CRM Software Comparison Blog

Customer Driven Innovation Leads to Continual ROI Improvements for QuickBase Users

February 9, 2004—MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) today
announced additional new features and enhancements for QuickBase®, its Web-based
workgroup application platform. The most significant new feature is Exact Forms, which
enables currently static Microsoft Word®-based forms and other documents to be easily
integrated with dynamic data and instantly sharable on the Web.

QuickBase is a powerful yet affordable alternative to high-end enterprise solutions and
the more widely used approach of emailing spreadsheets for sharing information and
managing process in today’s distributed business environment. With its new Exact
Forms feature, it is the first workgroup application to allow users to share over the Web
their dynamic data in the exact format needed to adhere to industry standards, company
policy, or desired visual appeal – simply using a familiar tool, Microsoft Word.

“The QuickBase team is constantly adding useful, timesaving new features to the
service. With Exact Forms, we cut processing time in half while standardizing on
business processes for property liens, invoicing and funds dispersal,” said Shad Twist,
project manager for Greenfield Homes Corporation, a construction finance company.
“As a company that uses investors, loan officers and builders out in the field, having
these standard forms online and accessible from anywhere is critical to doing business
efficiently. With other software packages, we would be tied to our desks, fax machines,
and phones.”

Customer Driven Innovation at Work

The new Exact Forms is an example of how Intuit’s Customer Driven Innovation
approach translates into features that deliver on the promise of improving a customer’s
ROI. Through building relationships with its customers, including frequent
conversations and on-site visits, Intuit recognized that many customers were cutting and
pasting data from QuickBase into their corporate or industry-standard forms, then
emailing, faxing or couriering those documents to team members, vendors or clients.
While QuickBase was solving the need for keeping the information current and
managed within the workgroup’s process, the QuickBase team saw that customers
needed a simple way to bring that dynamic data into their static documents and then
easily share the now dynamic documents. Based on these learnings from customers,
they created the Exact Forms feature. Now, users simply adapt their customized form in
Microsoft Word and save it to any QuickBase application. Exact Forms can include text,
images, and field values in common formats supported by Microsoft Word.

“By working closely with customers to understand their needs, we are often able to offer
a unique answer to their pain. In this case, customers needed both dynamic data
integrated into their forms and those forms easily shared,” said Jana Eggers, general
manager of QuickBase. “And, unlike desktop or client/server applications, as a Webbased,
hosted service, we can roll out new features to our customers every few months
without the time-intensive download-and-install process.”

“We have found the QuickBase service to be continually improving and answering our
needs — many times before we realize we have them,” said Ed Metz, producer/director,
of Robert Berning Productions a national full service advertising, marketing and
communications firm. “This means our ROI on the product improves every few months.
You can’t say that for many software applications.”

In addition to Exact Forms, other new features of QuickBase include:

  • Add Similar Records: Copy a record with its existing information to a new
   record with one simple click.
  • Calendar and Timeline Improvements: Changing between a table view of data
  to a timeline or calendar view is now a simple menu selection.
  • Trial Enhancements: During the 30-day, free trial, users have more information
   at their fingertips, including how to create applications and how many days are
   remaining in their trial.
  • Performance Improvements: QuickBase engineers are constantly striving to
   improve the service for users. With this release, they have improved average
   response time by 30%.

“Intuit is applying its hallmark ease-of-use expertise to hosted workgroup applications.
This translates into significant ROI in time and cost savings,” said Laurie McCabe,
Summit Strategies. “With QuickBase, end-users can do many of the tasks that in the past would have required extensive IT support.”

Pricing and Availability

For existing QuickBase users, simply log on to QuickBase to experience the value of these new features.
New users can easily get up and running on QuickBase through Intuit’s free 30-day trial
(registration required). The trial offers access to the fully functional service and quick
start-up with pre-built applications and easy import from spreadsheets. There is no
hardware to set up or software to install. Users simply need a Web connection.
The QuickBase monthly subscription fee starts at $249, and includes access for 10 users
per application. Additional users and data storage are available for additional fees.
About QuickBase
QuickBase allows small businesses and corporate workgroups to
address the complexity and inefficiencies of communications and information
management in today’s business environments.
A Web-based workgroup application solution, QuickBase uniquely combines database,
groupware and business management applications in a single platform. Unlike software
that requires users to modify their information and communications to fit a rigid
process, QuickBase offers users the flexibility to work the way their business works:
collecting information needed, when needed, and providing the functionality to ensure
action is taken.

Filed under: Quickbase