Public relations guidelines

Now that you are part of the platform, you may want to issue a press release or share via social media that your app is now available on Intuit’s Apps.com.

Below are Intuit’s guidelines for public relations, which you must adhere to in order for Intuit to approve its inclusion in your press release. As with any public company, Intuit needs to review all press materials that are distributed with its name and products included. To streamline this process, we’ve included helpful tips that you should be aware of when writing, as well as naming conventions and guidelines that will streamline the Intuit approval process.

When crafting your press release’s headline, position your company first.

Summarize your story in a concise headline – preferably 7 words or less – that compels an editor to read further.

QuickBooks is the global leader in cloud accounting, with millions of subscribers worldwide. It is built to fuel small business success.

The Intuit Developer platform enables developers to integrate with rich QuickBooks financial and transactional data and offers unparalleled reach to small businesses through Intuit Apps.com, where millions of QuickBooks Online users go to find, try, and buy apps that meet their needs.

Press releases have a fairly standard appearance, both in format and writing style from headlines to overall length. Here are some best practices:

• Headlines: 7 words or less
• Sentences: 20 words, on average
• Overall length: 500 words

There are a few key rules you must follow when writing public relations material that mentions Intuit or any of its products – including press releases, case studies and fact sheets. These rules also apply when talking with reporters and industry analysts about your company’s involvement with the Intuit Developer platform. When you promote your company or your app, the following guidelines apply:

Dos:

• Contact Intuit before issuing your press release, as we will need to approve it. Send it to Kim Amsbaugh (kim_amsbaugh@intuit.com) at Intuit at least eight (8) business days prior to when you want to issue your press release. When sending the press release for review, include any other materials (logos, images, etc.) that you are interested in including in your release distribution.
• Accurately describe your company’s relationship with Intuit and QuickBooks Online. You should describe yourself/company as an Intuit Developer platform “member,” “participant” or a “developer on the Intuit Developer platform.”
• Clearly state which QuickBooks products, if any, your application shares data with.
• Share the final press release with your network via a newswire, email distribution or social media network that’s best for your business.
• notify Intuit PR on your social strategy for the announcement; closer to the announcement date, provide sample content for social posts; PR will liaise with social teams to determine whether Intuit social handles will share/re-post any of the content.
• Mention or tag QuickBooks in your social media posts (@QuickBooks).

Don’ts:

• Use language that reflects or insinuates that your company is a “partner” of Intuit. Note: You can say that you are “announcing an alliance” with Intuit or “integration with QuickBooks.”
• Make any specific representations that Intuit officially endorses or “authorizes” your company, or that Intuit recommends any particular developer company over any other.
• Say the Intuit Developer Platform enables a “complete integration” with QuickBooks. You cannot say that your application is “integrated into QuickBooks.”
• Use the Intuit stock ticker symbol in your materials.
• share your news through social channels beforehand, be very clear on the date and time of the particular announcement.
• Make unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of using your application with QuickBooks. If you make factual claims about your product (for example, “Cuts data entry by 50 percent!”), the Federal Trade Commission requires that you have reasonable prior substantiation for that claim.
• For further information on this requirement, see the FTC Policy Statement Regarding Advertising Substantiation.

Due to the high number of requests and the time required to approve and research each release, Intuit may not be able to offer a supporting quote for each press release. Intuit will address supporting quotes on a per case basis. To request a quote, please contact Kim Amsbaugh (kim_amsbaugh@intuit.com) at Intuit.

To simplify the quote approval process, we recommend that you draft and submit a “proposed quote” that Intuit PR can review.

DO NOT include the Intuit “boilerplate” statement at the end of your press release, unless approved by Intuit PR.

QuickBooks

Intuit Inc. (no need for trademark symbol)

Intuit Developer platform (no need for trademark symbol)