Jaclyn Anku, ProAdvisor Training & Certification Leader: On today's episode of In the Know, we're discussing QuickBooks Bill Pay, and how it can streamline and simplify your firm's account payable processes. Our guest is ProAdvisor Dan Luthi.
Spoiler alert, here is his top five list for QuickBooks Online:
- Seamless integration with QuickBooks Online.
- Easy for clients to navigate.
- Streamlined processes for accountant users.
- Flexible pricing options for you and your clients.
- QuickBooks Bill Pay makes for a seamless addition to the QuickBooks ecosystem.
So, with that, let me welcome Dan, who's going to unpack and contextualize the “why” behind his top five reasons. Dan, welcome. Thanks for being here.
Dan Luthi: Hey, thank you so much. I'm excited to meet with you to talk about Bill Pay and about some of the functions that go along with QuickBooks Online. And honestly, you said “seamless” a whole lot, which I'm excited about because it really is seamless in a lot of cases. So do you mind if I dive in? I'm really excited to actually talk about the first one that's on that list.
Jaclyn Anku: Dan, what's number one on your list?
Dan Luthi: Number one on my list is seamless integration with QuickBooks Online. The fact that Bill Pay is fully embedded makes it a really great feature for clients that are processing transactions. They really need to be able to see and view all of that detail in one place. It also cuts down on a bunch of extra potential work you're doing. If you're using a third-party solution such as a bank account, you don't have to go in and recreate those transactions. All of it's happening in one place, all the details are stored in the vendor in the vendor center, and it gives that client true real-time visibility into their finances.
Jaclyn Anku: So Dan, you touched on it a little bit. How does this compare if a ProAdvisor were to use a third-party Bill Pay solution, and what would be involved in getting it into the general ledger?
Dan Luthi: The one thing that makes it really convenient on this [the QuickBooks] side is because it's embedded into the product. You're not dealing with an integration back and forth between two systems. It also is going to help potentially with the error side of things that some people deal with such as other third-party solutions. There’s also not going to be a clearing account to deal with, the transactions will come and go out of the bank feed very easily, and it should be relatively seamless because it's matching those transactions automatically for you as they clear.
Jaclyn Anku: Should we move to number two?
Dan Luthi: Let's go on to number two, easy customer navigation. One of the biggest pain points we often hear from clients is, “I really don't like dealing with multiple applications. I'm already in QuickBooks. Isn't there something I can do that helps me work through all this?”
Truly, a lot of times, us as firm owners and accountants spend a lot of time helping clients understand how to use QuickBooks, so we show them the navigation functions where we click on that beloved plus sign in the top left-hand corner. Our customers are very acclimated to that workflow in a lot of cases, and that's one of the pieces that creates a lot of benefit for our customers. They know where to go. They're not being surprised by a whole new workflow that they have to go through. It creates a very active environment for them when you're going, of course, to pay bills and it gives you the ability to schedule it right there. And so again, it creates a really easy nav, you know, for situations for clients to navigate.
Jaclyn Anku: Okay, so the ease of navigation for clients is super important because many clients will be actively involved with their own accounts payable processes. Number three on the list is all about our accountant users and how QuickBooks Bill Pay makes their lives easier and better. So let's go to number three.
Dan Luthi: Definitely right now, of course, I would say more than ever, tech stack overload is probably becoming one of the most common things for us as firm owners, but also for us as accountants working and interacting with clients. Having all of that happen seamlessly within QuickBooks really does cut down on a lot of those extra steps, including being able to have one place where receipts or bills are uploaded. Having OCR and the AI extract that information all in the same place really does help to move the process forward. It’s a lot easier for accountants because it puts you in the same place so you're not bouncing back and forth between applications or between tabs in order to be able to make sure that your batch payments can be processed correctly. It also cuts down on potential errors that happen. And so, from the accounting side, it really just creates a smoother workflow while you're interacting with the system.
Jaclyn Anku: Dan, I know different firms have different relationships with their clients. In accounts payable, some are highly involved, while others may just have oversight. Do these kinds of streamlined processes help no matter what end of that spectrum you and your firm sit at?
Dan Luthi: Yeah, I love this question. Honestly, my team asks me this all the time because we offer different levels of services to our clients. When it comes to accounts payable, we are very hands on with some of our clients which means we want to be able to create good segregations of duties. That is one of the great features that's available as a part of this.
If your customers are on QuickBooks Online Advanced and using the highest tier of the Bill Pay solution, you can set up those exact same workflows where you have a separation between bills being paid, while the customer feels they're involved in the process. Or you can have it on the opposite spectrum to where the customer can do everything. It doesn't have to be “you” involved in the system, but you can still see everything they're doing without having to have another app or without having to chase them down on other things. It really does give you the ability to span the service opportunities depending on what your experience or what your service offering is with the client.
Jaclyn Anku: I'm sure that varies based on the client's size and what their needs are, which brings up pricing, number four on your list. So let's talk about flexible pricing options.
Dan Luthi: Definitely, there are three tiers of pricing available for your clients. Of course, the lower tier is based on the lower volume needed, and then it continues to scale up. The nice thing, of course, about the upper tier as well, is you get some of those additional features that help you to be able to create workflow functions. Generally, of course, smaller organizations are not going to want or need those workflow pieces. And so the lower tier is built and structured for it to be most cost- effective for them.
On the opposite side, the larger tiers are built to be more constructive or more conducive to those clients that have more items in their workflow, and so the flexible pricing really does give them a lot of advantage. And then also, of course, is even if you're using your Intuit partner codes or any of those kinds of things, you can also potentially offer discounts to your clients to help with partnership as a part of your connection with your customer.
Jaclyn Anku: Okay, we love flexible pricing. That's awesome. So, we're on number five as a reminder. Number one was that QuickBooks Bill Pay integrates seamlessly with the general ledger, so that's at the heart of this. But number five is that it integrates seamlessly as well with the QuickBooks ecosystem of products. Can you help us expand out and understand how it fits within the ecosystem?
Dan Luthi: Very much. So, as we know, not every client is able to work with every facet of their business within QuickBooks. Sometimes, they need another application to connect their receivables, e-commerce, project management, or something along those lines. That's the one great part that really works well on this side of things when it comes to Bill Pay: It attaches and connects onto that ecosystem without having to create a whole bunch of change for that customer. It's going to cut down on the login piece, which will work really well.
But if you're using a secondary system for POS or having a secondary system that's bringing receipts or bills into it, you can still use the bill pay approach directly within QuickBooks. It’s not going to require you to have to go through a bunch of extra steps. That system will push right into QuickBooks, and make it available for you to use the Bill Pay solution right within the product.
Jaclyn Anku: Dan, thank you so much for illuminating how QuickBooks Bill Pay can really fit into firm processes to help them offer accounts payable to clients of varying sizes and complexity—and be a win-win for everybody. So, should we recap your top five reasons?
Dan Luthi: Absolutely. Let's do it.
Jaclyn Anku: Okay, I'll do one, and then you do one. So, number one is seamless integration with QuickBooks Online. Number two?
Dan Luthi: Number two is its ease for clients to navigate.
Jaclyn Anku: Number three, streamlined processes for accountant users.
Dan Luthi: Number four, flexible pricing options for you and your clients.
Jaclyn Anku: Number five, is a seamless addition to the QuickBooks Online ecosystem. I feel like we should High Five after that. It’s amazing!
Jaclyn Anku: Dan, thank you so much for being on this episode. It's always fun spending time with you.
Dan Luthi: Definitely. Thank you so much for inviting me and looking forward to the next time.
Jaclyn Anku: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for watching. If you liked what you saw, be sure to like, comment, and subscribe. We'll see you next time.
