Productivity Improvement With QuickBooks Payroll

Evidence and data. Interviewees and survey respondents reported that QuickBooks Payroll simplified payroll processes and boosted bookkeeper productivity. With an integrated platform for payroll management and processing, including automated capabilities for direct deposit processing, withholdings, tax remittance, and reporting, the interviewees’ and survey respondents’ organizations could reduce manual, repetitive tasks and pay employees accurately and on time.

• The CFO at a professional services company shared that their organization previously managed payroll through several fragmented third-party tools, requiring bookkeepers to input information manually and track labor and changing wages across multiple portals. By adopting QuickBooks Payroll, the organization consolidated payroll activity management into a single platform and leveraged automated payroll processing, direct deposit, reporting, and tax and compliance management capabilities. The consolidation and automation reduced swivel chairing and manual data entry across multiple systems, enhancing overall efficiency.

• The CFO at a construction company shared that their organization previously managed payroll efforts manually, leading to inefficiencies and increased chances of errors. As a result, the organization incurred penalties for late tax payments and spent a significant amount of time on manual data entry and reconciliation. By adopting QuickBooks Payroll, the company automated several workflows, including tax remittance, which helped streamline processes, reduce manual work, and effectively eliminate penalties.

• In the survey, 70% of respondents whose organizations used QuickBooks reported a reduction in time spent running payroll. On average, respondents reported a 72% decrease in the time required for payroll processing. Additionally, they reported a 32% efficiency gain for compliance management and a 34% reduction in time spent tracking labor costs and job costing. 

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite’s finance resources spend 150 hours per month on payroll activities, including processing payroll; tracking labor costs; and managing compliance, benefits, and employee documents and data before adopting QuickBooks Payroll. Over one year, these efforts total 1,800 hours.

• With QuickBooks Payroll, the composite organization reduces the time spent on payroll activities by 40% in Year 1, 45% in Year 2, and 50% in Year 3 as users optimize platform use, automate more tasks, and continue to streamline payroll processes using the platform’s capabilities.

• The average fully burdened hourly rate for a bookkeeping resource is $78.

• For this benefit, the composite has a productivity recapture rate of 50%. Resources spend half of the time they save on activities that generate business value, but not all reclaimed time is dedicated to value-added work.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this benefit:

• An organization’s prior tools and processes for payroll activities.

• Salaries of resources managing payroll activities.

• The degree to which resources recapture time savings toward productive activities.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $70,000.

Productivity Improvement With QuickBooks Online

Evidence and data. Before adopting QuickBooks Online, interviewees shared that their organizations struggled with fragmented financial management processes. Disconnected tools and manual workflows for tasks such as invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting created inefficiencies, increased the risk of errors, and limited the timeliness and accuracy of financial data. Finance resources often spent significant time reconciling information across systems or manually updating spreadsheets, which delayed reporting and hindered strategic planning activities. With QuickBooks Online, organizations consolidated core accounting and financial management activities into a single, cloud-based platform. Automation capabilities ensured that invoicing, expense tracking, and reporting were faster, more accurate, and easier to manage. This improvement not only reduced the manual workload but also provided real-time visibility into financial performance for improved decision-making.

• The CEO at a healthcare company said that QuickBooks Online provided a centralized platform to view financial data and manage activities across the organization’s financial operations, saving the estimated equivalent of one FTE. They shared that the third-party banking system integration enabled their organization to import financial data into the platform automatically, reducing manual data entry and reconciliation efforts. Additionally, with automated features for managing and reconciling invoices, the organization’s bookkeepers saved 20 hours per week on organizing, sending, and tracking invoices.

• The CFO at a construction company highlighted that financial reporting became significantly easier. Instead of manually uploading data into spreadsheets to generate reports for management, the interviewee used QuickBooks Online to create custom reports and analyses. They shared that their previous reporting process typically took 8 to12 hours but took less than 1 hour with QuickBooks Online.

• In the survey, more than 40% of respondents whose organizations used QuickBooks Online reported time savings for bill payment, payment system reconciliation, charts of accounts management, and customer invoicing.

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• Finance resources at the composite organization spend 100 hours per month on financial management activities, including bank payment system and payroll reconciliations, chart of account management, bill payment, customer invoicing, and reporting before adopting QuickBooks Online. Over one year, these efforts total 1,200 hours.

• With QuickBooks Online, the composite organization reduces the time spent on financial management activities by 60% in Year 1, 65% in Year 2, and 70% in Year 3 as users optimize platform use, automate more tasks, and further streamline financial processes.

• The average fully burdened hourly rate for a resource involved in financial management is $78.

• For this benefit, the composite has a productivity recapture rate of 50%. Resources spend half of the time they save on activities that generate business value, but not all reclaimed time is dedicated to value-added work.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this benefit:

• An organization’s prior tools and processes for accounting and financial management.

• Salaries of resources using QuickBooks Online.

• The degree to which resources recapture time savings toward productive activities.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $68,000.

Productivity Improvement With QuickBooks Bill Pay

Evidence and data. Interviewees and survey respondents reported that QuickBooks Bill Pay played a key role in streamlining their organizations’ bill management and vendor payment processes. By centralizing bill payment activities and enabling automation for recording, scheduling, and paying bills, organizations eliminated the need for manual tracking, payment processing, and reconciliation tasks. Rather than relying on spreadsheets, paper checks, and fragmented workflows, organizations transitioned to a unified platform that ensured timely payments and improved vendor relationships without requiring significant changes to their financial systems. This move helped reduce administrative burden, lower the risk of missed or late payments, and support more efficient, scalable financial operations.

• The CFO at a professional services company reported productivity improvements in several activities related to bill payments, including bill processing, recurring payments, and fraud investigation. They estimated reducing the total annual effort required to manage vendor payments from 30 days to five with QuickBooks Bill Pay.
  
  The interviewee also highlighted that QuickBooks Bill Pay enabled their organization to create recurring payments for regular expenses such as rent, ensuring timely payments and reducing the risk of late fees, and they noted this capability saved at least 3 minutes of processing effort per recurring bill. Additionally, the interviewee shared that their organization experienced a significant reduction in check fraud incidents, reducing time previously spent on investigations and resolutions.

• The CFO at a construction company reported substantial productivity improvements in bill payment tasks due to QuickBooks Bill Pay. By automating manual processes such as payment scheduling, invoice matching, and vendor notifications, their organization reduced bill pay management time from 16 hours per week to just 3.

• In the survey, 61% of respondents that used QuickBooks Bill Pay reported a reduction in time spent entering bills, and 49% indicated a reduction in time spent organizing and tracking bills to be paid. On average, respondents reported a 65% efficiency gain for entering bills and a 57% reduction in time spent organizing and tracking bills to be paid.

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• Finance resources at the composite organization spend 75 hours per month on bill and vendor payment management activities, including bill entry, organization, tracking, approvals, and reconciliation before adopting QuickBooks Bill Pay. Over one year, these efforts total 900 hours.

• With QuickBooks Bill Pay, the composite organization reduces the time spent on bill and vendor payment management activities by 50% in Year 1, 55% in Year 2, and 60% in Year 3 as users optimize platform use, automate more tasks, and further streamline payment processes.

• The average fully burdened hourly rate for a resource involved in bill and vendor payment management activities is $78.

• For this benefit, the composite has a productivity recapture rate of 50%. Resources spend half of the time they save on activities that generate business value, but not all reclaimed time is dedicated to value-added work.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this benefit:

• An organization’s prior tools and processes for bill and vendor payment management activities.

• Salaries of resources managing bill and vendor payment management activities.

• The degree to which resources recapture time savings toward productive activities.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $43,000.

Productivity Improvement With QuickBooks Payments

Evidence and data. Interviewees and survey respondents said that adopting QuickBooks Payments improved their invoicing and payment processing efficiency. The platform enabled their organizations to generate invoices easily, accept a range of payment methods — including credit cards, ACH transfers, and digital wallets — and automatically track transactions within their accounting systems. As a result, organizations spent less time on manual tasks, gained better control over cash flow, and improved visibility into outstanding customer balances. These improvements allowed them to take a more proactive approach to collections, minimize payment delays, and keep their financial operations running smoothly.

• The CEO at a healthcare company shared that QuickBooks Payments streamlined their customer billing and reconciliation processes. Compared to the organization’s prior paper-based billing methods, QuickBooks Payments saved the interviewee’s organization approximately 20 hours of work each week. They said: “With QuickBooks Payments, having it integrated creates significant efficiencies because we can create [an invoice] and process it all through QuickBooks itself. It cuts down on the amount of time we have to spend reconciling transactions, because it is done automatically for us.”
  
  The interviewee shared that QuickBooks Payments enabled their organization to allow customers to pay invoices online, virtually eliminating check payments and associated administration efforts. Additionally, automated reminders helped ensure timely payments, further reducing the need for manual follow-ups and improving cash flow management.

• Similarly, the CFO at a professional services firm shared that online payments enabled by QuickBooks Payments reduced reconciliation work and errors because payments were automatically matched to invoices within QuickBooks, ensuring accurate and efficient processing.

• In the survey, 65% of respondents whose organizations used QuickBooks Payments reported a reduction in time spent creating and sending invoices payable online. On average, respondents indicated that they improved online invoicing efficiency by 56%. Further, 55% of respondents that used QuickBooks Payments saw a reduction in time spent reconciling deposits with invoices. On average, respondents experienced a 63% reduction in effort related to this reconciliation work.

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• Finance resources at the composite organization spend 60 hours per month on payments activities, such as creating and sending invoices payable online, setting up different payment methods, managing outstanding invoices, tracking incoming customer payments, and reconciling deposits with invoices before adopting QuickBooks Payments. Over one year, these efforts total 720 hours.

• With QuickBooks Payments, the composite organization reduces the time spent managing payments activities by 60%.

• The average fully burdened hourly rate for a resource involved in payments activities is $78.

• For this benefit, the composite has a productivity recapture rate of 50%. Resources spend half of the time they save on activities that generate business value, but not all reclaimed time is dedicated to value-added work.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this benefit:

• An organization’s prior tools and processes for bill and vendor payment management activities.

• Salaries of resources managing bill and vendor payment management activities.

• The degree to which resources recapture time savings toward productive activities.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $41,000.

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite organization spends 20 hours per month on email marketing activities before Mailchimp, equating to 240 hours per year.

• With Mailchimp, the composite organization experiences a 45% productivity improvement on email marketing activities in Year 1, 50% in Year 2, and 55% in Year 3 as users optimize their workflows, automate more campaigns, and refine their use of Mailchimp’s audience and reporting features.

• The average fully burdened hourly rate for a resource managing email marketing activities with Mailchimp is $75.

• For this benefit, the composite has a productivity recapture rate of 50%. Resources spend half of the time they save on activities that generate business value, but not all reclaimed time is dedicated to value-added work.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this benefit:

• An organization’s prior tools and processes for email marketing activities.

• Salaries of resources managing email marketing.

• The degree to which resources recapture time savings toward productive activities.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $10,000.

Vendor Late Fee Cost Savings With QuickBooks Bill Pay

Evidence and data. QuickBooks Bill Pay provided interviewees’ organizations with a centralized, automated platform that streamlined the entire bill management process. By integrating invoice tracking, automatic payment reminders, and due date notifications, they eliminated the need for manual oversight and reduced the risk of missed vendor payment deadlines. In addition to eliminating late fees, organizations improved cash flow management through real-time visibility into upcoming payments and outstanding invoices, and they fostered stronger vendor relationships by ensuring timely, reliable payments.

• The CFO at a professional services company shared that their organization automated recurring bill payments with QuickBooks Bill Pay, enabling them to reduce late fees. They shared: “Because something got delayed or someone forgot to send it out before, the fees could be $300 to $400. Now we can set bill payments as recurring, which has reduced late payments.”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite has an average invoice value of $5,000.

• On average, vendors charge a 5% late fee on the invoice value, resulting in an average late fee cost of $250 per instance for the composite organization.

• Before adopting QuickBooks Bill Pay, the composite organization incurs five instances of late fees each year.

• Due to automated tax remittance with QuickBooks Bill Pay, the composite organization eliminates late fees, saving $1,800 each year.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this benefit:

• An organization’s prior tools and processes for bill payments.

• Average invoice value.

• The frequency of late fees in the prior environment.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $3,000.

Increased Sales From Improved Customer Engagement With Mailchimp

Evidence and data. Mailchimp enabled interviewees’ organizations to design and deliver targeted, personalized email campaigns efficiently. Its segmentation and personalization tools allowed them to tailor communications based on customer behavior, demographics, and engagement history for more relevant outreach and stronger engagement. Interviewees said that having visibility into campaign performance through Mailchimp’s built-in analytics resulted in improved open and click-through rates.

Automation features also allowed organizations to send timely follow-ups, onboarding sequences, and promotional offers without manual effort for improved consistency across customer touchpoints. By integrating Mailchimp with QuickBooks, organizations could link their campaigns directly to actual purchase data, which allowed them to gain deeper insights into how marketing drove sales. This connected approach helped organizations make more informed decisions, build stronger customer relationships, increase conversion rates, and improve overall marketing outcomes.

• The director of marketing at an agriculture company shared that their organization used Mailchimp to enhance weekly email marketing efforts, resulting in improved customer engagement and increased sales. With Mailchimp, the organization improved email campaign segmentation based on factors such as geographical location and implemented automated emails for abandoned cart recovery and postpurchase follow-ups. The interviewee highlighted that Mailchimp was particularly useful for its QuickBooks integration, which enabled data syncing and customer list management. As a result, the organization saw improvement in various engagement metrics including click-through rate and open rate, and it recovered $15,000 in annual sales through abandoned cart reminder emails.

• The CEO at a healthcare organization described how their organization used Mailchimp to enhance engagement with prospective clients. Using Mailchimp, the organization set up automated drip emails to maintain regular contact with potential clients without needing manual follow-ups. They shared that Mailchimp’s automation features enabled their organization to stay connected with these prospects efficiently.

• Of the survey respondents whose organizations used Mailchimp, 40% reported more relevant and effective email personalization. Among the 18 respondents who saw improved marketing campaign performance, there was a 32% average increase in sent emails, a 39% improvement in open rates, and a 56% increase in click-through rates.

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• Before adopting Mailchimp, the composite organization sends 150,000 sales-targeted emails annually. These are emails specifically aimed at driving sales, such as promotional offers, product recommendations, and other marketing content tailored to potential customers. The volume of sales-targeted emails increases by 5% year over year, reaching 157,500 in Year 2 and 165,375 in Year 3.

• After adopting Mailchimp, the composite organization leverages email automation features and increases its sent emails by 30%.

• The composite organization starts with an email open rate of 12%. After adopting Mailchimp, enhanced segmentation and personalization drive a 40% improvement in open rates, increasing the open rate to 17%

• Before Mailchimp, the composite organization has a click-through rate of 5%. With Mailchimp, the click-through rate increases by 55% to 8%.

• The composite organization has a conversion rate of 8%, an average order value of $2,500, and a profit margin of 12%.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this benefit:

• The scope and effectiveness of an organization’s prior email marketing efforts, including emails sent annually, open rate, and click-through rate.

• Other organizational factors, including conversion rate, average order value, and profit margin.

• The skill and expertise of Mailchimp users in developing and executing email campaigns.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $17,000.

Unquantified Benefits

Interviewees and survey respondents mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify:

• Better together value proposition. In the survey, 83% of respondents reported that having multiple Intuit products was more valuable to their organization compared to using individual products from other vendors. Similarly, several interviewees shared that having multiple QuickBooks products streamlined workflows, enhanced data accuracy, and provided a more comprehensive view of their business operations. The CFO at a construction company said: “You log into one system, one software, and you can do everything there. If you’re looking for information, you have one version of the truth because the system captures all touchpoints — accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash, and even sales tax.” Additionally, the CFO at a professional services firm said: “I believe in the Intuit ecosystem. For example, having payroll inside of QuickBooks is a game changer. Putting it all in one ecosystem is way more efficient and saves time and money. I like being able to go into one platform or portal and take care of most of what I need to do as a bookkeeper and accountant all in one place.”

• Improved visibility and decision-making. Interviewees shared that the improved visibility provided by QuickBooks enhanced decision-making. The director of marketing at an agriculture company described this benefit further: “I think it has a financial impact because it is easier to access data and make changes, and that affects profitability. My years of experience tell me that the easier it is to get information, the easier it is to make decisions that impact what we’re doing tomorrow, and hopefully, those decisions will lead to greater revenue and profitability.”

• Improved cash flow. Interviewees highlighted that QuickBooks helped their organizations manage cash flow more effectively by speeding up payment collection, which reduced the need for large reserves. For example, the CFO at a construction company shared their organization saw a reduction in DSO after adopting QuickBooks. They noted that QuickBooks enabled their organization to offer quick and convenient payment methods and send automated invoice reminders, helping customers pay in a timelier manner.

• Avoided third-party accounting firm costs. The CEO at a healthcare company reported that their organization avoided CPA costs by using QuickBooks. They noted that the automation and integration features helped their organization provide accurate and clean financial records, which significantly reduced associated tax filing costs. They estimated that the ability to hand off a clean set of books to their CPAs saved their organization at least $10,000 on tax preparation annually.

Flexibility

The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement Intuit products and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:

• Support for business expansion. The CEO at a healthcare company saw QuickBooks as a solution that could support their organization’s future expansion to new locations. They shared: “There’s quite a peace of mind in knowing that QuickBooks can grow with us. We’ve worked very hard to ensure that we have systems in place that don’t inhibit our growth. As we’ve acquired additional locations, we can quickly roll the financial operations over to QuickBooks and won’t skip a beat. This has been a key factor in our ability to grow. When we start a new division or a new location, being able to replicate everything is pretty significant. We don’t even want to think about what that would take if we had to start from scratch.”

• Ongoing feature enhancements, including AI functionalities. Intuit continues to release product enhancements and features, increasing potential value and ROI for the interviewees’ organizations. For example, the CFO at a professional services firm shared excitement about innovative product features, including the genAI-powered Intuit Assist offering. They shared that their organization plans to adopt this offering in the future to enable AI-driven bookkeeping.

Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).