesses to open (and buy its QuickBooks software). The campaign comes to New York's Grand Central Terminal on Nov. 8 and 9 and will feature syndicated columnist Rhonda Abrams.

The company also released the results of an online survey of 175 accountants. It found that 68 percent of them said the most important advice to give to a wannabe small-business owner is to develop a business plan, and get expert help and training.

Eighty percent of the accountants polled said they would also advise budding entrepreneurs to set up a separate bank account for their businesses. Seventy-four percent said they would advise automating the accounting and software to track finances and watch spending habits, and 53 percent said they would recommend that aspiring small-business owners familiarize themselves with the law.

The most common misconception accountants came across when working with clients who are considering starting a new business is that it will be easy to differentiate and manage their personal and business expenses from one another. Eighty-five percent of accountants said that between 0 and 25 percent of their business clients do not use software for their accounting.