Intuit Unveils Innovation on Main Street
Company Showcases Newly Announced Mobile and Cloud-based Services That Simplify the Business of Life
NEW YORK (March 30, 2012) – Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU) brought innovation to life, spotlighting several newly announced products that reflect its commitment to make the business of life easier, and more efficient, while creating better financial outcomes for consumers and small businesses.
The products starred in a series of lifelike vignettes that included dozens of mobile and cloud-based offerings at the company’s Innovation Gallery Walk. The scenarios demonstrated the simplicity of paying taxes on a smartphone, helping small businesses get funded and creating health benefit plans for employees, among other tasks.
“Technology is fulfilling its promise to make life easier, and we have a real opportunity to make a difference,” said Brad Smith, Intuit’s president and chief executive officer. “Our innovation pipeline is flowing faster than ever as our employees continue to deliver on that promise and on Intuit’s mission to profoundly improve people’s financial lives.”
Intuit started small in 1983 with Quicken personal finance software, which sought to simplify a common household dilemma
Real Products, Real Surroundings
The vignettes included slice-of-life scenarios that displayed products in the settings where customers use them, including an apartment loft for consumer offerings; a park for on-the-go-businesses; a florist shop for established businesses; and an outdoor cafe for on-the-go consumers. In addition, vignettes spanned continents to show Intuit offerings in the United Kingdom and India.
Building Blocks for Budding Businesses
The small business vignettes featured products that take entrepreneurs creating new-to-the-world businesses from idea to up-and-running and on-the-go, including:
- Intuit Loan Finder, guiding entrepreneurs on a path to “yes” when seeking short-term cash or long-term financing. It carries an approval rate of 70 percent, twice the national average.
- Intuit Health Debit Card, an affordable way for small businesses to give employees health coverage without complicated health plans and deductibles. It lets employers set aside pretax dollars in a Health Reimbursement Account debit card that employees can use to cover costs such as doctor’s visits and prescriptions.
- Intuit Tax Online Mobile, the first commercial mobile app from Intuit’s Accounting Professionals Division, gives accounting professionals anytime, anywhere access to client’s tax information. This shortens the process of answering clients’ questions and checking
- Intuit PaymentNetwork, which helps small businesses receive payments simply and affordably online. This can shorten the time small businesses wait to get paid, currently estimated at 48 days.
- Intuit Partner Platform, which expands the power of QuickBooks through third-party applications. The platform unveiled Intuit Anywhere, a way for developers to reach millions of small business customers and build QuickBooks
Smart Financial Choices Within Arm’s Reach
The consumer lineup showcased products that help people manage finances everywhere, from the comfort of home to the local park or cafe, including:
- Mobile Banking with Purchase Rewards, which helps consumers bank, shop and save while on the go. Online and mobile banking customers save money through discounts offered by merchants they already know, without having to deal with the hassle of coupons.
- MicroMint on WIMM, a concept product that allows people to check their account balances on a wristwatch-sized micro-Android device.
Managing and Organizing Health and Wealth
In addition, other featured products help people to simply manage the day-to-day necessities of life, including:
- Intuit Health Patient Portal, which ensures the doctor is always “in” by improving doctor-patient interactions through an online, and now mobile, service. Patients can do everything at their convenience, from making appointments to refilling prescriptions with just a few clicks, eliminating phone tag and making doctor’s offices more efficient.
- Weave, a mobile app that organizes everything from daily activities to expenses and income on a mobile phone.
By harnessing the power of big data for the little guy, Intuit has developed new analytical products and services geared toward consumers and small businesses alike. This information helps answer critical questions of how their spending patterns, expenses and revenue compares to others like them, and includes:
- Mint Consumer Spending Insights, which aggregates anonymous data from Mint users on consumers’ spending patterns and will be the foundation for a formal consumer spending index in the future.
- Intuit Small Business Revenue Index, which provides an early look at one of the first indicators of aggregated and anonymous information on current monthly small business revenue overall and by industry. It will complement the monthly Intuit Small Business Employment Index by providing a more complete picture of the health of U.S. small businesses.
Exporting Innovation, Strengthening Business
As part of Intuit’s strategy to expand its geographic footprint and tap into new markets, vignettes also displayed products available in the United Kingdom and India, including:
- MyBizTracker, a mobile app that makes it easier for U.K. small businesses to keep their finances in check while on-the-go. Among other features, it helps businesses keep track of and see a running total of income, expenses and balances, capture and store photo records of invoices, bills and receipts, and helps to avoid penalties with tax deadline reminders.
- Fasal, which uses text messaging to create an information marketplace and help farmers get the best prices for their produce. On average, farmers receive up to 20 percent more money at market.
Further information about all Intuit products is available at www.intuit.com.
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit’s leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. Intuit Financial Services helps banks and credit unions grow by providing on-demand solutions and services that make it easier for consumers and businesses to manage their money.
Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.9 billion in its fiscal year 2011. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.
Source: Intuit Inc.