When I was a little girl I thought the only job I could get for someone who talked all the time was to be a TV Reporter. After all, they were paid just to talk, right? Thankfully – through my talents for talking and teaching – I discovered the world of adult education & became a trainer in the accounting industry. First, I taught on Accpac (now Sage 300), then Peachtree (now Sage 50 US), and later Xero. I became certified as a Quickbooks ProAdvisor in 2016 and began teaching QuickBooks Online to accounting professionals as part of Intuit’s Trainer Writer Network. I have taught literally thousands of accounting professionals over the years, helping them improve their processes using tools to showcase their unique and amazing insights as they help clients understand their business and make better business decisions.
So when I was asked to work with Jaclyn Anku and Intuit to help them fulfill a vision of a redesigned ProAdvisor Academy, I was thrilled. Jaclyn described her vision of a more interactive, engaging training that included video, hands-on, instructor-led content, and insights from accountants who use the products with their clients. I couldn’t wait to see what this would look like – and now it’s here!
In my accounting practice, we require all staff that use QBO to be certified. We want them to know the product well to not only be more efficient in their work but more importantly, to know how to use the tool to provide a great experience for our clients. All our staff are at least Level I certified, and we encourage them to get the Level 2 certification as well. For those of you who have been around the ProAdvisor community, you’ll recall different names of the training. We had the certification course (we called it “Core”) and then we had the “Advanced” certification course. It made sense until Intuit launched the “Advanced” QBO product which confused things a bit. The other issue with this naming convention was that there’s still more to learn. Now there are levels, and that can grow as the product grows, as the content grows, etc. (Personally, I’d love to see a Level 3 that includes information on the database, data utilities, etc. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and I’ll be sure to pass this on to Intuit!)
As the content was rethought, the sections of each course were reorganized to allow flexibility in how the training is taken by users. Perhaps you want a new team member to just focus on banking. They can take that section and understand the setup, using the process & reporting, which is the way each area in Level 1 is designed. The modules, called Getting Started, Sales & Customers, Expenses & Vendors, Banking, and Period End, provide information on setup, usage, and reporting that allows your team to have a deeper understanding from start to finish, and really feel like they know the topic well. And even if you’re not going to use the training just one module at a time but as an entire course, it still lends itself to be a great reference tool later! (Did I mention there are handouts for all courses beyond just the slides!)
As with the previous training, Level 2 builds on Level 1. Where Level 1 covers the basics and most of what you’ll touch in QBO through the Essentials product, Level 2 covers the functionality of QBO Plus and Advanced products and deeper product knowledge in the same main areas of Banking, Sales & Customer, and Expenses & Vendors. In Level 2, however, you’ll also dive into Custom Reporting and have a module focused on Year End processes.
A couple of other highlights in the courses:
- Our colleagues (including me!) share insights throughout the course. I think this really showcases what our knowledge of the product does to elevate our role as advisors to our clients.
- There are hands-on exercises and other interactive moments to explore the content in a unique way that allows new users to experience QBO rather than just hear or read the information. I have a new team member going through it now and they are really enjoying how engaging it is!
The last area I wanted to mention is something that has nothing to do with learning QBO. There is now an Intuit Bookkeeping Certification course in the ProAdvisor Academy as well. The program features 30 hours of self-paced training, which was developed in partnership with collegiate accounting professors. With the constant conversation about a talent shortage, I have heard many colleagues in our industry tell me they are looking to hire non-traditional candidates who are eager to learn. Well, now Intuit has made it a bit easier by providing an online course free of charge to help team members learn the basics of accounting and the accounting life cycle.
For my many colleagues & friends who are already certified, I am guessing you may not take the training again. (I wouldn’t either!) But I hope you’ll check it out to experience this new learning, and then send your team there. Encourage them to be lifelong learners, expand their effectiveness with an essential tool we use every day, and help dream up what else you’d like to see on this education platform. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
This is a paid partnership with Intuit.
