Jaclyn Anku, ProAdvisor Training & Certification Leader: On today's episode of In the Know, we'll be exploring updates to shipping labels, which you can now purchase, create, and print directly from QuickBooks Online.

Here's what to expect. You'll learn about the update, then hear from ProAdvisors Carla Caldwell and Tony Proctor.

Hey, ProAdvisors, I'm Jaclyn, and you're watching In the Know. It's the show designed to keep you In the Know on the most exciting updates to QuickBooks Online. So here's the scoop. Shipping products can be a real pain. Business owners have to enter shipping information into multiple systems, which slows down operations. So we've partnered with Ship Engine to provide users access to deeply discounted carrier rates directly in QuickBooks Online, where users can easily compare shipping rates across carriers and service options. They can purchase, create, and print shipping labels from an invoice, pre-populate the ship-to and ship-from information, and track and manage their shipment status from within the invoice.

And now for the Fast Facts:

• Shipping labels are available to all U.S.-based QuickBooks Online users on Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced as of July 2024.
• To access this feature, start by turning your shipping settings to "On," then navigate to the Commerce tab in the left hand nav.

If you find this update interesting or helpful, be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to our In the Know YouTube channel.

We'll turn now to Keith, an Intuit product leader for a deep dive demo. Keith, welcome to the show.

Keith Crowther: Thank you so much, Jaclyn. I’m excited to be back and really excited to share everything we've done on a completely brand new feature for shipping directly within QuickBooks Online. 

So the first thing that we're going to go into when we look at shipping here and what we've launched is that we've partnered with Ship Engine to provide shipping rates directly within QuickBooks Online, along with the ability to buy, print, and actually get your shipping done without ever having to leave your QuickBooks account.

The first thing your clients are going to do is create a Ship Engine account. We've embedded this experience so it's directly in QuickBooks. They will fund their wallet, adding funds so that they can purchase the shipping labels. This will give them access to a Ship Engine account, which gives them deeply discounted rates on carriers such as the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Clients can add additional carriers by adding wallets for FedEx, UPS, or other carriers they use, all without ever having to leave QuickBooks and log in to different systems.

When it’s time to select a carrier, clients can select the shipping speed, and buy and print the labels. All of this is directly done within the invoice. The only thing the user has to do is enter a few package dimensions. They are going to compare all the multiple different shipping rates that are available based on where they're shipping from and where they're shipping to in order to find the best rate that works for them, purchase the label, and have a label tracking number that is directly tied back to the invoice they already created inside of QuickBooks Online. So when we go into the demo, I'll show you a few of the different touch points we have for where you can access the shipping feature.

The first thing you'll notice in the Global create is that you can create shipping labels, and you can actually select an existing invoice from here. It'll pre-populate all your information, and you can find that same information in the Commerce tab. Under the shipping section, select existing invoices. It'll pre-populate all the information where it's shipping from and where it's shipping to. And then in the last area, if you're going directly to an invoice, you actually have all this information already on the invoice.

At the bottom, you'll see that you can print shipping labels. Now what the user has to do is enter in some package dimensions, including length, width, and weight of the package. The information that's already pre-populated is where it is shipping from and where it is shipping to; QuickBooks will then go and fetch live rates from all of the carriers to compare the different methods that are available and the best options.

Clients select what they want, review their shipping label, select and print it. The invoice is going to get updated actually with the tracking number. What they're going to be left with is a USPS label they can print out and affix to their package. They can go and get USPS to pick up that packaging, and get it delivered for their customers.

With all of these updates, we're really trying to improve the efficiency of shipping, get packages shipped out to customers faster, and reduce the operating cost of buying and printing labels businesses undergo daily. So with all those updates, we are really excited to launch, shipping. I will pass it back over to you, Jaclyn. Thank you again for having me.

Jaclyn Anku: That's fantastic. Keith. Thank you so much for the demo. We'll turn now to Carla Caldwell and Tony Proctor, our ProAdvisor correspondents, for them to weigh in. Well, Carla and Tony, thank you so much for hanging out with us on the show. It's great to have you here.

Tony Proctor: I absolutely love it.

Carla Caldwell: Hey, it's great to be here.

Jaclyn Anku: Well, we're talking about updates to shipping labels, which I know is sort of a niche or nitty-gritty thing to talk to clients about. But if we zoom out and think about advising them on their operations or how they're managing their OpEx, that's what I'd love to talk to you about.

Carla, let me start with you. I'd love to get your point of view on how you enter into a conversation with your clients on their overall operations and advising them? 

Carla Caldwell: Well, I always say that I'm getting involved with a client in a way where I'm not just trying to get out information for a tax return or financials. We really want their operations to be efficient and effective, and honestly, just save them time. So when I approach it that way from the get-go in our very first conversation, it just feels very natural to be recommending things to them and asking questions. Sometimes, I tell the clients I'm probably going to feel like I'm asking you really personal questions that maybe somebody else hasn't asked them before.

I don't want to get in all the weeds, but we definitely like to just help them understand there's a better way to do things.

So for us, from the first conversation, it's all about making their businesses better and grow.

Jaclyn Anku: Carla, you brought up a really good point about where you draw the line as an advisor, and where your role begins and ends relative to what your client is doing. Tony, how do you set those boundaries when you work with clients? 

Tony Proctor: It's really a conversation; “We are going to get all up in your business,” is what I like to say, but the more information they are able to provide to us, the better options and things we can provide back. I mean, obviously we're not the same as an attorney, but when we have those conversations behind closed doors, it may seem a little invasive. The goal is, hey, let's let's drive forward.

Carla Caldwell: Sometimes I'm just curious. Some of our clients are fascinating and I want to know more about what's going on in their business, but sometimes I have to be careful.

Jaclyn Anku: Tony, specific to a client's operations, are there specific probing questions you find yourself asking that have been good unlocks?

Tony Proctor: I ask “why?” If someone is writing checks— and it's 2024—I ask why they are doing that. Help me to understand the reason behind it, because there may be a better way. It’s almost like anyone who has children or coworkers who are nosy is “why, why?” The reason is because we want to know more to help you out. So that's my favorite question: why?

Carla Caldwell: It takes time to build trust in any relationship, right? And so when we talk to our clients, I tell them I want you to tell me about the messes. I want you to tell me about the weird things that are going on, because I want to get you to the “yes,” but I want to get you there in the right way. And so it's not like you're not allowed to do that. I don't want to tell the client that. Although, you know, obviously there are times we have to do that. But if you tell me what the situation is, then we can think through that together and probably come up with a yes, and if I need to pull in a colleague, we'll do that. But I want them to understand that we are somebody that wants to have those questions because we're going to come up with solutions to work for them. Sometimes you know that works, but other times they have stumped me, you know? But most of the time we can get him an answer. We can talk about apps. I reach out to our community. I really want to partner with our clients. 

Jaclyn Anku: Now, Carla, you mentioned that you have some inventory-based clients. And I know that’s quite nuanced compared to working with clients who are in professional services when it comes to their operations. Are there any big wins that you've had in terms of helping to guide them on their operations, maintaining costs, or keeping costs down? 

Carla Caldwell: One of the big things I always want them to understand is their cost of goods sold. That seems like such a simple thing. I mean, if they buy something and resell it, such as buying 10 widgets at $1each. I know what my cost of goods sold is, but sometimes it's a little bit more complicated than that because they have different shipping and expenses that come at a different time—so there can be some complications.

The big thing I tell my clients is that I want to make sure you understand what's going on in your business. And so when we sit down and look at a financial statement, if they don't understand it, then that's a problem we need to help them with. So my big wins are asking those “why” questions; why we are doing it this way and how it is working.

Recently, we have a client that actually does wholesale and manufacturing, so we've had a lot of deep conversations about what they're doing and why they're doing it, and how they're doing it. When I started working with them a few years ago, they were doing spreadsheets for everything. Well, I love Excel, but that's not how you run an inventory and not how you run accounting. So I said I did not want to maintain a spreadsheet and didn’t even want to see the spreadsheet, telling the client there are systems out there that can handle this for you. The client didn’t know what those systems were, so we set up some demos.

However, I don't know their details of what they need to do or how they do certain things. My job is to just tee up the information. They know their business really well. It also really helps when I do this because I tell them that my expertise is their accounting system—and you don't mess with that. That's my world and you do your step over there; that helps them see the difference between where I'm going to be and where they're going to be. I will work on integrating it and getting the information out of it that I need, but this is their domain and I don't want to make that decision for them. 

Jaclyn Anku: Carla, that was absolutely quotable. This is my world, and that's yours. That's amazing.

Carla Caldwell: That's right. Don't mess with my world.

Jaclyn Anku: No. Well, Carla, Tony, thanks so much for joining this episode of In the Know. Such poignant insights. And I just love that nugget of always going back to the “why?” Very well, thank you, and we'll catch you next time. Carla, Tony, bye. 

Thank you for watching this episode. I'm Jaclyn, host of In the Know and leader of ProAdvisor Training and Certification. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe so that you don't miss a single episode. We'll catch you next time.

Meet the ProAdvisors

ProAdvisor Carla Caldwell: Founder, Candella Accounting

ProAdvisor Tony Proctor: Founder, Procter & Associates