INTUIT TO OFFER FREE TRIAL VERSION OF ITS BEST-SELLING QUICKBOOKS 4.0 AND QUICKBOOKS PRO 4.0; Small business owners can now try market-leading accounting package for free

Business Wire, May 7, 1996

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 1996--Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) today announced plans to allow small business customers to try the company's best-selling QuickBooks 4.0 and QuickBooks Pro 4.0 small business accounting software free of charge.

Intuit, the leading developer of personal finance and small business accounting software, plans to further expand the market by encouraging customers to try a fully functional version of QuickBooks or QuickBooks Pro free of charge in their own business for a limited period of time.

"Our research shows that many small business owners are frustrated because they've spent a lot of time and money evaluating other accounting packages that end up not meeting their particular needs," said Scott D. Cook, co-founder and chairman of Intuit. "We want to solve that problem by allowing all customers to easily evaluate the market leader for free. QuickBooks will then sell itself because it allows customers to spend less time on their books and more time doing what they love -- running their business."

The Most Easy to Use Small Business Accounting Solution

QuickBooks' breakthrough ease of use brings complete and powerful bookkeeping capabilities to small business owners who do not want to deal with the hassle of trying to understand accounting jargon or debit/credit accounting. Using the exclusive EasyStep Interview, customers can quickly set up their entire business with QuickBooks, making it easy to create invoices, enter sales, pay bills, record customer contacts, track time, perform job costing, manage inventory, handle payroll and even prepare reports for tax time. All the data they have entered while working with the trial version is automatically converted to the full version of QuickBooks 4.0 or QuickBooks Pro 4.0.

Easy for Customers to try QuickBooks for Free

Beginning May 6, 1996, Intuit will include the free Windows trial version offer as part of its ongoing QuickBooks television advertising campaign. Customers can also call 1-800-781-6999, extension 702656 to try QuickBooks 4.0 or QuickBooks Pro 4.0 for free. Beginning May 12, customers can obtain the free Windows trial version by filling out an electronic form on QuickBooks Small Business Online (http://www.intuit.com/quickbooks/), a part of Intuit's World Wide Web site. Customers can use the free Windows trial version 25 times in order to determine if they would like to upgrade to the full version of the product. Macintosh customers can try a full version of QuickBooks 4.0 or QuickBooks Pro 4.0 for Macintosh free for 30 days on a delayed billing program. Customers are encouraged to take advantage of the offer immediately as the free trial program is subject to discontinuation at any time.(1)

About QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro

QuickBooks is the No. 1 best-selling accounting software on the market, according to recent retail software market data. More than 40% of all people who own personal computers already use Quicken or QuickBooks to manage their personal or small business finances.(2) QuickBooks is also recommended by more accountants than any other small business accounting package on the market.(3)

Available for Windows, Macintosh and DOS, QuickBooks provides users with the fastest, easiest way to manage their business. QuickBooks Pro 4.0 includes all of the benefits found in QuickBooks 4.0, as well as additional features such as job costing, estimating and time tracking, making QuickBooks Pro the ideal solution for customers who run project-based businesses.

QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro Regular Pricing

The regular QuickBooks 4.0 and QuickBooks Pro 4.0 line is available at most major chain and independent software retailers.

The estimated street price of the full version QuickBooks 4.0 for Windows is $99. The estimated street price of QuickBooks 4.0 CD-ROM for Windows is $129. The estimated street price of QuickBooks 4.0 for Macintosh is $119. Previous QuickBooks and Quicken users get a $25 rebate.

The estimated street price for QuickBooks Pro 4.0 for Windows or Macintosh is $189. Previous QuickBooks and Quicken users get a $50 rebate.

Requirements and Compatibility

QuickBooks 4.0 for Windows requires an IBM compatible 386 (or higher) PC, 4MB of RAM minimum (8 MB recommended), a hard drive with 14 MB free, Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, and a VGA or higher resolution monitor.

QuickBooks Pro 4.0 for Windows requires an IBM compatible 386 (or higher) PC, 4MB of RAM minimum (8 MB recommended), a hard drive with 15 MB free, Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, and a VGA or higher resolution monitor.

The QuickBooks 4.0 line for Windows can convert data from Quicken 5 for Windows, QuickPay 3 for Windows, QuickBooks 3.1 for Windows, QuickBooks 2.1 for DOS and all previous versions of these products.

QuickBooks 4.0 for Macintosh requires System 7.0 or higher with a 68020 or faster processor (recommended: 68030-25Mhz processor or faster, including IIfx, IIvx, IIci, Centris, LC III, LC 520 or higher, Performa 450 or higher, and all Quadra and Power Macintosh machines) at least 8MB 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. QuickBooks 4.0 for Macintosh can convert data from Quicken 6 for Macintosh, QuickBooks 3.0 for Macintosh and all previous versions of these products.