New QuickBooks Easy Estimate Produces Professional-Looking Documents to Help Contractors Win More Jobs

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 11, 2006 – To win more jobs, contractors need to project an image that potential customers can trust, and that image begins with the look and accuracy of a proposal. To meet this need for small contractors, Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) today announced a new entry-level software solution for contractors who want to quickly and easily create professional-looking estimates, so they can win more of the jobs they want.

QuickBooks® Easy Estimate, available this spring, simplifies the process of creating polished and accurate estimates so contractors – including general contractors, subcontractors, remodelers and other construction professionals – can both impress prospective customers, and manage and organize all their proposals in one place.

Intuit designed Easy Estimate for the approximately 1 million small contractors who still use manual, word processing or spreadsheet methods to create proposals for prospective customers. A stand-alone product, Easy Estimate eliminates the need for users to double-enter data in multiple programs such as Microsoft® Word and Excel, letting them spend more time on the job and less time on paperwork.

In a construction industry survey conducted by Intuit Construction Business Solutions, 80 percent of respondents cited personality and professionalism as important factors when choosing a contractor. In addition, the top responses from those surveyed for how contractors could better serve them was “trustworthiness” and “accuracy with estimates and invoices.”

Save Time on Paperwork, Spend it on the Job
Easy Estimate works the way small contractors work. After gathering information on the job-site visit, users only need to enter the data once into Easy Estimate. The software then calculates the estimate and merges the information into one of several industry-specific templates and into Microsoft Word for easy formatting and printing.

With Easy Estimate, contractors can reuse previous estimates as templates to quickly respond to customer requests. Once the job is completed, Easy Estimate enables the contractor to quickly turn the estimate into an invoice. The program allows users to export estimates to QuickBooks to generate invoices and track payments using QuickBooks. Additionally, estimates and invoices are easily customized to include a contractor’s company logo and contact information.

“For many of these smaller contractors, their biggest challenge is the time it takes to turn around a professional estimate to quickly close the deal on jobs they want,” said Brian Dennehy, QuickBooks vice president of marketing. Easy Estimate solves an industry-wide struggle with an affordable, easy-to-use product that simplifies the estimating process to help small contractors successfully meet the needs of their customers and compete in today’s environment.

“Built with help from some of the more than 250,000 contractors who use Intuit products, Intuit has again demonstrated its expertise in creating remarkably simple solutions that fill unique white spaces in the industry,” Dennehy said.

“Right for Contractors” Solutions
Easy Estimate joins the range of solutions Intuit offers general contractors and subcontractors of all types and sizes – from its popular, easy-to-use line of QuickBooks products, including QuickBooks: Premier Contractor Edition 2006 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions: Contractor Edition 6.0, to its most advanced construction business management software, Intuit Master Builder®. Intuit solutions are easy-to-use and offer contractors a good value in construction software. Additionally, a nationwide network of Solution Providers and Certified ProAdvisors provide the one-on-one service and support contractors need.