Intuit looks at GST to expand small and medium businesses

Rolling-out experience in Malaysia, Australia will give it an edge, says CMO

Intuit, a software provider to small businesses, aims to tap a large number of Indian enterprises with its goods and services tax (GST)-ready software product.

With the unified taxation system likely to be implemented in July 1 this year, Intuit, the provider of the accounting software QuickBooks, believes it will have an edge over peers with its experience of GST roll-outs in Malaysia and Australia.

QuickBooks is a cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. The product runs on a subscription model. 

Lucas Watson, chief marketing and sales officer, Intuit, said that while the company was better positioned to serve its existing customers once GST was implemented, it could tap a large chunk of the 51 million-odd small businesses in the country.

"We need to make sure QuickBooks is ready for GST and we think it is a transformational point. We have 51 million small businesses in India and 12 million are digitally ready today. When you have the GST (compliance) requirement, it will create lot more opportunity for us,” Lucas told Business Standard in an interview.

The $5-billion global accounting software provider said that small businesses in India would have complexities once GST comes in as they would need to file tax multiple times, unlike the current regime wherein they file tax twice a year.  

“Today, a small business needs to file tax two times a year. But, with GST, it will have to file tax 37 times a year, and this will create huge compliance needs. And we are better positioned to help our users in implementation of GST. We have created an advisory council for the process,” pointed out Lucas.

Intuit is taking account of each notification from the government regarding GST to incorporate and create new tools in the software, while it is talking to the users continuously to understand the nuances.  

Ajay Pramod, of Bengaluru-based Etag Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, said that he switched to QuickBooks three years ago from an on-premise accounting software to get access to documents everywhere and save cost too. “We often faced hiccups and failed to meet deadline for invoices before moving to a cloud-based service,” Pramod said. 

Lucas said that a lot of the QuickBooks users were keen to know how the implementation of GST would make a difference in tax compliance. “GST is going to be on a digital platform since inception. And, QuickBooks is on the cloud. So, we expect it to be a fast and transparent taxation regime,” said Pramod.