Following TurboTax flub, Intuit turns attention to QuickBooks for freelancers
After being scourged with bad press in recent weeks stemming from a TurboTax snafu, Intuit is looking to refocus the attention onto QuickBooks.
The cloud accounting provider announced Tuesday that it has inked deals with TaskRabbit, Fiverr and UpCounsel to provide free QuickBooks Online Self-Employed to those platforms' contract workers.
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Intuit first launched the self-employed iteration of QuickBooks in January, touting the platform for its tax-specific knowhow for freelancers and contract workers -- or what it calls the on-demand economy. The platform can be used to connect financial accounts, track deductions and calculate taxes, in addition to organizing comingled business and personal finances.
"We're thrilled to be partnering with the leading on-demand marketplaces," Kathy Tsitovich, director of business development at Intuit, said in a statement. "We've made it really easy for these marketplaces to offer a valuable benefit to their contract workforce -- just in time for tax season."
As for Intuit's other tax software, TurboTax, the season has been more of a headache than the usual financial windfall. The company is now working to restore trust in the software -- which accounts for roughly 30 percent of Inuit's total revenue -- after fraudulent state returns were filed through its system.
Intuit also faced criticism from users after the company changed some TurboTax features that made the product more expensive. The backlash was so intense that Intuit CEO Brad Smith penned an open apology letter via LinkedIn. A notable excerpt is below:
Our intention was to align our desktop, online and mobile versions to deliver faster innovation and improved experiences for all customers, but our execution left much to be desired. We didn't communicate enough before implementing the change, and we were slow to react once we began hearing the much-deserved anger and disappointment from some of our customers. Simply stated, we messed up.
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