In an attempt to better serve small business owners, Intuit Inc. (INTU) and Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) are joining forces. Recently, the two companies announced an alliance, whereby they will offer customer relationship management (CRM) and financial management solutions on a single platform.
Under the terms of the alliance, Salesforce.com will integrate Intuit’s QuickBooks Online accounting applications into its CRM Software-as-a-Service offering. Intuit will subsequently resell the integrated product via its online App Center. The offering will enable small businesses to view their financial data and customer account information through a single application.
A recent survey conducted by Intuit revealed that most of the small businesses perform CRM tasks manually or with inadequate software support. Intuit believes that the joint solution will better address this need, thereby simplifying the job of small business owners. Salesforce.com’s capabilities will help companies to track customers, follow leads and close deals faster.
The integrated application is expected to hit stores by the middle of this year. However, the price of the new offering will be announced with the launch.
From Salesforce’s viewpoint, the partnership with Intuit could add more than 4 million small business customers that were using Quickbooks and will now be attracted to its cloud-based application.
Intuit is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions to small and medium-sized companies, consumers, accounting professionals and financial institutions. In the recently concluded second quarter, Intuit’s Financial Management Solutions segment registered 21% year-over-year growth, mainly due to increased QuickBooks Online subscriptions. We believe that the strategic alliance will beef up Quickbooks demand, leading to higher revenue growth.
Management is confident about gaining market share in its Small Business Group and Consumer Tax business, fueled by both accelerating customer growth and improving revenue per customer. However, we remain cautious on the stock based on the third quarter miss and stiff competition from H&R Block Inc. (HRB).
Currently, Intuit has a Zacks #3 Rank indicating a short-term Hold rating.
SALESFORCE.COM (CRM): Free Stock Analysis Report
BLOCK H & R (HRB): Free Stock Analysis Report
INTUIT INC (INTU): Free Stock Analysis Report
Zacks Investment Research
