Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor
"A growing number of small businesses are looking to mobile technology to run their business," said Rick Jensen, senior vice president of Intuit's Small Business Division. "Our goal with these new mobile services is to give QuickBooks Online users the edge they need to compete and manage their busy lives by keeping tabs on their business even when they are out of the office."
The Pocket-Sized Accountant
Intuit said QuickBooks Online gives mobile customers views of their finances by checking current bank and credit-card balances, tracking who owes them money and who they owe, and finding vendor and customer contact information with addresses through Google Maps. The program also lets them run balance sheets and profit-and-loss reports.
Laura Olcott, treasurer for Twin Cities Co-op Preschool in Corte Madera, Calif., said QuickBooks Online is perfect for her company because there is no "office," just volunteers working from home or work offices.
"Given the virtual nature of our interactions, iPhone support helps us be more productive," Olcott said. "While waiting for an appointment, I was able to check QuickBooks Online using my iPhone to look up parents with open balances and send them an e-mail reminder to pay their bill."
Will Mobile Accounting Take Off?
Is mobile accounting a concept ready for prime time? Jaimee Steel, a vice president at M:Metrics, offers data that show the possibilities.
Fifteen percent of smartphone users traded stock or accessed financial accounts online in June, according to M:Metrics.
What's more, 31 percent of iPhone users and 12.6 percent of Blackberry users said they traded stocks or accessed financial accounts online. Specifically, 668,000 iPhone users reported trading stock or accessing financial accounts in June compared to 808,000 Blackberry users.
Overall, the number of people trading stock or accessing financials grew from 3.3 million in June 2007 to six million in June 2008. That's an 81 percent growth rate in one year.
"Generally, we are seeing greater penetration of smartphone users in the United States. People who have smartphones do a lot more on the mobile Web," Steele said. "Banks are becoming more aggressive, launching mobile access to their services. So there is a demand for a service like QuickBooks Online for mobile."
QuickBooks Online is available starting at $9.95 per month at www.qboe. The iPhone and BlackBerry Web-based applications are free to QuickBooks Online users.
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