Jaclyn Anku, ProAdvisor Training & Certification Leader: On today's special episode of In the Know, we'll be hosting a roundtable discussion with three leading ProAdvisors to hear how they set their clients up for success with the best possible suite of Intuit services.
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 important updates to QuickBooks Online. So here's the scoop. We heard that it's hard to know which client is a best fit for which Intuit product or SKU, so we've invited three ProAdvisors for their real-world perspective so that you can better communicate with your clients and set them up for success.
Let's turn now to ProAdvisors Carla Caldwell, Nayo Carter-Gray, and Matt Skinner. Hey gang! Welcome!
Nayo Carter-Gray: Hey.
Carla Caldwell: Hello!
Jaclyn Anku: Good to see you all. Okay, so agree or disagree? Is it complex to pair clients with the best Intuit product or SKU? Nayo, let me start with you. Is this complex? How do you handle it? Can you kick us off?
Nayo Carter-Gray: I think that there are a lot of SKUs that we have to sift through to figure out which product better fits each client. In my firm, we have a little hack to choose a very similar set of client types. So really, we don't have to look at all the SKUs. We can look at just a few, because I know for the clients we serve, these will be the best fit.
Carla Caldwell: I like that idea, Nayo. Again, we go back to niche, which isn’t always by industry, but it is for the functionality of what we do for our clients. So I think that's a really smart thing to do.
Nayo Carter-Gray: Yeah, for our little baby clients, we try to keep them small so we can predict what their needs will be. The beautiful thing is, you know, if they exceed expectations, we can always upgrade to the different SKUs in the product line. But typically, we're starting at the bottom end and working our way up versus having to figure it all out for each client that goes forward.
Jaclyn Anku: Is that true for you as well, Matt? Do you focus on a particular niche or is it different at your firm?
Matt Skinner: I think we almost work the opposite. We think about the thing that they have to have, right? Let's say they have projects, so I'm going to have to start there and move down because there are certain things added at higher levels. It's more important to me whether a product has budgeting and forecasting because they are going to need budgeting and forecasting. Any plan that doesn't have that is kind of off the table. So it's a limitation how it's set up, but like I said, it's complex. Clients are complex. Everything's complex. It's all hard. So we just kind of look for, you know, what do we absolutely have to have in order to make this engagement a success? If it's projects, then we're always going to go up to that one specific level.
Jaclyn Anku: Matt, let me tap into that. How do you do that level of intake with your clients or lead that type of discovery so that you uncover the absolute must-haves and then line them up with the right SKU?
Matt Skinner: Most of our client intake is very, very dry. Obviously, we're an accounting firm with a lot of check-the-box compliance stuff. But really, it's about the client’s pain points and their goals, right? If somebody says, “I want to know more about this or I want to ultimately achieve this,” what are the tools we're going to need in QuickBooks to reach that level? So ultimately, it's up to the client. But if they say, “Look, I've got 25 interested parties that all need to have access to the books,” that's important, because if we have that visibility, then it's decided, right? We're on QuickBooks Online Advanced, and that’s that. So it's either about their wants or needs to sort of say what's the point that we need to reach in those varying SKUs to meet those expectations?
Jaclyn Anku: To Matt's point, when you intake clients and they are first starting to work with your firm, how do you lead the discovery so you uncover the features your clients really need to be successful?
Nayo Carter-Gray: We work with two main niche industries, so we work with a lot of construction service clients that are using projects, so we almost always know we're going on QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced. In our nonprofits as well, which is our other main niche, they're usually in there because they need classes and locations and then it is just a matter of when we upgrade them. We also do get clients that have a holding company and we know that most of the time they fit in Ledger.
I think it really is just kind of what fits best for your firm, whether it's the industries you're in or the types of services you provide, and things like that. I will just say, though, Matt, I love the idea that we go to the version one that has the features we need. I think sometimes, as an accountant—and I'm speaking for me—I'm sure other accountants are not as cheap as I am, but I'm thinking I want to pay as little as possible for it. And so I'll bend over backwards. But I'm getting to the point where I'm like, this isn't what it's about. I'm not here trying to save their money on their subscription; I'm trying to put them in the right one, because otherwise, we end up taking on more of the work and that's no bueno. That's just my little rant for today.
Carla Caldwell: It’s the cost of doing business. We have to look at the subscription fee as that and explain to our customers that they want the right tool for the job. We don't try to hammer a nail with a screwdriver because you're just going to either bust up your finger or bust up the tool. So yeah, I'm all for choosing the right subscription level for their needs and not necessarily just going to the cheapest one because it's cheap. I have had clients come to me who are paying for the highest level tier of product and I'm like, you're not even using half of these features, so we can turn it off. But then I have clients who are on the cheapest level and I'm like, you got five people working for you.
If a client is trying to share a login, it's time to upgrade. So I think for us, we find out their needs or what they're currently using through that initial phone call. So we do have a consultation. We meet with every client, learn a little bit about themselves, their business, who they work with, and from there find out if they already have a subscription. We then ask for access to it so we can learn a little bit more. But I'm always about, you know, what is it? Who is this that found the right, the right bed, and went to sleep all cozy? Yes, that's what we're looking for, the Goldilocks subscription, just making sure that the client's needs are met as well as us being able to do our jobs effectively and not, you know, be stressing or trying to spend extra time making things work. No duct tape solution around here.
Matt Skinner: That's our position because we pass through Intuit’s costs directly, so if you don't want to pay for the higher tier, that's cool. You just end up paying for it in hours, right? Like if it gets made up somewhere else or you don't really get what you need, then it's sort of like, why did you go and retain an accountant, get a QuickBooks file, and then decide after that? Okay, but not more than $12 a year. Like that's all I want to spend on it, right? So it ends up shaking out in the end.
Carla Caldwell: 100 percent.
Jaclyn Anku: So let's widen the lens Intuit QuickBooks started with the general ledger. Over time, Intuit offers an ecosystem of products from payroll to bill pay, payments, MailChimp, and more. How do you think about the suite of services holistically? Carla, let me start with you. When you're doing discovery intake with a client, how do you think about pairing them with the overall right set of tools and services for their needs?
Nayo Carter-Gray: We talked to them about it and let them know that all of those things are there. I'm honestly not an expert in MailChimp, Credit Karma, or whatever. We use MailChimp so I can tell them my experience with it. I usually am focusing more on the financial suite of products, payroll, QuickBooks Bill Pay, QuickBooks Payments, and things like that. I can go deep on that stuff and talk about the benefits of that a lot. And I do.
So as we're doing that discovery call, we're asking a lot of questions about where they are today and where they plan to be, because we know we'll introduce that to them later. Our team is involved in this as well. I'm not in every client meeting, but just had one with a client I haven't seen in a year; my team knew everything that was going on with them and talked through things. And so they [the staff] are the ones suggesting those features quite a bit. We talk about this internally a lot so they can suggest it. So for us, we’re looking for those opportunities to help our clients find better ways to do things.It just so happens that QuickBooks has a lot of those tools available to us to integrate into what they're already doing. That just makes it easier for them and us to work with our clients.
Jaclyn Anku: Well, Matt, Carla, and Nayo, thank you so much for sharing your insights on how you right-fit clients to the best suite of Intuit products. I've learned a ton about how you weave through inquiry and do discovery with your clients. It's not a guessing game; it’s really about understanding them and their needs so you can pair them up with the right set of features.
Thank you all so much and 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 Nayo Carter-Gray: CEO, 1st Step Accounting
ProAdvisor Matt Skinner: Advisory Services Partner, Beaird Harris
