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ntuit is testing QuickBooks Online in the United Kingdom and is looking for a way to get into the retail market there as part of its plan to grow its largely American business in other countries. Those were some of the remarks made by Matt Rhodes, Intuit's director of investor relations at a UBS Technology Conference in London this week.
The company had previously disclosed plans to enter markets in English-speaking countries. But the fact that Rhodes made a presentation at a conference in England shows that the company is moving forward quickly. Rhodes acknowledged that Sage has a stronghold in English retail. However, he said mobile and online applications would be the way Intuit moves into most countries.
Two years ago this month, Intuit began its international expansion by entering the Indian market. Rhodes also disclosed the possibility of marketing products in China. "If we enter China, it will be very much a mobile-type application that’s what we are trying now," he said. He also talked about moving into Southeast Asia.
Rhodes gave more detail about previous company statements that most QuickBooks Online customers are not switching from the desktop software package. "Over 70 percent are new to the [QuickBooks] franchise," he said. "We are not cannibalizing the market."
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind
