Intuit introduced QuickBooks 2008 with more features that allow accountants to work with their clients' businesses.
The Accountant's Copy feature in the Premier Accountant Edition now includes a "Send to My Accountant" button that helps avoid confusion about which file with which date gets transmitted to the accountant. When an accountant completes work on a file, the changes can be sent back to the client to review and import back into QuickBooks.
Intuit has also improved the connection speeds for remote access, and accountants can now import data directly from QuickBooks into Lacerte. A Portable Company File feature allows accountants to create a compact version of clients' files that can be e-mailed or saved to portable media. The software also includes a conversion tool to import data from other accounting packages such as Peachtree and Microsoft Small Business Accounting.
Intuit has introduced an Internet-based time and billing feature called Time Tracker for the Web. "About 50 percent of QuickBooks users track time, but not all the activity gets billed," said Samir Khosla, group product manager with Intuit. "Time Tracker for the Web can submit all the time that is billable."
Intuit has also introduced marketing tools that allow small businesses to create listings with Yahoo Local, YellowPages.com, Superpages.com and Google Maps. The Google Maps integration lets users find driving directions to a customer or vendor without leaving QuickBooks.
The Enterprise Edition of QuickBooks 2008 now lets businesses track inventory from multiple warehouses, as well as set up and process electronic data interchange transactions. Intuit has also begun beta testing business intelligence features and a company directory with contact information for customers that can be accessed via the Web or by mobile phones.
QuickBooks 2008 will be available at retail locations on Oct. 10. The Premiere Accountant Edition sells for $449.95.
