BoxFreeIT (Au) : Is Intuit’s acquisition of Invitbox a game changer?

Lisa Callaghan, CEO of Interactive Accounting for BoxFreeIT writes: Intuit announced on May 14 that it had bought the cloud-based accounts payable processing tool Invitbox. Invitbox’s huge advantage over similar tools like ReceiptBank and Shoeboxed is that it imports into Xero an accounts payable invoice with line by line details.

For any business that needs to separate an invoice into different account codes, this tool is a dream that can save hundreds of hours a year in bookkeeping. The future of accounting software is paperless, bookkeeping-free accounting software that will utilise APIs (programming interfaces), rules and two-way integration with banks to do all the heavy lifting.

Invitbox inputting line items to Xero

It’s such an exciting time if you’re a small business owner or a geek accountant like myself. The emergence of Xero several years ago ignited a revolution in small business accounting and the relationship with your advisor. MYOB was left red-faced when Xero entered the market and in just a few years showed how MYOB had failed to really innovate with its cloud offering MYOB Live.

Today small business is spoilt for choice as Intuit, Reckon, Saasu, MYOB and Freshbooks all compete in the market space. For the last three years Interactive Accounting has been a 100 percent Xero-based accounting firm as we believe it’s the best cloud accounting solution on the market.

That’s why buying Invitbox is a game-changer. If Intuit integrate Invitbox within its product its going to make Xero’s release of Xero Files look second rate. If your accounts payable invoices magically and automatically imported with every detail and correctly coded into your accounting software – would that not be life-changing? Hell YES!

Xero’s CEO Rod Drury’s reaction on Twitter to the news last week got my attention. Sometimes it’s hard to read tone with tweets but this one had me wanting to ask Rod, “Is that a hint of jealousy I detect?”

Roger Gregg, CEO of Invitbox, and his team have been great friends of ours at Interactive Accounting. We even had a joint staff Christmas party with us last year at Paddington Bowling Club. I have a huge amount of respect for the work Roger and his team have achieved in just over two years.

It’s a testament to their innovation that won them last year’s Xero Emerging Add-on award and caught the eye of a big US-based software company like Intuit. That’s impressive, well done!

I understand that at present Invitbox will continue to have an open API and still integrate with Xero. Any business who wants to show line by line items on their bills in Xero should definitely use this product and sign up for a trial.

But the real winners here are small business owners and accountants. I look forward to sitting here on the sidelines, having a front row seat to watch these cloud accounting products hit it out on the playing field as they compete for your business through innovation.

I’m a long standing advocate of Xero but the delayed release of promised core features like Quotes, Report Packs, Payroll/General Ledger integration feels like its development has stalled. Perhaps this is just prognostic of its rapid growth and US focus. Nonetheless it’s allowing the others to catch up in Australia. Interactive Accounting is committed to promote and support only the best cloud accounting software on the market.

With Intuit’s acquisition I can see that one day in the not too distant future we will support additional online accounting programs.

Ladies and gentlemen, we just got a giant leap closer to the future of accounting where transaction details automatically and seamlessly flow in and out of our accounting software requiring very little manual input. Simple, easy and accurate.

This article was written by Lisa Callaghan, CEO of Interactive Accounting, a Gold Xero partner.

BoxFreeIT is an independent news site covering cloud software for Australian and New Zealand businesses which launched in July 2011. The site is published by Sholto Macpherson, a business technology journalist in online and print media for over 11 years. BoxFreeIT operates in accordance with the MEAA (Australian Journalists Association) Code of Ethics.

The only Australasian site dedicated to cloud software, BoxFreeIT attracts 12,000 unique visitors a month and is adding 2,000 visitors a month. A total 65,000 unique visitors have visited BoxFreeIT in 2012.   The site has built up a strong following of accountants and bookkepeers exploring cloud accounting programs such as MYOB Live Accounts and Account Right Live, Xero, Saasu and Intuit QuickBooks Online, as well as SMEs interested in cloud software.