Small business owners know that managing their business often requires working with a number of disconnected tools. Intuit wants to change that.
Starting today, QuickBooks users will be able to summon a virtual assistant-like AI agent to assist with tasks across key business functions such as accounting, customer management, finance, and project management.
Built on the Intuit platform, QuickBooks introduces an AI agent, a customer hub, a redesigned interface, and a reimagined set of connected tools to help your business run and grow smarter and faster.
On average, leaders spend 7.5 hours per week switching between tools. Intuit says solving these challenges could increase the average Canadian company’s annual revenue by $178,000.
“What we hear from our customers is that the fragmentation of tools that give them a unified view of their business is a big pain point. It’s like going to six grocery stores to make dinner,” said Hamilton Jones, International Platform Staff Product Manager at Intuit. “We wanted to reimagine the entire platform to integrate everything business owners need and reduce the manual work that is holding them back with AI and human intelligence.”
This issue was not just an anecdote. Intuit’s recent report, The Growth Gap, found that nearly half of Canadian small businesses are missing out on growth opportunities due to inefficiency and decision fatigue.
Leaders waste an average of 7.5 hours a week just switching between tools. According to Intuit, solving these challenges could increase the average Canadian company’s annual revenue by $178,000.
The new QuickBooks experience directly targets these pain points, leveraging automation, AI, and trusted human expertise to unify accounting, CRM, and project management into one platform.
“We want to give users more power so they can focus on the work they actually want to spend their time doing, which will grow their business,” Jones said. “So much time is lost and wasted due to advanced administrative and repetitive tasks. It can be difficult to see the big picture, so it’s important to be able to help users find things they might not be able to see on their own.”
New AI agents are the star of the new platform. Think of them like a team of digital assistants who work behind the scenes for you and your accounting professional, getting smarter over time. However, business owners are always in the driver’s seat.
Accounting Agent automates bookkeeping and classification to keep your accounts clean. Customer agents find leads, prioritize high-value deals, draft responses, schedule meetings, and track customer deals throughout the sales cycle right from their inbox.
Finance Agent compiles a real-time overview of profit and loss, cash flow, and balance sheets. The project management agent also automatically fills in important details for draft projects, reducing manual data entry.
But this update goes beyond AI agents. QuickBooks also introduces a redesigned interface and menus that make it easier to find what you need, an AI-powered business feed that suggests tasks to improve efficiency, and the ability to access human support whenever you need it, making the platform feel like you have a large team behind you.
For users, this means less time clicking between tabs and more time on strategy, customers, and growth.
Mike Libby, partner and chief operating officer at accounting firm YBL, says he has never used QuickBooks in his 16 years at the company.
“We have been using QuickBooks for many years, and the platform has grown and is now much better,” Libbey said. “We have a team of about 35 people and 1,000 clients across Canada, so being able to manage all of our client information in one place, which I’m already in and out of every day, allows us to be more informed and provide timely insights.”
He also sees AI capabilities as potentially transformative for clients ranging from real estate agents and medical professionals to construction companies.
“Agents provide a level of insight from a deeper perspective before they ask questions,” he said. “Having that information at your fingertips can help you transform your business.”
According to an Intuit study, 80% of business leaders say AI has the potential to help them delegate more effectively while retaining control. Four in 10 leaders say AI already saves them up to one day a week. Intuit calls this the “AI dividend.” This is the productivity, focus, and confidence you can regain when technology automates tasks that are slowing down your business.
And it looks like Canada’s small businesses are poised to benefit. 46% of companies surveyed are in the “ready” segment to grow with technology, one of the strongest results in the global market.
With the global rollout of QuickBooks on the Intuit platform, Intuit is betting that more integrated workflows and AI-powered insights will help small and medium-sized businesses close the growth gap and even gain hours back along the way.
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QuickBooks on the Intuit platform is available now at quickbooks.intuit.com/ca/.
All images provided by Intuit
