QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Reaches 15,000 Customer Mark

(2005-03-16)

Manufacturing Customers Cite Low Cost of Ownership, Inventory Management and Third-Party Integration as Outstanding Benefits

Latest sales numbers show QuickBooks® Enterprise Solutions from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) growing more than 100 percent year over year, proving the enthusiastic adoption of QuickBooks Enterprise by over 15,000 rapidly growing businesses. An increasing number of these customers are manufacturers who rely on the affordability and functionality of Enterprise Solutions and QuickBooks Add-On Software Solutions to handle their complex needs from industry specific reports and workflows to advanced inventory.

Intuit designed QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions for growing companies seeking a business system that's robust, fast to implement, and inexpensive. These businesses typically find that QuickBooks Enterprise takes one-tenth of the time to implement at one-tenth of the cost of typical mid-market software. Making it an easy choice, QuickBooks Enterprise takes less than five days to get up and running compared to the lengthy 60-150 days needed for difficult mid-market implementations. Additionally, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions costs $3,500 – a fraction of the $15,000 — $100,000 needed for a mid-market package.

"When I founded my company I needed a software package that was more than just a daily ledger," said Tracy Whiting, owner of Direct Persuasions, a logo apparel manufacturer in Boca Raton, Fla., serving more than 500 corporate customers including GM, MSNBC and Albertsons. "I considered alternatives, but couldn't afford the $15,000 licensing fee – not to mention the additional implementation and maintenance costs. For $3,500, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions does much more for us than just accounting – it has allowed us to economically integrate purchasing, order entry, customer history and inventory. An added benefit has been the Add-On Software we use to connect our Web store with inventory and sales ordering – this saves us hours of re-keying."

Inventory Management
Managing inventory effectively is a main concern for manufacturers. Enterprise Solutions provides easy access to inventory levels, order status and the number of products that can be made based on current supplies. In addition, QuickBooks Add-On Software expands the capabilities of Enterprise Solutions for manufacturers, providing more than 350 additional applications that work with the product. Added features include advanced inventory and order management, electronic data interchange, job shop management and material requirements planning.

"We have grown from a one product company to having four divisions, 30 product categories and more than 20,000 inventory items sold domestically and in 16 foreign countries," said Robert Ahern, chief executive of MainStreet Sonoma, a novelty product manufacturer in Sonoma, Calif. "Our old system always had inventory errors and salespeople couldn't get accurate information when they needed it most. QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions helped eliminate inventory errors and productivity has soared. We've increased the number of daily invoices we issue by 75 percent. The best part is that it was so easy and inexpensive to implement – QuickBooks Enterprise was a tenth of other mid-market packages and took us less than a week to get up and running."

Performance and Scalability for Growing Businesses
To increase employee productivity QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions can be configured to allow access for 10 simultaneous users, remote terminal access and advanced user permissions.

"QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions has so much horsepower, it's able to meet our every challenge," said Frank Toledano, founder and president of Tiger Imports. Based in High Point, N.C., Tiger Imports stocks classic leathers from northern Italian tanneries, selling to more than 50 domestic furniture makers who build everything from couches to armoires. Tiger Imports runs Enterprise Solutions on a network of seven computers, which enables management, accounting, sales and the warehouse to work simultaneously on the system. Toledano added, "In just four years in business, we've grown into a multi-million dollar company and QuickBooks has grown with us – it's at the core of everything we do."

Availability and Pricing
QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions carries a suggested retail price of $3,500 and is currently available for purchase at www.qbes.com or by calling (866) 272-8734 extension 8877. The price includes a full-service support plan with a year of 24/7 technical support with a dedicated support engineer, free product upgrades, data recovery and reporting services, interactive training tools, and automatic renewals.

QuickBooks Add-On Software and pricing is available at the QuickBooks Solutions Marketplace at www.marketplace.intuit.com.



About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax® software, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation software suites for professional accountants. Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of nearly $1.9 billion in its fiscal year 2004. The company has nearly 7,000 employees with major offices in 13 states across the U.S., and offices in Canada and the United Kingdom. More information can be found at www.Intuit.com.

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