The New ProAdvisor Program: Change That Truly Means Something
If you know my story at all then you know that I kind of fell into the accounting industry by accident. My Aunt Deb (Deborah Miraglia) signed me up for her QuickBooks Desktop class when I wasn’t sure what my next career move was going to be. Turns out, I liked what I learned. So, after I learned Desktop, I looked for more. I came across QuickBooks Online and decided that I wanted to learn that as well. While doing my research into how to get started, I stumbled upon the QuickBooks Online certification webinars. This was back in 2015. To get certified at that time you would take a four-hour webinar and then hurry up and take the certification exam right after. I’m happy to report that I passed on my first try and I’ve been a certified ProAdvisor ever since.
Over the last eight years or so our community has seen a few different iterations of the ProAdvisor Program. The education Intuit offers around the certification has improved so much and the program itself offers more benefits than it used to. A few years ago they introduced a points system that sorted us into different tiers ranging from Silver to Elite. They also added more perks for being certified like discounts on software, better product support, exclusive access to training videos to help us grow our businesses, and new badges for our website along with other marketing materials. For many of us, one of the biggest benefits has been our listing on the Find-a-ProAdvisor site. Find-a-ProAdvisor has been helping clients find me since I published my profile. It was especially helpful in growing my client base in those early years.
Recently, Intuit has been working on a few more changes to the ProAdvisor program and I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek. At first, I could not understand why they would want to make more changes, the program seemed to be working well enough. But in taking a deeper look I realized, the reality is that there was room for improvement. Having learned about these changes, the main goal is clear – make the ProAdvisor Certification more meaningful. The new program encourages us to go deeper on our partnership with Intuit and shows how they will do the same. Here are a few of the updates to this program that stand out to me:
Under the current ProAdvisor program, you get a listing on the Find-a-ProAdvisor site with just a single certification. Under the new program, you’ll need to be certified and at the Gold tier to gain this perk. One of the ways to achieve Gold Tier status is to gain three different certifications: QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Online Advanced, and QuickBooks Online Payroll. When I was first starting out, becoming certified was one of the first things I went for. For me, it’s important to be able to say to my peers, clients, and potential clients that I am continuing to train on the software that I use EVERY DAY!
With the current points system, the certifications themselves do not hold much weight and it’s not super difficult to move up in tiers either. The changes will refocus the program on education and make the goal of earning those certifications even more important. Plus, when you achieve the Gold Tier you’ll also gain access to other tools, like email templates and premium support. Basically, Intuit can have our backs and provide us with better programs, resources, and perks if we show that we’re interested in staying up to date on their software and strengthening our partnership with them. To me, this makes total sense.
Better yet, my understanding is that as Intuit continues to work on the program, they will incorporate even more ways to earn points and climb up the tiers as a ProAdvisor through education and other metrics, rather than just according to the number of clients. This is great news for practices that make the intentional choice to stay small. It’s nice to know solos and smaller firms are valued as partners and that Intuit recognizes what we bring to our community and the clients we serve.
The question seems simple:
Do I want to work with a company that is investing its resources into creating better programs, and backing up its certified partners?
Of course I do!
So if it takes a little more time for me to complete an extra certification, or make sure that my clients add me as their Accountant in QBO then I’m happy to do it because I know that it’s now more meaningful. This process will help to weed out the unqualified ProAdvisors and let the hardworking certified ones stand out from the crowd even more.
For me, it comes down to the track record. The QuickBooks ProAdvisor program has provided me with more visibility and credibility for nearly the entire life of my business. The leads it has generated have helped me grow my client base without expensive advertising costs. It’s helped educate me and expand my skills, even beyond only bookkeeping, so I can take on clients with confidence. I’m excited to see how these changes will help our community, and how they will highlight our business priorities and help us as individual ProAdvisors. Let me know what you think below.