If you went into the consulting field, you know that countless business owners are out there looking for somebody to trust with their finances. These people need a consultant with experience and integrity. Despite the abundance of hopeful clients, a large proportion simply won’t consider hiring a consultant, bookkeeper, or accountant that can’t demonstrate these qualities. Fortunately, becoming a QuickBooks ProAdvisor is a quick and easy way to build business owners’ confidence in your training and expertise. Certification also enables you to upgrade your professional credibility and visibility by putting you in touch with a larger pool of prospective clients. And the best part is, there is zero cost and it only takes a few hours to complete.
The QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification represents your demonstrated proficiency in the QuickBooks system and readiness to provide both expert financial and business consulting. The system guides you through the curriculum so you can be thoroughly prepared to pass the examination. Having passed, you’ll then achieve the status of a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. You’ll be able to use this new accolade to separate you from your competition, form a baseline of trust, and increase your circle of potential customers. In addition to your practice becoming more efficient and profitable, this credential also offers value that will be discussed in more detail later in this article.
QuickBooks makes the training and certification process quick and fairly simple. They provide users with free online training resources, which include self-guided modules and webinars tailored to every learning style. There is no need to have any training in bookkeeping, accounting, or any other specific educational background to achieve your certification. The program only requires one or two hours a day, and you can upgrade your consulting career with QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification in as little as two weeks.
QuickBooks provides certifications across several areas of focus:
- QuickBooks Online (Basic and Advanced)
- QuickBooks Desktop (Basic only)
- QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions
- QuickBooks Point of Sale
(Note that these certifications are only for QuickBooks Payroll Service systems and do not mean the individual is a certified bookkeeper or accountant.)
You may be interested in an even more thorough command of QuicksBooks systems, and fortunately there are even more certifications available. Intuit QuickBooks provides advanced training led by experts; after these courses, there are additional certification exams and extra credentials to earn. An advanced certification raises your credibility to the next level and demonstrates your superior aptitude for the QuickBooks systems. The skills you acquire in the process of achieving advanced certification will empower you to serve your clients with superior skills and knowledge. This combination of a more prestigious status and happier customers translates to growth for your practice.
Here are the three simple steps to earning ProAdvisor status and opening up your circle of prospective clients:
Step 1: Sign Up for QuickBooks Online Accountant Program
To get started in becoming a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, you must first sign up for the Online QuickBooks Accountant program. Registration is free – you will only have to create your profile.
- Go to quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants
- Click on ProAdvisor Program in the top navigation menu
- Click on the button “Sign-up for free” and fill out the required information
These steps require just a few minutes. After they are completed, simply proceed to the ProAdvisor training and, when you are sufficiently prepared, the exam.
Step 2: Prepare for the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certification Exam
After you sign up and create your profile, it is time to prepare for the test. The QuickBooks ProAdvisor training courses and exam portal will both be available for you to use as you prepare. Find the menu left of the QuickBooks Accountant page to start learning. Locate the ProAdvisor link and select the Training tab. This part of the site contains a variety of courses corresponding to each QuickBooks program. You will see a course corresponding to each category of exam. Beginners to Quickbooks are advised to start with the Introduction to QuickBooks Online Accountant course.
The QuickBooks Online Accountant Basic course curriculum contains seven sections. The modules take several hours in total to complete, but luckily it is not necessary to tackle every component in a single session. The system saves your progress when you exit a session, so you can start from your checkpoint when you want to continue studying.
Once you have attained some level of comfort with the QuickBooks Online Basics, you may choose to continue with the advanced course, which offers additional certification to boost your professional profile. The QuickBooks Online Accountant Advanced course contains ten modules, which will take about eight hours to complete. Like the basic courses, you have the option to take multiple sessions to get through the course.
While studying for the certification exam, you can also further your education in finance. Participation will earn you Continuing Professional Education credits, which contribute to anyone working towards an accountancy certification. The QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor Basic certification adds 8 CPE credits to your transcript, and the Advanced certification adds 13.
In addition to preparing you to pass the certification exam with flying colors, the program also builds your professional aptitude for the QuickBooks systems. You will be able to address your clients’ concerns with confidence, and they will trust your training and knowledge that you bring to the table.
Step 3: Take the QuickBooks Certification Exam
The QuickBooks Online Accountant ProAdvisor Basic certification exam contains eight sections and 75 questions. These questions test your aptitude for QuickBooks’ features and accounting principles. In order to acquire certification, you need to achieve the passing threshold in each section of the exam – that means answering at least 80% of the questions correctly in each portion of the text. The test is open-book, so you are permitted to consult your notes and course materials as you proceed through the sections. Fortunately, you can skip the tedium and stress of rotely memorizing the materials beforehand.
In order to reach the 80% threshold, you will need to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the QuickBooks Online Accountant system and achieve proficiency in accounting principles and practices. The preparatory course educates you in both of these topics but is not mandatory if you are already confident in these subjects; in that case, simply opt to advance directly to the exam and try for certification.
It only takes a couple of hours to get through the QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor exam. Like the training, the test is completely free, though, you must finish the exam in a single session. There is no option to stop midway through and pick it up again later. During the exam, you can review your answers for a specific section and fix any mistakes before submitting. There’s a chance that you won’t pass on the first try, but don’t despair or give up if this happens! You can retake the exam as many times as you need until you reach the 80% threshold. Even better, you won’t have to take the entire exam for a second time – instead, you’ll only be asked to answer questions in the portions that you did not pass.
QuickBooks Certification Exam Breakdown
Before beginning your journey to QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification, it is worth knowing the exam’s structure. Tests vary according to the type of certification. Within each certification, the tests differ in the number of sections and quantity of questions in each section, and the material. Below are examples of topics that you will likely encounter in the QuickBooks Online Accountant Basic certification test, regardless of the particular certification exam you end up taking:
- QuickBooks Solutions for Clients
- Client Onboarding
- Special Client Onboarding Tasks
- Managing your Clients and Work
- Supporting your Small Business Clients
- Reporting
- Banking and Tools
- Preparing Clients’ Books
We offer the following tips to make it more likely that you’ll pass the test with confidence. One obvious tip is to review all the resources that QuickBooks Online supplies, watch the webinars, and compile notes. We also advise that you download and print the handouts and the PDF files that come with the training webinars. Test questions are often taken from these materials. Keep in mind that it is best to focus on one topic at a time, rather than trying to master everything at once.
Your ProAdvisor Profile
By passing the test and earning your status as a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, you gain access to the Find-a-ProAdvisor platform. This is a forum that puts clients in touch with consultants. The Find-a-ProAdvisor platform is the largest of its kind to connect business owners with accounting professionals. By including your consulting practice in this platform and displaying your credentials, you will gain the trust of prospective clients who are looking to delegate their finances to the right person. A thousand or more bookkeepers and accountants get in touch with potential clients through this very platform every single day, so there are abundant opportunities. You can increase your matches with appropriate companies by regularly updating your profile. As you display more client reviews and industry expertise, you’ll garner more confidence in your skills and attract even more interested business owners.
A curated Find-A-ProAdvisor profile gives a positive first impression to interested clients who have clicked on your page. Proudly display your accomplishments and reviews in order to earn clients’ confidence in your professionalism. You should ask your clients to leave a review of your services so others can see your success. By showing off your happy customers, even more visitors to the forum will take notice of your results and inquire about your services.
Your profile on the QuickBooks ProAdvisor platform is ranked with a point system. The levels are Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Elite. You will move higher in the rankings by amassing credentials and reviews. This ranking system is a powerful feature, both in distinguishing you from the competition and earning the trust of clients. Make sure to add to your profile over time so you don’t miss out on opportunities for your practice. This will ensure that you can make most of the program’s features, such as discounts, product support, and professional development.
The Bottom Line
You may have thought about pursuing a QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification in the past, but weren’t sure whether it was worth the time or effort. The short time you invest to train and achieve certification pays tremendous dividends in the long run. Your status as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor brings a variety of benefits:
- Present your certification badge on your website and emails
- Bolster your credibility and profile ranking
- Set yourself apart as a QuickBooks software expert with QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Promote yourself on the Find-a-ProAdvisor forum and reach clients
- Have unlimited access to US-based support by QuickBooks experts, by phone
- Receive complimentary or discounted products and supplies
- Help your clients no matter where they are and increase their trust
Convinced, and eager to invest in yourself? Simply sign up on the QuickBooks website to make your ProAdvisor account and get started. Everything is free, including the registration, courses, and exam. Simply make use of these free knowledge resources and improve your skill set, and your practice will reap the rewards! Once you have sufficiently prepared, take the exam to demonstrate your QuickBooks expertise and begin doing business on a new level.
If you run your own bookkeeping business, training to become a ProAdvisor is an excellent idea. It lets you prove your QuickBooks expertise, which helps you attract more opportunities. There’s just one downside: with more clients comes more work. And every client has different needs. Before long, your time is running short. What do you do?
If you want to grow your business without getting bogged down in crunching numbers yourself, consider BooksTime’s specialized. With BooksTime, you’ll have your own dedicated team of certified and experienced ProAdvisors, including accountants and bookkeepers, who take care of your clients’ financial reporting needs. We save you precious time on your accounting tasks, so you can focus on growing your practice. Plus, with affordable rates, you’ll make big margins.
