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Canada’s entrepreneurs are always looking for new ways to take their business to the next level. Research from Intuit Canada has found, however, that entrepreneurs often lack the time and resources they need to get ahead. Intuit’s research shows that 62% of Canada’s 2.4 million small businesses say that financial tracking is critical when it comes to achieving their business goals Research conducted by ConStat. 961 small business professionals surveyed between February 28 and March 12, 2012. According to Industry Canada, the definition of “small business” is firms that have fewer than 100 employees. The same research shows that more than 34% of small businesses are constantly looking for better ways to manage their finances, while 26% feel they’re alone when it comes to managing their business.

With the new QuickBooks^® 2013, Canada’s number one selling financial management software, Based on NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service of units sold at retail in Canada from July 2010 through July 2011 for desktop software only. these entrepreneurs have a new resource to help them run and grow their small businesses. From smart new features to a sleek new look and feel, the 2013 version of QuickBooks^® from Intuit Canada is the easiest, most efficient QuickBooks ever. Key features and benefits that will help small businesses find more time include:

• Time-saving customer transaction forms – The most common actions have been simplified. Fewer clicks are required to create invoices, estimates and sales orders.
• Easier navigation – A simplified user experience provides “one-click” access to favourite, recent and memorized reports right from the home page.
• Faster access to information – Reorganized Customer, Vendor and Employee Centres let users easily access key contact information, such as multiple email addresses, phone numbers, website addresses and social network profiles.

“We know that small businesses want to spend their time creating new products and services, attracting new customers, and growing their business,” said Avneet Sandhu, Product Manager for QuickBooks. “That’s why we designed QuickBooks 2013 to make it easier for small businesses to quickly tackle vital financial management tasks so that they have more time to spend figuring out how to take their business to the next level.”

A One-stop Shop for Managing A Small Business

In additional to tackling vital financial management tasks, small businesses can do more with QuickBooks 2013. A new feature called Lead Centre provides users with a mini-customer relationship management (CRM) tool. Conveniently integrated into the QuickBooks calendar, the tool helps users track sales leads, import existing leads, and add associated tasks. When a lead becomes a customer, the contact information can be moved into the Customer Centre with one click!

Advanced Inventory Feature for A Growing Business

QuickBooks 2013 includes a new Advanced Inventory feature for small business owners who are managing a growing operation. The Advanced Inventory feature reduces the need for third-party software for users who have complex inventory systems, enabling users to:

• Track their inventory across multiple locations, serial numbers or lot numbers and specific locations within a warehouse.
• Assign barcodes to items for scanning for data entry on transaction forms.

This feature is available as an add-on to QuickBooks Enterprise 13.0, an affordable and user-friendly version of QuickBooks designed specifically for growing mid-sized businesses.

New Features for Accountants   

QuickBooks’ Accountant 2013 includes specific features that help accounting professionals work efficiently with their clients’ QuickBooks data. In addition to exclusive toolsets such as Client Data Review, which helps accountants save time by automatically identifying common client entry errors, the 2013 version introduces new features, including:

• Accountant Centre – Gives accountants one-click access to the tools they use most. This customizable feature includes the new Reconcile Widget, which provides a fresh look at account balances, reconciled balance and last reconciled date all in one place.
• Batch Enter Transactions – Saves accountants and professional bookkeepers time by enabling them to use a spreadsheet, such as Excel, to manually enter multiple transactions that can be inputted into QuickBooks in a single step.
• Send General Journal Entries – Provides accountants with the ability to send General Journal Entries to their clients with the click of a button, meaning that clients don’t have to manually input these entries under instruction of the accountant.
• Financial Statement Writer – Streamlines workflow by allowing accountants to edit and format custom financial statements and documents using familiar Microsoft Excel and Word functions. These reports can be created for distinct client business types, and the data is automatically refreshed.

Pricing and Availability

QuickBooks 2013 can be purchased directly from Intuit Canada on Sept. 24 by calling 1-888-829-8589 or visiting www.quickbooks.ca. QuickBooks Pro and Premier will be available on Oct. 7 at participating retailers, including Best Buy, Future Shop, Staples and Walmart. Suggested retail prices are:

• QuickBooks Pro: For newer and existing small businesses: $229.99.
• QuickBooks Premier: For established and expanding small businesses, including industry-specific editions for contractors, manufacturers and wholesalers, nonprofits, professional service firms and retailers: $499.99.

QuickBooks Enterprise 13.0 is loaded with the tools and features growing businesses need to get on – and stay on – a strong growth trajectory. It has the capacity to add up to 30 simultaneous users at multiple locations and to manage 100,000 items. It will be available from Intuit by calling 1-866-935-7237 or visiting http://enterprise.intuit.ca. Price for a five-user version: $3,600 annually.

QuickBooks Accountant 2013 will be available through Intuit’s ProAdvisor Program, exclusively designed to provide Canadian accounting professionals with software savings, free online training, and priority technical support. For more information, please call 1-877-823-3346 or visit http:proadvisor.ca. Price: 399.99.