Financial Fitness Training From Intuit To Benefit 1,000 Businesses Across The UK

Government Supports Nationwide Scheme Offering Practical Tarining to get Britain's Small Businesses into Shape. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) November 19, 2011 - 1,000 small businesses across the UK are set to get financially fitter thanks to a new government supported scheme of training workshops launched by Intuit today. This is in addition to QuickBooks accounting software (http://www.intuit.co.uk/quickbooks/accounting-software/index.jsp) training provided by Intuit and training partner BCSG to thousands of small businesses each year.

The financial fitness workshops have been inspired by research from the Office of National Statistics that shows that one in three businesses do not make it past their third birthday. Intuit believes that this represents a major fitness challenge to British business.

Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks small business accounting software, will launch the initiative at the Business Start Up Show (November 17-18, 2011), one of the key events during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2011.

Over 200 small businesses owners at the show will be the first to benefit from the workshop sessions that will provide hands-on practical training to help them get financially fit and be set up for long-term success.

Intuit will run events initially in three cities, Liverpool, to time with the Global Entrepreneur Congress in March 2012, Sheffield, in advance of the MADE Festival, the UK's premier business festival for entrepreneurs, and Manchester, with approximately 100,000 SMEs. The events will support the new Finance Fitness campaign (http://www.intuit.co.uk/about/financial-fitness-training.jsp) launched by the Business Secretary, Dr Vince Cable, last week.

This practical training, delivered in conjunction with BCSG, will cover the basics of good record keeping, how to track and improve cash flow, as well as save time on everyday tasks such as invoicing, expenses and calculating and reporting VAT.

In getting financially fit, new business owners will feel more confident and equipped to tackle the most challenging financial elements of starting up a business:

-Knowing what records to keep and staying on top of it all
-Managing cash flow
-Getting customers to pay on time
-Dealing with VAT and taxes
-Getting organized for end of year filing

The cities will play host to practical training events for local businesses which will include opportunities for business owners to speak to Intuit pro-advisors, as well as leading entrepreneurs.

Pernille Bruun-Jensen, Managing Director UK, Intuit said: "2012 is the year of the Olympics and it's not just athletes that need to get fitter. We need fitter businesses as well and Intuit is stepping up to the plate to help deliver on that ambition. Too many businesses run out of cash, manage it badly or just don't have the time or the skills to help themselves out. Improve this and we can radically help improve the chances of business survival rates.

"To address this Intuit will hit the road in 2012, visiting cities around the UK to help over 1,000 entrepreneurs get stronger and more agile. This will be the ultimate business work out."

The scheme, which has the backing of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, is focused on reducing the number of young companies that fail. Business and Enterprise Minister, Mark Prisk, said:

"Small firms must be able to get access to the finance they need to grow. The Finance Fitness campaign we are launching today will equip them with the advice and guidance they need to do so.

"The wide range of public and private finance options available can be daunting to a new entrepreneur. 15 per cent of SMEs do not apply for finance despite needing it, so we want to provide these businesses with the knowledge and confidence to secure the finance that is right for them."

For more information please contact:

Nicole Green
Nicole.Green ( @ ) sevenhillsgroup dot co dot uk
0207 199 220
07977 402219

Alex Saggers
Alex.saggers ( @ ) sevenhillsgroup dot co dot uk
0207 215 5978

About Intuit
Intuit is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small businesses and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online, simplify small business management and payroll processing. Intuit UK is a subsidiary of Intuit Inc. For more information please visit: http://www.intuit.co.uk

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