Intuit officials disclosed their 2008 accountant strategy, saying they would target both full-service firms and tax-driven firms this year.
The company, which makes the TurboTax, Lacerte and ProSeries lines of tax software, and the QuickBooks line of accounting software, plans to dramatically reduce cycle time, enhance client-accountant collaboration and help accountants grow their practice, according to David Kramer, director of product management, and Jill Ward, vice president and general manager of Intuit's Accountant Professional Division.
The company has also been working to beef up its electronic filing readiness this tax season after delays at the end of last tax season. The company has set up backup systems, and will be dedicating access to professional tax preparers through special Web addresses.
Intuit is also offering an e-file guarantee for Lacerte and ProSeries customers. If they are unable to submit to Intuit any federal or state tax return before the filing deadline or the company fails to file Lacerte customer-submitted returns before the filing deadline and the fault is due to Intuit's electronic filing system, Intuit will refund the electronic filing fees, and reimburse the taxpayer for any penalties and interest. Documentation must be submitted to Intuit of the problems.
Customers can view the overall performance and current status of Lacerte's e-file system at
Intuit has also conducted surveys of its customers to find out more about how they work. It has found that accountants spend more than 85 percent of their time on serving business clients, providing 86 percent of their revenue. Of that time, 80 percent is spent on accounting workflow. However, Intuit believes that between 40 and 50 percent of the time spent on accounting workflow is wasted on slow and duplicated work.
