Intuit Introduces QuickBooks 2000, Debuting Internet E-finance Services; New QuickBooks Helps Small Businesses Automate Critical Business Activities

Business Wire, Jan 5, 2000

Business Editors/Technology Writers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2000

Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU) today announced QuickBooks(R) and QuickBooks Pro(R) 2000, innovative new versions of the best selling small business management and accounting software.

The new QuickBooks is the first small business management software to feature the QuickBooks Internet Gateway platform of connected and integrated e-services, offering small businesses direct access to services that can help them more easily and efficiently manage their business. It is also the first to feature the new QuickBooks Site Builder, the web site creation and domain name registration tool that makes it incredibly fast and easy for small businesses to establish a presence on the Web.

More than two million small businesses rely on QuickBooks to manage their companies, far more than any other comparable product. New QuickBooks 2000 simplifies accounting management by putting the most critical business information in one easy-to-read, easy-to-customize location. New QuickBooks 2000 also goes beyond accounting to add important new electronic services to help small businesses automate critical business activities. These e-services include QuickBooks Site Builder, QuickBooks Merchant Account Service, and QuickBooks Postage Service, as well as Internet links to online leasing and business loans, and an automated direct mail service. In addition, Intuit is expected to roll out the new QuickBooks Purchasing Service later this year.

"Intuit has created a fast and simple way for small businesses to have a presence on the Internet, and to take advantage of services integrated into the QuickBooks software," said Scott Cook, Intuit executive committee chairman and founder. "The result is that for the first time, small business people can manage many of the key facets of their businesses from accounting, to Web site creation and management, to payroll, all from a single integrated system."

New e-Finance Services Automate Critical Business Activities

The new e-finance services help QuickBooks users automate their critical business activities through Internet connected services, revolutionizing small business management in the process. Some of these e-finance services are integrated with the QuickBooks software, so important business data is shared between the accounting system and each service. This creates efficiency, saving time and duplication of effort as a result of only entering data one time in most cases. For example, because the QuickBooks Merchant Account Service works within QuickBooks, credit card payments are entered into the accounting system and processed with the bank -- all in one quick, streamlined process. Automating such an important business activity can help small business owners save time and steps.

Intuit's new QuickBooks e-finance services can also help small business owners save money. For example, a small business can quickly sign-up and receive approval to accept credit card payments using the QuickBooks Merchant Account Service. There is no sign-up fee, which can save businesses anywhere from $200 to $1000, and the credit card processing fees are also competitively priced, offering small businesses a viable credit card solution.

New Features Contribute to Ease of Use

The new QuickBooks 2000 also includes features that make it easy for small business owners to know more about their business. New features include:

-- Navigation Bar providers faster, easier one-click access to the

features users most frequently use.

-- Report Finder allows users to preview exactly what kind of

information the report will generate and what the information

means.

-- Synchronization between Microsoft Outlook ('97 and

later)/Symantec ACT! (v.3.08 & 4.02) and QuickBooks Pro enables

users to enter or edit data one time and the information will be

updated in the other applications.

-- New Centers, such as a Company Center, Customer Center, and

Customer and Vendor Detail Centers which aggregate all like

information into the appropriate locations.

-- And 20 additional enhancements resulting from customer

suggestions.

QuickBooks e-Finance Services

QuickBooks Site Builder

Many small business owners don't have the time or the expertise to create their own personalized Web sites, so they outsource the work and rely on expensive consultants. According to a 1999 CyberDialog study, small businesses expect to spend $850 to more than $2000 to set up a site, and then expect to spend more to maintain the site and host it. The new QuickBooks Site Builder is easy to use, customizable, affordable and results in a professional looking, high quality Web site. It enables users to set up their own sites with their own domain names in about ten minutes from within QuickBooks and it is free of charge for the first six months and only $9.95 per month thereafter. Site Builder will also be the platform for an expanded range of e-services that Intuit plans to make available later this year.

QuickBooks Postage Service