Intuit and Google bring G Suite closer to QuickBooks, with single sign-on and Calendar integration

Google and Intuit have announced a collaboration today that will see deeper tie-ups between their respective software offerings for small businesses.

Founded out of Palo Alto, California in 1983, Intuit is among the most recognizable brands in the finance software sphere, developing tools that allow freelancers and small businesses to manage and prepare their finances and taxes. One of those tools is accountancy software QuickBooks, a flagship product with millions of users around the world. As with many software products that have moved to evolve with the times, QuickBooks also has a cloud-based incarnation, and this will be the focus of two key integrations with Google’s online business-focused software, G Suite.

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Hot on the heels of the company’s rebrand from “Google Apps for Work” a few weeks back, G Suite subscribers will now be able to schedule work and meetings through Google Calendar, with these appointments automatically appearing in QuickBooks. This means that businesses will be able to more easily invoice for their time, and it saves users from having to manually enter each appointment within QuickBooks.

Additionally, QuickBooks is now letting businesses sign up for QuickBooks Online through the G Suite Marketplace, so it will now be possible to use single sign-on (SSO) to access QuickBooks directly from a Google account. This means company employees won’t need separate log-in credentials to access QuickBooks; they can simply use their Google account details.

Given that QuickBooks is one of the world’s biggest accountancy software brands, this partnership is a notable scoop for Google as it looks to push G Suite to millions more people. And it gives QuickBooks an extra carrot to tempt new users on board and to retain existing clients — the company says that a significant proportion of its existing users already use Google’s online tools.

“This is the beginning of an exciting collaboration between Intuit and Google that will deliver huge benefits for the millions of small businesses that we serve around the world,” said Vinay Pai, vice president and head of the Intuit developer group. “Our data indicates that 56 percent of QuickBooks customers are using Google Calendar to book appointments, schedule meetings, and track client work. By bringing our technologies together, we will create important efficiencies between two solutions customers are already using.”

This isn’t the first time QuickBooks and Google have worked together. Earlier this year, a number of companies produced new templates for Google Docs users, including one from Intuit’s QuickBooks, which offered a new annual business budget template for use within Google Sheets.