Welcome back to our Firm of the Future profile series about thriving firms and consultants who are benefitting from the cloud and QuickBooks® Online Accountant (QBOA) to better serve clients and find new revenue opportunities. In this new article, we spotlight Dawn Scranton, owner of qbPluggedin.com.
Shauna Maher: Tell us about your business.
Dawn Scranton: Our business is qbPluggedin.com. We’re QuickBooks Add-on Experts, so we evaluate, install, troubleshoot and support integrated business apps all day, every day, to help business owners find and implement business software solutions. This means that sometimes we chat about advanced accounting concepts. Sometimes we talk about software solutions and wish lists that solve industry and/or operational gaps. Sometimes we are business coaches, tech support, project leaders or implementation managers.
It is an exciting job, but only for the mentally fit software geeks who are enthusiastic about reading technical manuals and hanging on the line for software support!
SM: How long have you been using QBOA?
We embraced the cloud environment, as well as the QuickBooks integrated solutions and add-ons in 2003 – at the same time the Intuit® Developer Network was born. This proved to be a solid foundation to fully integrate with QuickBooks Online (QBO), even before the inventory functionality arrived. We always engage the QBOA & QBO beta features to explore and test them immediately.
SM: What convinced you to make the move to QBOA?
DS: In case you have not heard, Artificial Intelligence is integrated into QBO and it is getting smarter, whether I choose to play along or not. Furthermore, I had to consider: could I really continue to call myself a trustworthy advisor if I do not embrace the technology that can deliver anticipatory solutions for success?
If you pay attention to your clients who are growing in success, as I do, notice that they do not dabble in yesterday’s success or regrets of historical and/or past performance. Instead, they are truly successful when they have the wit to look toward tomorrow to be a success-oriented consultant.
I am now anxiously looking forward to the opportunity to talk to my Alexa devices to query QBOA for financial insights about my financial future.
SM: What are your goals for your practice this year?
DS: We continue working on growth through strategic alliances and partnerships. We are also compiling some really fun video marketing campaigns to showcase some of our exceptionally talented implementors.
SM: What’s your favorite away-from-the-office place to get work done?
DS: To be honest, I love reading and listening to technology news, and there is no quieter place than my front porch. Some of my best brainstorming and strategic thinking sessions occur there, with coffee and Kindle in hand, while I am bird watching.
SM: Where’s the craziest place you’ve done work for a client?
DS: When I gave birth to my second son! The nurses and my husband were shocked to find me having a conversation with a client about their financial statements and tax return – from my hospital bed, in-between labor pains.
SM: What’s your number one time savings tip?
DS: Delegate what you can and when your plate seems full, evaluate what you should say “no” to.
SM: When you’re not working, what’s your favorite way to spend your time?
DS: Movies, dining-out, taking a walk downtown, and reading leadership & business development or inspirational magazines, including Fast Company, The Anticipatory Organization, Foundr, or any E-Myth Series.
SM: What advice do you have for peers that are still on desktop?
DS: I encourage you to learn all you can about online and cloud platforms. No one wants the cost of maintaining their own private servers anymore and they are smart to avoid it.
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