For those readers considering participation in the 2024 Top 100 ProAdvisor Awards process, there were some valuable clues regarding the standards by which applicants rank in the various categories in my story about the 2023 Award Recipients.
Here is my second example of what I'm talking about, "Wendelyn's professionalism, practice parameters, training dedication, certifications, and significant app interactions propelled her in the top ranking in the desktop integrations category."
As I discussed in the first part of this mini-series, in every category for which there is an award, we are measuring applicants against:
- Professional stature
- Practice performance
- Training
- Certifications
- App engagement
While these may be the measures by which each award is judged, they are not the standards. Thinking back to our 'dog show' analogy, there is a unique standard for every AKC breed, and so it is with each of the Top 100 Award Categories.
For each of the above measures, questions from the ProAdvisor's 'formal application' contribute valuable answers to the applicant's qualifications against the standards applicable to each measure.
So, my question is, "What would you expect to see in a ProAdvisor who is at the top of the ranking in 'QuickBooks Desktop Integrations'?"
Your answer(s) will be subjective, but mine cannot be; mine must be objective if the Top 100 process is to be fair to all.
To do this, Insightful Accountant greatly enhanced the mechanisms by which 'objectivity is standardized.' Let's look at one example from this past year's formal application.
When it comes to App engagement, Insightful Accountant completely changed the measuring components of the formal application for 2023, in order to provide increased standardization in the scoring.
For Domestic applicants, Insightful Accountant established a list of the 75 highest-rated apps in the QuickBooks App Ecosystem (based on the most common areas of ProAdvisor practice measured from past years of Top 100 submissions). This list is comprised of approximately 50% apps designed to integrate with QuickBooks Online; and of 50% apps that integrate with QuickBooks Desktop (or both Desktop and QBO).
Insightful Accountant divided the measuring tools related to App engagement into two separate but related parts. The first tool, Part 1 of the QuickBooks Ecosystem section of the application, measuring App engagement, was required of every Domestic applicant. It was designed to provide information about an applicant's fundamental interactions with the 75 apps and their developers. Please note the term "App," as used here, also applies to third-party software that may be listed in the QuickBooks Desktop App Center.
For each of the 75 Apps in Part 1, applicants told us—using a matrix (like the one shown below) if they Used the App—if they had a Referral arrangement with the App, if they were a Reseller for the App, if they were Certified in the App, or if they were a Developer Authorized Implementer of the App.
- This section has components that add to the base scores of almost every Award including QBO, Desktop, Niche, CAS/BPO, etc.
While Part 2 of the App Ecosystem section of the 'formal application' is optional, it really should be considered 'mandatory' if an applicant is trying to rank within the two app-related awards (QBO Appology or QBD Integrations) or the software specialization awards (QBO-Advanced, or QBD-Enterprise).
- Based upon an Applicant's Answers in Part 1, the apps ranked in that part populate the various sections of Part 2.
Section 1 of Part 2 details the percentage of client use of a particular app or integrated software. Example shown below.
- The higher the percentage of use among the applicants' clients, the more points they earn toward the related awards.
Section 2 of Part 2 also applies to registered referrals in the current year. Example shown below.
- The more referrals made in the current year, the more points the applicant earns toward the related awards. It's just that simple.
Section 4 of Part 2 measures the applicant's app/software certifications during the awards period and how much work you did to get certified. If you spent 40 hours in training and took a test, you would expect to earn more points than someone who took a quiz after 30 minutes of training. Example shown below.
Section 5 of Part 2 provides specific information regarding App/Software Implementation arrangements. Suppose an App developer has authorized an applicant to act on their behalf as an implementation partner. In that case, we want to know how many hours you spend during the awards period in actual implementations. Example shown below.
- Once again, you would expect an applicant who spent 240 hours implementing a complex inventory add-on to earn more points than an applicant who simply enrolls a client in an App that takes 20 minutes to set up.
If you are one of the applicants in the 2023 process, who chose NOT to complete Part 2 of the Ecosystem section, don't blame us if you failed to make the Top 100. Remember, the Top 100 is not the highest-scoring ProAdvisors in a list of names. The Top 100 comprises the highest-ranking ProAdvisors in each award category.
You have a far better chance of reaching a qualified ranking in a category when you fit into as many different categories as possible. If you didn't complete Part 2, your score in at least four categories, QBO-Appology, QBD-Integrations, QBO-Advanced, and QBD-Enterprise, was much lower than it could have been if you had completed Part 2.
Approximately 20% of applicants eligible to complete Part 2 chose not to do so. Many failed to overcome the hardship that not participating in Part 2 created in the scoring process.
Lessons to be learned:
(1) Apps are and will forever be a vital component of the Top 100 ProAdvisor Awards.
- Apps represent a growing component of 'all' of the Top 100 Categorical Awards because the use of apps to supplement the core software is a growing percentage of ProAdvisor practices, based upon applicant responses.
(2) Top 100 ProAdvisor Applicants should focus on apps related to their 'core' practice.
- If an applicant's practice is 90% QuickBooks Online, they should focus on apps that meet the needs of clients' using QBO.
(3) ProAdvisors should maximize the depth of their engagement with each App related to their core.
- Don't just use and refer it to clients.
- Become a formal referral partner or authorized implementer for the App.
- Get certified or take as much training as available for those apps.
- As an example of this, having a single app that you spend 400 hours implementing over a year after spending 40 hours learning it to become certified and an implementer will earn you far more points than having 50 different apps you refer to your 50 clients in a year.
- Depth of engagement matters significantly when it comes to the QBO-Appology and QBD-Integrations Awards.
(4) The mechanism Insightful Accountant uses for measuring "App engagement" is pretty much set except for reconsidering the specific apps in our 'Domestic' list based on what the Intuit App Ecosystem website reports as the 'most used.'
- Very little else will change in the App interaction measures during the 2024 Top 100 ProAdvisor process.
A word to International Top 100 ProAdvisor Applicants:
For 2023, Insightful Accountant identified that the 75 apps within our 'Domestic' list insufficiently applied to ProAdvisors from outside the United States. Accordingly, Insightful Accountant developed an alternative 'App list' of 60 apps more akin to those found on the various QuickBooks App Stores for the Intuit countries offering those listings. That list was comprised of approximately 20% Global apps (Insightful Accountant defined as appearing in any three or more supported Intuit regions), 20% Australia available apps, 20% Canadian available apps, 20% French available apps, and 20% UK available apps.
Insightful Accountant only required International applicants to complete the equivalent of Part 1 of the Domestic QuickBooks Ecosystem screening questions but using the 'Globalized App list.' The scores derived from that list were integral to the overall International ProAdvisor rankings.
Insightful Accountant has no plans to change this mechanism for International Applicants during the 2024 Top 100 process, except for a review and possible changes to the actual apps listed based on the new "QuickBooks Global App Store."