Intuit Ad Campaign to Wipe out their own customers

[Isee thelie]

Who has seent he ads from intuit that smacks tax preparers in the face? Directing taxpayers to "break up" with their tax preparer and switch to Turbo Tax????

I personally am offended as I pay intuit THOUSANDS of dollars every year. Who else is offended? Who else wants to join me in exiting QB shizza software? 

[sjrcpa]

https://accountants.intuit.com/community/proseries-tax-discussions/discussion/natp-responds-to-appar...

[BobKamman]

We need @Jim-from-Ohio to help us with the numbers, but the way I read the Intuit fact sheet here

https://investors.intuit.com/_assets/_9891dcc3155fed93cd0c47fd8755e179/intuit/db/946/9949/fact_sheet...

. . .Pro Software is a pimple on the Intuit tax software posterior, with TurboTax bringing in more than 7 times as much revenue.  There is always going to be a need for professional software, and there is always going to be a need for DIY software.  Intuit does not have a monopoly in either market.  If you think your clients -- present and potential -- are going to be lured away by an advertising slogan, then you should ask yourself what you might have done better to convince them you are worth your fees. 

[Isee thelie · Accepted solution]

Thank you for responding. The trouble with your answer is it a rollover.. It does not matter how big Proseries is, there is a lot more $$ being given to intuit by professionals, even if they do not buy the Proseries. Layers and layers of software, that is pretty sub-par, as far as I am concerned. AND is a Monopoly as well.

Your caddy insult about "luring" away fears is also super creepy. We do more than tax preparing so when turbo fails taxpayers, we charge to rescue them.  What you should be worried about, and if your not, you are simply sleeping, is the disregard and disrespect **bleep**uit has for their clients. If you liked being spit on, it is your preference. 

[George4Tacks]

See it at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZBkWnUeA1FA

[BobKamman]

"Caddy" instead of "catty"?  "Your" instead of "you're"?  Well, literacy has never been the strong point of many accountants.  At least they're good at numbers.  What's super creepy are those who keep coming back to buy the product, while badmouthing it for having other, larger sources of revenue. 

I let Intuit run its business, including its advertising program, the way it chooses.  I just focus on my own practice.  

[Isee thelie]

You have creepy responses that tell me you have no idea what you are talking about. If you think insulting other professionals is productive, then it reveals more about you than you could ever imagine. 

Letting intuit "run its business" is AGAIN a total beta move. AS consumers, we have a right to speak our mind, (I think I still live in a free speech nation, hard to say these days) with the poison you are spewing "BOB":

I am sure I am not the only one that is insulted. If your not, HMMMM........

[IRonMaN]

So I assume that means that you will be leaving Intuit this coming tax season.  Which software have you chosen to replace it?

[abctax55]

Jeff, you forgot the /S   😉

[Isee thelie]

Whether or my firm leaves Intuit, is frankly not at issue, which is my point. May be an IQ issue, on your end,  not sure. 

This community has not changed. The level of ego is astonishing, frankly. If we did leave it would be mainly due to rudeness and ridiculous of this community. If you are not offended by the ad, fine, that tells me EXACTLY who you are, and it is not good. 

The fact that you avoid the topic is so revealing.  Ironman and Bob, you are the same two instigators I see on here all the time and frankly you make the "community" toxic. 

[IRonMaN]

It's funny that we make this place toxic but I fail to see Isee helping anybody out here.  Bob and I have provided a lot of help over the years along with our apparent toxicity.  On the other hand, you and your obviously substantial IQ have only delivered toxicity.  

Nobody here hates Intuit more than me, but to be astonished that they would try to draw more customers into their DIY branch is, well, astonishing.  For years folks here have grumbled about Intuit's love for one of its money making products at the potential expense of professional tax preparers.  So either get used to it or move on to another product.  Its just a fact of life in the world of tax preparation services. 

[Strongsilence-CPA]

Can I build TT into my practice?

(This is a sincere question. I don't know.)

I have heard somewhere that TT is not allowed to be used by paid tax preparers.

Every challenge is an opportunity.

[sjrcpa]

No, paid preparers cannot use it to prepare returns 

[The bullies win]

YES, you can TT to propel your business. When a client prepares a return, incorrectly, in TT, they end up either with a letter audit or a full blown audit. They come to our office to have representation. It is a beautiful thing. Glad they saved so much money by DIYing it! 

[The bullies win]

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[abctax55]

Never mind....  

I'm gonna' go with the high road here.

[BobKamman]

That's us, @IRonMaN and me, the Minnesota Twins.  (My father grew up there, so I can claim "Minnesota nice" status.)  All we do is answer questions, making this place toxic.  Posts should be limited to only those who want to gripe about Intuit.  The very idea of wanting to help others!  Who would be that crazy?  Selfish is as selfish does.  

[cdicfo]

Newsflash. I don't really care if I am a "pimple on someone's but," I still expect respect. I am also a seasonal manager for the TT FS division. I am deeply invested in Intuit, as are my clientele. My association, NATP, had dropped all support for Intuit products. They were fairly proactive on behalf of multiple lines under the brand. I think I would find a more productive way to suggest that the FS is a good bet for the dollars and let the customer decide, instead of the backhand insult to professionals. I know for a fact there are clients we send to private industry because TTL is simply not build to handle their situation. Clean up the ad. 

[orcg]

Sounds to me that they don't need us anymore because we helped them build this huge data base of clients they can poach from us. And on top of that, we no longer have a value to them since TT is a 7 billion money maker and our fees while substantial to us, are a drop in all the oceans to them. I have been using Lacerte since Larry was there. I bet he would not be happy about this turn. They are literary sacrificing us for their $$'s

[sjrcpa]

For Intuit, it's all about creating/increasing shareholder return.

Same as all big companies.

[IRonMaN]

"I have been using Lacerte since Larry was there. I bet he would not be happy about this turn."

Larry sold Lacerte for $400 million dollars.  I heard he actually wanted to sell it for $400,000,001 with the restriction that Intuit never compete against his loyal customer base.  Intuit said no and he said ok, give me $400,000,000 and we can call it a deal........................... and the rest is history.

[The bullies win]

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[IRonMaN]

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[cdicfo]

Update from my association, people. I had faith in Inuit - and it appears that they listen

Dear Victoria,

Following discussions with Intuit regarding their latest ad campaign, I'm writing to provide an important update. We know many of you expressed concern about the message in their “tax break up” ad that encouraged taxpayers to move away from working with their current tax professional and choose a TurboTax expert instead. Intuit has informed us that they are discontinuing this ad and have already begun implementing changes, which are expected to be completed by the end of October.

During our conversation, Intuit reaffirmed its commitment to supporting tax professionals and the growth of the tax and accounting industry. They also expressed gratitude for our feedback and clarified that the campaign intended to encourage taxpayers to work with a tax preparer. However, we communicated that NATP did not interpret the ad this way, and Intuit acknowledged the concerns raised by our community. They also highlighted that the intended focus of the ad was on serving lower-income taxpayers who often switch preparers in search of more affordable options, a population of taxpayers many NATP members also serve.

We remain open and agree to have further discussions with Intuit and other stakeholders on how we, as a group, can help uplift the entire industry and expand opportunities for all tax preparers. While these developments are encouraging, NATP will continue to suspend the acceptance of advertising, sponsorship, or exhibiting dollars from Intuit until genuine support for working with us and other stakeholders to build the tax professional community is demonstrated.

As always, NATP remains committed to advocating for the tax profession and ensuring tax professionals have the resources, education, and support they need to serve their clients effectively. We believe in fostering strong relationships between tax professionals and taxpayers and advocating for a robust and well-supported industry that benefits all stakeholders.

We will keep you informed of any further developments. Thank you for your continued dedication to our profession.

Sincerely,

Scott Artman, CPA, CGMA
CEO
National Association of Tax Professionals

. 

[BobKamman]

It's a conspiracy.  I opened the Fidelity Investments website (I have several accounts there) to find what Intuit has been doing the past couple weeks.  Fidelity used to be good at providing quotes, but they "upgraded" their system recently and now it takes 10 or 15 seconds for a page to load.  But when I entered "INTU," the trading symbol for Intuit, all it gave me was Intuitive Surgical (ISRG).  But it says this is a $172 billion stock, close to the same value of Intuit.

So I used Fidelity's nearly-useless AI feature, "Virtual Assistant," to ask why I couldn't get a quote on INTU.  The best it could do was show me ISRG. So I called the "Active Trader" desk and after entering my SSN and saying a few words so they could verify me with voice recognition, I asked the same question.  The representative tried it on his computer, and INTU popped right up.  He asked if he could link to my computer, and I allowed it.  So then I tried to get a quote for INTU, and it magically appeared.  Well, actually, it was the typical delay, but at least the system recognized the symbol.  

Why am I wasting my time on this?  Otherwise I'd have to start laundry so I can then pack for my trip tomorrow.  What I should be doing is complaining about how that full-service broker started by five guys in New York, talked my mentally-declining client into changing his account to TOD, payable to seven people in three states.  All of them have to send in paperwork before anything can be sold.  If the market goes south, should we file a FINRA complaint?  (Have to do a probate anyway and we don't charge percentages in this state, so it was just lousy legal advice from high school graduates.)  

[Jim-from-Ohio]

@cdicfo great news there cdicfo. thanks for posting that. 

[The bullies win]

Thank you Scott,

This is refreshing. Community speaking out actually works in a capitalistic society. 

[The bullies win]

No one cares. 

[BobKamman]

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[IRonMaN]

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[sjrcpa]

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[BobKamman]

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[IRonMaN]

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[BobKamman]

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[ruester]

My understanding is they will beat last year's fee by 10% but you have to provide a receipt. I'd be happy to supply receipts for $10 - go ahead and beat that TT! Ok, maybe I wouldn't but I'd like to. I don't feel I would lose any clients to TT but I'm very offended by the this marketing campaign. I've been loyal to ProSeries for 29 years, that's obviously a one way street. 

[Jim-from-Ohio]

@ruester and everybody: 

Intuit drops TurboTax ad following tax pro backlash

Intuit has agreed to discontinue a TurboTax ad which encouraged taxpayers to abandon their professional tax preparer in favor of its full-service option. The National Association of Tax Professionals expressed its disappointment, with chief executive Scott Artman commenting: "Tax preparation isn't just about entering data or completing a form; it's about trust, accuracy and making informed decisions. The personal relationship between a tax preparer and their client is crucial. A professional knows you and your financial history, keeps you compliant with regulations and can adapt strategies based on your specific needs." Intuit has clarified that the campaign's intention was to encourage taxpayers to work with a professional preparer, and the ad's focus was on serving lower-income taxpayers looking for more affordable options. 

[George4Tacks]

Just CUZ this discussion has been so much fun, I thought I would share what I got from another of the Intuit family - CreditKarma

There is more but the offer is at https://turbotax.intuit.com/lp/byp/1495/?cid=ck_byp_notif

[abctax55]

Careful @George4Tacks ...  I've heard posting in this thread gets folks banned by TPTB.