The 2018 QuickBooks Connect event brought together over 50 speakers, 5,000 attendees, and close to 100 exhibitors under the “Anything is Possible” theme. With speakers like Amy Purdy, a paraplegic who became a medalist at the Paralympics and later a participant in Dancing with the Stars, Alex Rodriguez, Mindy Kaling, our very own Matthew May, and more, the conference garnered more than an audience — it gathered a true entrepreneurial community.
Over the years, accounting conferences have gotten bigger and better, and QuickBooks Connect is no exception. From talking to peers in the industry, attending sessions, and learning about new QuickBooks functionalities, the benefits are endless. It’s why we’re such big fans of the event — we get to learn, collaborate, and share with the best and the brightest.
Another reason this is a can’t-miss event? You get the opportunity to learn how firms are using and exploring technology in the accounting space. And as we all know, when it comes to technology, if you’re not constantly learning and adapting, you’ll get left behind. Getting a new perspective on what we do is always rejuvenating, as is getting to connect with so many of our partners. It was great to sync up with Bill.com, Gusto, Expensify, Veem, A2X, HubDoc, OnPay, and Jirav — and snag some pretty sweet swag! It was also a pleasure getting to catch up with our friends at Chargeover.
At any conference you attend, there’s always a buzzword. This year there were two: Automation and AI. Intuit drove home the importance of embracing AI, streamlining the accounting process, and updating existing technology for businesses truly looking to stand out. Some of the exciting product enhancements Intuit announced were directly in that vein, like automatic bank statement downloads from connected bank accounting coming to QBO. They also announced the client overview dashboard, which gives a great snapshot to users at a quick glance. And last but not least, they presented an enhancement around practice management, using AI and language to create tasks from emails. At Acuity, this could definitely save some precious time, and we’re looking forward to implementing this into our processes.
The sessions included a large firm track specifically for larger organizations and covered topics like onboarding, tax, compliance, technology, and accounting (of course!). Matthew gave insight into his expertise, covering accounting for cryptocurrencies and taking part in the 5-speaker Power Panel: All About Blockchain.
As always, we learned and shared so much at QuickBooks Connect, and we can’t wait to apply these learnings to better serve our customers.
PRO TIP: Did you know that Acuity clients get free access to QuickBooks? Contact us today to learn how you can take advantage of this. You can also check out our resources below for more insights:
Best Accounting Software for Cryptocurrency: QuickBooks
12 Top Tech Automation Tools for Professional Service Firms in 2018
