Intuit optimizes QuickBooks Online for Apple iPad

If you check the Apple App Store this morning, you'll discover that Intuit is introducing a mobile application for the iPad that offers small-business owners a rich and powerful new interface into the QuickBooks Online service.?

The new QuickBooks Online for iPad supports a number of functions that small-business owners are inclined to perform on-the-go, such as creating an estimate or generating an invoice.

Its seamless integration with contact information from the iPad Contacts app, Gmail, Yahoo, LinkedIn and Facebook makes it easy to create customer records within QuickBooks, where you can keep track of things such as ordering preferences. The app can also pull in photos, such as images to help with an estimate or records of expenses that need to be organized and reported for tax purposes.

The screen shot below gives you an idea of what the customer view looks like.

It has been possible to use QuickBooks on iPads before with the app created for the iPhone, but the interface for this new version optimizes the experience.

"We knew we needed to make this as simple as possible to navigate," said Will Lynes, senior product manager for QuickBooks Online.

The main aim is to help save time and allow small-business professionals to complete tasks that they previously had to handle back in the office or at home after hours, he said.

"At the end of the day, I used to sort through my meeting notes, map out next steps, track payments and expenses, and follow up with invoices," said one early convert, Sadie Waddington, of San Francisco-based Locally Owned Weddings. "Now I save time by catching up on accounting during the four hours I commute on public transit each week using QuickBooks Online for iPad."

You've probably already realized that although the app is free, you need a subscription to QuickBooks Online in order to use it. That costs $12.99 per month or $124.99 per year, and also allows access to the service via the Web browser.

Intuit is offering a 30-day trial of the service, which you can activate by downloading the app.?

There's also an Android version of the mobile app optimized for both smartphones and tablets.

To hear more about how Locally Owned Weddings uses the iPad version, watch the video below:?

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/intuit-optimizes-quickbooks-online-for-apple-ipad-7000011268/

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