Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), a leader in providing e-services to small business owners, today announced that it has further strengthened its QuickBooks® Internet Gateway business-to-business channel, signing agreements with six additional firms to provide e-services through QuickBooks 2000 and QuickBooks Pro 2000. The firms are eLance.com, Inc., ePolicy.com Insurance Services, Inc., EvolveTM Software, Inc., Impresse Corp., Simplexity, Inc. and SkyDesk, Inc. Intuit also said it has expanded its alliance with UpShot.com, which was first announced in October 1999. Today's announcement underscores Intuit's commitment to identifying and delivering best-of-breed e-offerings to reduce administrative hassles for small business owners. The six firms bring to 13 the number of e-commerce and e-services companies that have signed agreements to provide unprecedented access to the small businesses that use QuickBooks 2000 to manage their businesses. More than two million small businesses currently use Intuit's market-leading accounting and business management software. Hundreds of thousands of businesses have already upgraded to QuickBooks 2000 and QuickBooks Pro 2000, which were introduced in January 2000.
"The Internet Gateway is so effective because it enables e-services companies to place their products and services right into the daily workflow, providing business owners with seamless access to their solutions," said Scott Cook, Intuit's founder and chairman of its executive committee. "QuickBooks users spend more than 10 hours a week using QuickBooks software to manage their business. Our Internet Gateway leverages this core management tool, helping small business owners save time, money and hassle while giving the firms access to tech savvy customers who are great prospects for their services."
The six firms expand the breadth of services available through the QuickBooks Internet Gateway, which provides e-services to small business owners in the areas most critical to building and running a business, including business management; customer sales and marketing; vendor and purchasing management and employee services. The new services will be offered in the coming weeks to all current and future QuickBooks 2000 users through automatic online updates to their software. Intuit will continue to identify and deliver other best-of-breed e-offerings to simplify the lives of small business owners.
"The QuickBooks Internet Gateway is a powerful and unparalleled channel for leading e-services firms to reach small business owners - entrepreneurs who are looking for new ways to run their businesses better and more efficiently," noted Cook. "At the same time, the Internet Gateway enables Intuit to be an even stronger resource for small business people, advancing our strategy to harness the web to revolutionize small business management and accounting."
According to Cook, the QuickBooks Internet Gateway already has produced solid preliminary success both for Intuit and for many of the firms whose e-services were available within the product when it launched in January. "To date, thousands of QuickBooks customers have taken advantage of one or more of the Internet Gateway services," he said.
"Our alliance with Intuit and the QuickBooks Internet Gateway has been very successful for E-Stamp Corporation across the board," said Robert (Bo) Ewald, president and CEO at E-Stamp, Corporation, which launched its integrated E-Stamp® Internet postage solution for QuickBooks 2000 customers in January. "The Internet Gateway has been an excellent source of new customers for us, producing one of our highest conversion rates from leads to new customers."
New Internet Gateway Alliances
QuickBooks Project Marketplace Powered by eLance.com
Through eLance.com, the largest online project marketplace, QuickBooks 2000 users will have seamless access to an online services marketplace to buy and sell services through Requests-for-Proposal and fixed-price offerings in a variety of categories. 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.
Business Insurance Through ePolicy
Through ePolicy.com Insurance Services, 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 policies 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.
Evolve's Professional Services Solution
Through EvolveTM, 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 and middle-market professional service firms with a web-based system that captures contract and project terms to record and bill time and expenses quickly and accurately.
Impresse's Online Print Procurement Services
Through Impresse, QuickBooks 2000 users will have seamless access to an online service that brings efficiency, visibility and control to the print production cycle. Using impresse.com, companies and their printers can help realize savings by maximizing productivity, improving access to information and ensuring consistency across business practices.
Simplexity's Telecommunications Marketplace
Through Simplexity, Inc., a web-based telecommunications marketplace, 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 and submit Requests-for-Proposals to compare bids from all the top telecommunications providers in an 'apples-to-apples' format without having to identify themselves or their businesses to the providers.
QuickBooks Online Backup Service Powered by @Backup
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.
"When we learned about the QuickBooks Internet Gateway program, it was clear to us that this would be a highly effective channel for SkyDesk to reach small businesses looking for ways to run their enterprises better and smarter," said Jim Till, senior vice president of sales and marketing at SkyDesk. "We are very excited about our alliance with Intuit and their commitment to extend the value of QuickBooks to small business owners with services like ours."
Intuit announced relationships with the first group of e-service providers when it announced the QuickBooks Internet Gateway in October 1999. Those companies include: ELetter, Inc., E-Stamp Corp., First Sierra Financial, Inc., Intelisys Electronic Commerce, L.L.C., Signio, Inc., Upshot.com and Wells Fargo Merchant Services, L.L.C.
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.
Intuit said its contracts with e-services companies, including the alliances announced in October 1999, are expected to generate significant committed payments over the next three years (subject to contract performance), as well as revenue sharing opportunities. Intuit intends to sign additional alliances in the future.
