QuickBooks Connect London is right around the corner, and we couldn’t be more excited!
Although we’ve had the opportunity to connect with the QuickBooks community at other accounting events over the past couple of years (such as Quickbooks Connect San Jose and QuickBooks Connect Toronto), this will be our first year attending QuickBooks Connect London.
We suspect that QBC London will be just as awesome as the QuickBooks Connect events we’ve attended in the past, but we wanted to find out a bit more about what to expect. As such, we reached out to a few QBC London speakers and asked them to share their advice for getting the most out of QuickBooks Connect London.
Read on for their top tips!
1. Have a game plan
As tempting as it might be to simply show up to QB Connect and “go with the flow”, the experts recommend taking a look at the agenda and planning which sessions you’d like to attend, as well as how you’d like to spend your time.
It helps to align your time at the conference with your firm’s goals – for instance, if you’re looking to implement new technology at your practice, attend sessions that will provide information on this (such as the "All About Apps" panel, taking place on February 27 at 4:15pm) and set aside time to talk to the exhibitors.
Paul Lodder, a Partner at Sagars Accountants Ltd., will be participating in the aforementioned "All About Apps" panel discussion. As a veteran attendee, he offered these words of wisdom:
“
Plan in advance. Having attended previously, I know it can be quite overwhelming and very exciting, so it is easy to miss something. Prior to the event, I would review all the sessions over both days so that you can see exactly what you want to attend, and also factor in the reasons why you want to attend those sessions.”
Mark Wickersham, best selling author of Effective Pricing for Accountants, will be leading a workshop entitled "Value Pricing: How to Price Accounting Services" (taking place on February 27 at 1:00pm). He agrees that planning is key for getting the most out of the conference:
“QB Connect can be overwhelming with so much going on; so many great workshops. So take a few moments to plan in advance all the sessions you want to see.”
2. Visit vendors, learn about apps, and ask questions
As exhibitors at the event, we might be a little biased toward this bit of advice! However, the event speakers we reached out to also agree that QBC London is a great opportunity to learn more about the technology and tools you can use to enhance your firm.
Paul Lodder recommends using QBC as an opportunity to build relationships with the exhibitors:
Wayne Schmidt, Practice Consultant at Karbon (and moderator of the "All About Apps" panel), concurs:
"Visit every add-on vendor at QuickBooks Connect London. It's the fastest way to start understanding the power of QuickBooks add-ons.”
Wayne also offered an excellent list of questions that can help you kick off a conversation with exhibitors and understand if their solution is right for your practice:
- What is the business problem your product solves?
- How many clients/customers do you serve?
- Who is your ideal client/customer?
- How many of my clients would suit this product?
- How many years have you been in business?
Also, inquire if they have a “partner program” (or something similar):
- Do you have a reseller program? If so, what are the margins?
- Do you have a certification process and/or education strategy?
- Do you have any processes in place to assist with partner promotion?
- What are your primary sales channels (direct, partner, online)?
As mentioned, Hubdoc will be at QB Connect London – visit us at booth E15!
As you make your way through the exhibitor show floor, be sure to also check out some of our favorite tools, including:
- Float – Float is a cash flow forecasting tool for small businesses. Visit their booth to learn more, and to pick up a free rubber duck! Once you’ve received your Float duck, tweet a photo of it using the hashtag #CashFlowQuacked.
- Practice Ignition – Stop by the Practice Ignition booth to learn how they can help your firm automate client proposals, compliance, and payments (all in one system). The PI team is also helping out firms during the GDPR transition – to get more info about how they can help you get your engagement letters ready for GDPR, chat with Ryan and Maria!
- Expensify – Expensify is an awesome tool for one-click receipt tracking and automated expense management. Stop by their booth to learn more!
- TSheets – Head to the TSheets booth to learn more about their employee time tracking solution. They’ve also provided some great information about QuickBooks Connect London in a recent blog post – read it here.
- Futrli – Pop over to booth E16 to learn about Futrli, an all-in-one forecasting and reporting tool for business owners and accountants. While you’re there, drop your business card in their lottery bowl for a chance to win a bottle of Brighton Gin!
3. Network!
It’s called QuickBooks Connect for a reason! Accountants tend to lean on the introverted side, but remember that everyone is in the same boat when it comes to meeting new people at the event.
Matt Flanagan, an industry renowned cloud systems specialist (and another participant in the "All About Apps" panel), also encourages reaching out to speakers and panelists:
“If any of the speakers or panelists discuss interesting points or topics that have you needing more information, follow them on social media or contact them – most have some great free resources on the topics that they’re speaking about!”
Matt also mentioned that he’s excited to catch up with firms and learn how they’re leveraging cloud technology:
Bonus: Don’t just take our word for it…
As mentioned, it’ll be our first time at QuickBooks Connect London, so we’ve been regularly checking in on the social buzz surrounding the event.
QuickBooks recently hosted a #QBConnect Twitter chat where many past attendees chimed in with additional tips for getting the most out of the event – click on the tweet below to check out some of the highlights!
Q5: What’s your best advice for events like #QBConnect? pic.twitter.com/aSqy4USyAB
— Intuit QuickBooks UK (@QuickBooksUK) February 6, 2018
We’re so excited to connect with the QuickBooks community in London. See you soon!
We know your schedule will be jam-packed during QBC London – book a demo to learn how Hubdoc can automatically fetch your clients’ financial documents!
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