Located just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Eight Marketing may be only a year old and have just two staff members, but this boutique marketing and public relations firm has already compiled an impressive list of projects for an equally impressive list of clients. Founded by a 20-year veteran of the business, the firm provides consulting and marketing services for tourism attractions, municipal transportation, museum exhibits, and commerce acquisition and retention over a tri-state, 11 county area. And QuickBooks Pro software has been there from the very start.

“When I was looking to open my company, I asked friends with their own businesses what they wished someone had told them when they were getting started,” said Fran Feldman, Eight Marketing’s founder. “I got advice on everything from pricing to staffing. But when it came to structuring the business, someone on whom I count said ‘Learn QuickBooks—it will be the best decision you ever make.’ I did, and it was.”

Eight Marketing sells two items of value: marketing skills and time. That’s why Fran selected QuickBooks Pro to help her keep on top of business details—so she can concentrate on the needs of her clients. “My goal over the next few years is to be the ‘go-to’ firm that companies can rely on, no matter what their marketing goals might be,” Feldman explained. “QuickBooks Pro gives me the tools to achieve that goal by tracking everything, including project budgets, operating costs, time spent by consultants and staff, and more. It makes me look more professional, and gives my clients confidence in dealing with me because I have the answers when they need them.”

Start-up Marketing Firm Presents Seamless Image to Clients Using QuickBooks

BUSINESS ISSUEThe founder of Eight Marketing needed an accurate method for tracking time spent on a client’s behalf, since selling time is her business. The solution had to provide end-to-end visibility on every aspect of her firm and the client accounts on which she worked. BUSINESS SOLUTIONQuickBooks Pro software offers Eight Marketing:• Ability to track expenses and measure profitability• Organized tax data enabling corporate taxes to be done in one day • Expense projections based on type of business model• Ability to stay on top of bills and payroll liability1 • Accurate tracking of retainer hours and alerts when hours are nearly depleted

QUICKBOOKS BENEFITS• Spends less than four hours per week managing business finances/paying bills• Knows when payments are due through automatic reminders• No worries about payroll being handled correctly• Confidence knowing that business is structured properly, that files are organized and well maintained

CUSTOMER PROFILE• Firm started in 2003 • Headquartered just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Provides marketing programs for leading tourism, attractions, and private organizations in the greater Philadelphia region, nationally and internationally • Utilizes staff skills and outside consultants • Goal is to become the marketing firm companies turn to, no matter what their goals

“When I started out, I was looking for help structuring my company—a solid yet easy-to-use system that could handle the business of the business. QuickBooks provides that structure, so I can have the information I need about the performance of my company right at my fingertips anytime I want it.”

Fran Feldman, PresidentEight Marketing

CASE STUDY

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QuickBooks Pro enabled Eight Marketing to:

• Easily log checks, pay bills, track time and categorize expenses • Invoice customers electronically and track their payments

• Instantly generate reports for total understanding of the business• Manage payroll processing1 • Stay current on bills with automatic reminders

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CASE STUDY

Marketing Consultant Uses QuickBooks to Help Build Her Business • Page 2

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Offering Flexibility While Maintaining Control

Eight Marketing serves a wide range of clients who have an equally diverse range of needs. To meet those specialized requirements, Fran Feldman, founder of Eight Marketing, runs her business on three different revenue models: monthly retainer, billable hours, and per-project basis. This flexibility enables clients to choose the fee structure that suits them best.

Balancing the needs of multiple clients is always a challenge. Yet Eight Marketing is up to it, thanks to a combination of internal staff skills and a cadre of outside talents. The secondary challenge is keeping that blend of skills and services seamless to the client. Eight Marketing’s goal is that the client sees no difference in the performance of the job, whether it’s carried out by an Eight Marketing staff member or a consultant.

With multiple projects, fee structures, and vendors involved, properly managing all the details was critical to Eight Marketing’s success. Feldman knew before she opened her doors that she

needed a solution that was powerful yet easy to use to help her keep track of every aspect of her new business. Minimal Accounting Skills, Yet Still Achieving Maximum Effectiveness

Since Eight Marketing’s founder needed to track a myriad of details that affected the financial health of her enterprise, she knew the solution she chose had to monitor time-management and material-expense issues, and provide real-time reports at a moment’s notice. A major obstacle: minimal accounting experience and the time to learn. That’s where QuickBooks Pro software stood out.

“I had some limited experience with Quicken® for my personal finances, so I was somewhat familiar with what it could do,” says Fran. “From reviewing documents on behalf of companies I had worked for that eventually installed QuickBooks, I knew it was the choice for me.”

After installing her own copy of QuickBooks Pro, Feldman discovered that in addition to being easy to set-up, it was easy to customize to her own needs. QuickBooks immediately started saving her significant hours in terms of tracking billable time, and in generating a seemingly endless variety of reports at the click of a button (especially important when bidding on projects for the public sector). QuickBooks Pro also reduced her accounting expenses to about five hours a quarter, and the ability to generate detailed invoices and email them is one her clients find particularly valuable.

Helping You Build Your BusinessAt QuickBooks, we’ve spent more than

10 years working with small businesses to develop tools that will help them succeed--tools so intuitive and useful, our customers can’t imagine running their businesses without them. Today, our products and services support over 2.6 million small businesses.

“Every single thing you do reflects on your business, from how you answer the phone to your stationery, to how you convey information. QuickBooks portrays the profes-sional image that my company can deliver whatever’s needed. QuickBooks makes me look good.” Fran Feldman, Owner Eight Marketing

For more information about QuickBooks products and services, visit our Web site at www.quickbooks.com, or call QuickBooks Sales at (888) 729-1996. For more information about Eight Marketing, call (610) 667-2400. 1Add-on payroll services require subscription, EIN and Internet access for certain features, including tax table updates and direct deposit.

© 2004 Intuit Inc. All rights reserved. Intuit, the Intuit logo, QuickBooks, and QuickBooks Pro are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc., or one of its subsidiaries, in the United States and other countries. QuickBooks.com is a trademark or service mark of Intuit Inc., or one of its subsidiaries, in the United States and other countries. This case study is for illustrative purposes only. These case studies represent the individual experiences of these customers. Intuit does not guarantee that results will apply to all customers

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