The new services will enable small business owners to streamline management of their businesses in several key areas, including business insurance, file back-up and storage, telecommunications procurement, print production and procurement, professional services automation and professional services procurement through Requests-for-Proposals (RFPs) and fixed-price offers.

"Intuit is focused on listening to and answering the needs of small business owners to make their lives easier," said Scott Cook, Intuit's founder and chairman of its executive committee. "We've done that for nearly a decade with our market-leading QuickBooks accounting software and now we're extending this platform to meet other critical small business needs. The services we're unveiling today, coupled with those launched earlier this year, provide entrepreneurs with seamless access to services in areas vital to running a small business, including business management; customer sales and marketing; vendor and purchasing management and employee services."

Introduced in January 2000, QuickBooks 2000 not only provides small business owners with comprehensive and easy-to-use accounting software, it also provides powerful electronic services that are available in the daily workflow. The e-services introduced in January 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.

Leveraging QuickBooks Accounting Software
"QuickBooks Pro 2000 has been a valuable tool in growing DeLionsDen, saving me both time and hassle," said Christo De Lange, founder and chief executive of the Atlanta-based e-commerce service and consulting company. "I was very pleased with the ease and simplicity of the merchant account application process, and having the capability to accept credit card payments - and having that process integrated with the core accounting software - puts me in a position to further grow my business."

Providing Business Owners More Control, Flexibility
With more than two million small businesses using QuickBooks, Intuit is a leader in providing business and accounting solutions to entrepreneurs throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of QuickBooks users have already upgraded to QuickBooks 2000 and QuickBooks Pro 2000 and have access to the broad offering of e-services from their desktop. Small business owners also can visit QuickBooks.com to take advantage of most of these easy-to-use e-services.

New QuickBooks Services
In the coming weeks, QuickBooks 2000 and QuickBooks Pro 2000 users can take advantage of a range of new e-services, including:

• Business Insurance. Through ePolicy.com Insurance Services, Inc., the first end-to-end Internet-based business insurance provider, Intuit will offer QuickBooks 2000 users an easy, convenient and cost-effective way to buy and download business insurance directly over the Internet. One of ePolicy's key strengths is its strong relationships with nationally known carriers such as Kemper Insurance Companies, TIG Insurance Company, Interstate Insurance Group and others. The ePolicy solution will help QuickBooks 2000 users to quickly and easily select and buy business insurance at lower rates -- all at web speed.
• File Back-Up and Storage. Through SkyDesk, Inc., a premier provider of complete Internet storage solutions, Intuit will provide QuickBooks 2000 customers with the QuickBooks Online Backup Service Powered by @Backup, an online data protection solution that provides automatic off-site storage for critical computer files, helping to protect them against hardware failure, theft, disaster or human error. The @Backup service is a safer, more reliable and convenient alternative to traditional backup methods, such as removable hard drives or magnetic tape.
• Project Marketplace. Through eLance.com, QuickBooks 2000 users will have seamless access to an online services marketplace to buy and sell services through Requests-for-Proposals and fixed-price offerings in a variety of categories. Unlike online job sites that focus on recruiting, eLance allows individuals and businesses to buy and sell services that can be performed remotely anytime, day or night. eLance buyers and sellers list projects and services in dozens of categories, including but not limited to graphic design, web design, data entry, software development, technical support, translation, word processing, writing, career consulting and business consulting.
• Telecommunications Marketplace. Through Simplexity, Inc., Intuit will offer QuickBooks 2000 customers a virtual telecommunications department, helping small business owners compare and choose - at no additional charge -- the best products, plans and service providers to fit their needs. Small business owners can enter information about their usage needs and view the top telecommunications providers in an 'apples-to-apples' format, without having to identify themselves or their companies to the providers. Businesses can also submit Requests-for-Proposals and compare customized bids from all the top providers. Simplexity is an objective and unbiased free service that helps small business owners save both time and money, while also lending clarity to the often confusing and complex world of telecommunications.
• Online Print Procurement. Through impresse.com, QuickBooks 2000 users will have seamless access to an online service that helps bring efficiency, visibility and control to the print production cycle. Leveraging the Internet, impresse.com streamlines complex, labor-intensive tasks that go into commercial print procurement, from project specification, quoting, proofing and production management to reporting and billing. Using impresse.com, companies and their printers can help realize savings by maximizing productivity, improving access to information and ensuring consistency across business practices.
• Professional Services Solution. Through Evolveä, a leader in e-business professional automation solutions, QuickBooks 2000 users will have access to an e-platform solution for managing the service chain. Evolve's Services.comä Delivery Manager provides small to middle-market professional services firms with a web-based system that captures contract and project terms to record and bill time and expenses quickly and accurately.

Small business owners also can take advantage of the many services first introduced in January, including:

• QuickBooks Site Builder, offered directly from Intuit, for designing highly professional, customized web sites in little time and at an affordable cost.
• QuickBooks Postage Service for purchasing postage through an Internet postage account with E-Stamp Corporation.
• QuickBooks Merchant Account Service, created through alliances with Signio and Wells Fargo Merchant Services, L.L.C, for accepting and recording approved credit card payments within QuickBooks 2000.
• Automated Direct Mail Service, provided by ELetter Inc., for managing all aspects of a business mailing.
• Online Leasing and Loans for specific equipment purchases and working capital for general business purposes, available through an alliance with First Sierra.
• Online Sales Management Tools, provided by UpShot.com, for managing customers, prospects and sales teams more effectively and efficiently.
• QuickBooks Payroll Service, offered directly from Intuit, for managing virtually every payroll detail.

Pricing and Availability
Customers can purchase QuickBooks 2000 or QuickBooks Pro 2000 by visiting their local software retailer. Customers can also order the software directly from Intuit at www.intuit.com or by calling 1-800-4-INTUIT (1-800-446-8848). The suggested retail price for QuickBooks 2000 is $119.00. The suggested retail price for QuickBooks Pro 2000 is $219.00. QuickBooks Pro 2000 5-User Value Pack suggested retail price is $499.95.

Off-cycle updates and new services will be delivered to QuickBooks 2000 through automatic online updates.

Terms, conditions and pricing of e-services are subject to change. Certain e-services require application approval. Internet access is required for online services, including e-services.

Additional QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro 2000 information, such as system requirements, additional features and pricing is available at the Intuit Press Room at http://www.intuit.com/pressroom.