[Question] To be a Quickbooks Proadvisor or not?

[TMS Bookkeeping and Business]

I need some advice from bookkeepers or accountants that are already Quickbooks Proadvisors. I have just started my bookkeeping business and I'm trying to decide if the Proadvisor would be an investment right now.

I am Quickbooks Certified, have been working on Quickbooks since 1992 and presently own Quickbooks Pro 2010. I have 1 client and just gave a proposal to a potential client (it went great and expect to sign him on in a couple of days). I also have another person wanting a proposal.

My husband and I were discussing which program I should use for this type of business (bookkeeping). In researching the various types of programs offered by Intuit, I have come to the conclusion that I need Quickbooks Accountant Premier, but I want to be a Proadvisor also.

I know the Proadvisor comes with the Accountant Premier but the customer service rep that I talked to at Intuit claimed that the Proadvisors are listed on their website and they average 17 clients a year just being listed. How accurate is this or was this some selling point?

Getting back to my question, Can someone who is already a Proadvisor enlighten me as to whether or not it would be advisable to go ahead and purchase the Proadvisor program or just purchase the Accountant Premier for right now? Has being a Proadvisor acctually helped you to get more clients?

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Teresa

[KMartin]

Hi Teresa,
Congrats on your business and your new and potential clients.

I just finished the ProAdvisor course. It was a lot of information in a short amount of time. Very educational! I have been using QB since 1991 and still learned a lot from the course.

I don't know about getting leads from the Website but I can let you know as I go along. I have read posts on Linked In saying yes they have and some saying no they haven't.

I have also found the "Growing your Business" section where you can get ideas and sample letters to send out to potential customers very helpful. Also, I have already posted and received an answer to a problem for a new client on the Live Community Forum that is available only to Pro Advisors. I have a new client (set up books only) who uses Simple Start 09. I don't have Simple Start and even if I bought it, QB is not backward compatible so I wouldn't be able to help her (upgrading for her is out of the question). Within less than 24 hours I had a solution to the problem.

So for me, it is well worth the investment. Hopefully I will get clients from the website but even if I don't, it's a great marketing tool.

Best of luck with your decision.

[TMS Bookkeeping and Business]

Thank you Kathy....I really want to do the program, but my husband wanted me to make sure it would be worth the extra $200 right now. I think it will be. Thanks

Teresa
www.smithteresa.com

[KMartin]

YW Teresa - you get a lot for that extra $200. I passed the test and became certified less than a week ago. I got my first call today but I couldn't help them. They were looking for someone with POS experience. Too bad for me - maybe next time.

[Raydaw]

I have found it quite successful so far - 2 clients in 6 months.

[SaraASB]

How did you become "certified" if you are not already a Proadvisor?
It is more than worth the price just to get a full set of the software, which includes Enterprise. And free support, which is not in India. My pet peeve is that anyone can pay for the Proadvisor program and in no way does that mean they are a pro at anything. I have clients that are proadvisors just to get the cheaper software! There are no restrictions. In all my years of being certified, I have received NO clients off their website. There are too many of them listed for this city. Until they only list "CERTIFIED" advisors on the search engine, the "avg 17" is complete BS. My clients come from word of mouth and my reputation. The certified proadvisor logo tends to give potential clients comfort that I know something!

[TMS Bookkeeping and Business]

Sara,

In answer to your question, Intuit also offers a course to become Certified User. I took the course a couple of years ago, passed and received a certificate showing I was "Certified"....it is a more indepth training in using Quickbooks Pro, Premier and Enterprises. This training is for several days and then you take a test and have to make 80 or above to become Certified. I did check into the website about how many proadvisors were showing up close to where I live. Only 3 showed within 30 miles of me and I was shocked. I'm signing up for the proadvisor program tomorrow. I'll post later and let everyone know if I received any calls for my services.

I'm sure once I get my company up and going, I will have referrals also. I did a presentation to a potential customer last week and he was so impressed with my knowledge of Quickbooks and my organizational skills. Wahoo :-)


Teresa

[bluewaterbusiness]

I would recommend becoming a ProAdvisor. I have found the software discounts/tech support and community resources that you receive well worth the extra money. Especially if you are considering expanding into POS or Enterprise support or clients. I can't verify their claim regarding the 17 clients per year, at least not in my area, but their website does give people a way to find help (you) when they otherwise wouldn't have the resource.