Integrating QuickBooks Online Into Your Outsourced Accounting Tech Stack

Vic.ai Academy invited eight expert panelists / ProAdvisors to a two-part webinar series on integrating QuickBooks Online into the outsourced accounting and finance technology stack.

The panelists from all over the U.S., are in leadership roles at some of the nation’s largest CPA firms -- including three Top 400 ranked firms (Inside Public Accounting) and a Top 5 accounting firm (Accounting Today), as well as outsourced accounting and financial services providers.

Because many accounting firms with ProAdvisors are relatively small firms themselves, the panelists also included leaders from multiple firms with less than ten employees.

And five of the eight panelists are either current or were former Intuit council members in some capacity.

Part 1 Expert Panelists:

Dan Luthi, Chief Operating Officer of Ignite Spot Accounting Services
Connie Hammell, Managing Principal of KWC
Caleb Jenkins, Business & Accounting Leader of RLJ Financial Services
Jeff Wilson, Principal of The W2 Group

Part 2 Expert Panelists:

Deborah Defer, Managing Director, Business Services and Outsourcing of BDO USA
Michael Doody, Managing Principal, EFPR Solutions of EFPR Group
Elinor Litwack, Partner, Outsourced Accounting & Advisory Services of GRF CPAs & Advisors
Candy Bellau, Owner of Kramerica Business Solutions

If you weren’t able to attend the webinar live, and you use QuickBooks Online (QBO) with your accounting clients, definitely watch the webinar recordings of the QuickBooks Online in Client Accounting Services (CAS) Panel Discussions.

During the webinar, we had some great polling questions and audience questions that you’ll be able to watch on the recording. However, we also had a few excellent questions from the audience that we just weren’t able to get to during the webinar.

A few of the panelists helped answer these questions so that QuickBooks Online ProAdvisors and enthusiasts like yourself can benefit as well.

Password Management

Audience Member Question:

How do you handle passwords for the customer bank accounts?

Expert Panelist Answer via Deborah Defer:

“LastPass- get read-only access and add to LastPass. You can share with team members without them seeing the password.”

Dashboard / KPI Software

Audience Member Question:

What was the dashboard / KPI software that Michael Doody, CPA mentioned?

Expert Panelist Answer via Michael Doody:

“The KPI/Dashboarding app that we use is Qvinci.”

QBO Standardization

Audience Member Question:

What do you mean by standardizing within QBO?

Expert Panelist Answer via Jeff Wilson:

"Standardizing is having a clearly defined way of handling a client in QBO. The more you can standardize your processes, the better you can scale your business. Specifically, when onboarding a client, we do the same processes, and it provides our clients with a swift and standard way of how we do things and giving staff clarity on how things should be done."

Expert Panelist Answer via Caleb Jenkins:

“I look at standardization within QBO a couple of different ways:

1) Standardization by selecting a core set of apps (e.g., QBO, Vic.ai, Bill.com, Receipt Bank, TSheets, ADP, Rewind, Divvy, etc.)

2) Standardization by creating streamlined and repeatable processes to allow us to start automating with various systems.”

Expert Panelist Answer via Dan Luthi:

“I agree with Caleb Jenkins for sure. Standardization is really about setting up a repeatable process so that everything is flowing in and out of QBO accurately. This can include the applications outside of QBO that are listed on https://quickbooks.intuit.com/app/apps/home/ Along with workflows that you can set up within the app, such as invoice approvals and automatic payment reminders.”

Client Collaboration Tool

Audience Member Question:

I didn't hear the client collaboration tool Caleb Jenkins mentioned?

Expert Panelist Answer via Caleb Jenkins:

“I don't remember what I mentioned on the webinar, but I primarily use Liscio to collaborate with my clients.”

Inflow

Audience Member Question:

Any thoughts on Inflow?

Expert Panelist Answer via Dan Luthi:

“We have looked at inFlow before as part of our software evaluations. We don’t have a client currently using it, so I can’t speak to it from that perspective. From the review we did, we did like that it had flexible API’s and the ability to track subassemblies and control gave you vision into what you could produce with what you have. Not tested or confirmed, but could be a great fit for those who have more complex builds.”

Knowify

Audience Member Question:

Do any of you use Knowify?

Expert Panelist Answer via Jeff Wilson:

"I have used Knowify for construction companies that are federal contractors. It works great and good for ensuring clients do some type of contracts."

Expert Panelist Answer via Dan Luthi:

“I have worked with a few clients in the past that have used it, and they have had good success with it. It has not been extremely recent, though.”

Expert Panelist Answer via Caleb Jenkins:

“No - I do not use Knowify; however, I've heard great things about their app.”

Expense Management App

Audience Member Question:

Is there a preferred expense management app?

Expert Panelist Answer via Jeff Wilson:

"My preferred expense app if looking for a good expense report to send to external parties would be Expensify. If I only need it for receipts or documentation, I prefer Receipt bank or Bento."

Expert Panelist Answer via Caleb Jenkins:

“I prefer using Divvy. You can read my case study here on why I recommend using Divvy for an Expense Management App.”

Expert Panelist Answer via Dan Luthi:

“Over this past year, our recommendations have changed quite a bit. We have moved away from hard stand-alone resources like Expensify to solutions like Divvy or Brex due to their versatility and the increased benefit compared to other credit card options.

Alternatively, we have recommended ReceiptBank's expense reporting features to clients this year and have had some great success.“

AI in Accounting Podcast Episodes

If you want to learn even more from these eight expert panelists, you can also watch podcast episodes that each has appeared in:

Other Related Resources: QBO eBook and Related AP and CAS Webinar Recordings

Deborah Defer, Caleb Jenkins, and Candy Bellau also contributed to the eBook that you can download: QuickBooks Online and the Emerging Outsourced Accounting Practice.

Deborah Defer and Dan Luthi have each also been a guest presenter and panelist at two additional webinars:

Automating Accounts Payable (AP) (How Ignite Spot Accounting Services Automates AP, Removes Human Error, and Improves Client Services) / A Conversation with Dan Luthi and Vic.ai Co-Founder and CEO Alexander Hagerup
5 Ways to Crush Your Time Wasters (How Accounting and Bookkeeping Firms Can Optimize Their Operations and Power Their Growth) / Presented by Deborah Defer
Outsourced Accounts Payable (AP) Partner Panel / Dan Luthi expert panelist
Client Accounting Services (CAS) Partner Panel / Deborah Defer expert panelist

What’s your biggest question you have about integrating QuickBooks Online Into your outsourced accounting tech stack? Do you have any questions about how QuickBooks Online integrates with Vic.ai? Let us know in the Comments section below.

And if you’re serious about integrating QuickBooks Online into your outsourced accounting technology stack, watch the webinar recordings from the two-part series panel discussion: QuickBooks Online in Client Accounting Services (CAS) Panel Discussion.