Intuit Introduces A Breakthrough In Small Business Management Software; the fastest, easiest way to track projects and manage your business!

Business Wire, July 24, 1995

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 1995--Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) today introduced QuickBooks Pro(TM) for Windows and Macintosh, the first mainstream small business accounting product that integrates time tracking, estimating and job costing with accounting and payroll.

QuickBooks Pro saves time and gives businesses the information they need to improve their bottom lines.

"The era of one-size-fits-all accounting software is rapidly coming to a close," said Scott Cook, chairman and co-founder of Intuit. "QuickBooks Pro is a breakthrough for 40% of all small business. These businesses -- business like subcontractors, graphic designers, consultants and accountants to name a few -- need to track time, prepare estimates or perform job cost analyses for customers, projects and jobs. QuickBooks Pro integrates all of these functions with accounting and payroll so consumers only have to input information once and their data flows seamlessly from one activity to the next. They can then generate reports that show profitability by employee, project, activity and more. Before today, consumers could only get this functionality in industry-specific accounting systems that cost thousands of dollars."

QuickBooks Pro addresses the needs of 8 million small businesses in the U.S. that are project, job or time based. Most of these businesses use manual or general purpose software systems (including spreadsheets, word processors and even scratch paper) to do time tracking and estimating. Since these systems are not integrated with their accounting program, users waste time and money re-typing information and not getting the reports they need to improve their businesses' profitability.

The First Integrated, All-in-One Solution for Project, Job and Time Based Businesses

By integrating time tracking, estimating, job costing, accounting and payroll, data flows seamlessly throughout QuickBooks Pro. Customers never have to enter the same information twice and they have instant access to important business information.

o Integrated time tracking is fast and flexible. Users just type the time they spend on projects, jobs and specific activities once and all the appropriate accounting and payroll records are updated automatically. Users can enter their time information on individual entry or weekly entry time sheets -- they choose the way that works best for them. Users assign time to particular jobs and customers, and later bill those hours back to the customer with a few simple mouseclicks. When they pay their employees, all the time information appears in the employee's paycheck preview -- the data flows seamlessly through QuickBooks Pro so they only have to input information once.

o Users can prepare estimates for jobs and projects. Creating estimates in QuickBooks Pro is just as easy as writing checks and invoices in QuickBooks. Users just start typing and QuickFill completes the rest of the customer, vendor and item names for them. When it's time to bill the customer, users generate an invoice from the estimate with a mouseclick, and all the information is automatically filled out. Customers can edit the invoice by removing or adding any items, and the original estimate is not affected by any changes they make to the invoice.

o Project and job costing is as easy as clicking a mouse. Important information that can help users make their businesses more profitable is finally at their fingertips! Eleven customizable project reports show users exactly which products, services and employees generate the most or least profit. With QuickBooks Pro, users save time and gain a wealth of accurate, centralized information on individual projects and their entire business.

o Complete accounting and payroll. QuickBooks Pro also has the same easy-to-use interface and all the features of QuickBooks, the No. 1 selling and easiest-to-use small business accounting product. Users can do invoicing, bill paying, check printing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, financial reports and graphs, inventory tracking, purchase orders, tax record keeping, audit trail, bank balance tracking and reconciliation, cash management, budgeting, tracking customer and vendor information, and much more.

QuickBooks Pro is the only mainstream accounting program with integrated estimating, time tracking, job costing and payroll.

Pricing and Availability

QuickBooks Pro for Windows and Macintosh will be available at major chain and independent software retailers in early August of 1995. The street price will be $189. QuickBooks and Quicken users will get a $50 rebate.

Requirements and Compatibility

QuickBooks Pro for Windows requires an IBM compatible 386 (or higher) PC, 4MB of RAM, a hard drive with 15MB free, Windows 3.1 and a VGA or higher resolution monitor. Users of Quicken and users of all previous versions of QuickBooks for DOS and Windows can import their files directly into QuickBooks Pro for Windows during start-up. QuickBooks Pro for Macintosh requires Macintosh System 7.0 or higher with a 68020 processor or faster, at least 6MB of RAM, and a hard drive with 15MB free disk space. Monitor requirements: resolution of 640x400 or better, including PowerBook displays, 12 inch or larger black and white monitors and 14 inch or larger color monitors. Users of Quicken and QuickBooks 3.0 for Macintosh can import their files directly into QuickBooks Pro for Macintosh during start-up.