Scaling New Heights

Question: How do I reserve my guest room at the hotel?

Answer: You reserve your room with the hotel online by clicking here. This link will provide you with our special conference rate of $139 (through May 2012) and will secure your room under our conference room block.

Question: Do I have to commit to attending one track or can I choose what I want to attend session by session?

Answer: We ask that you register for specific sessions for this year's conference. We will provide a registrant portal for you to manage your breakout session selections. We are working on this portal right now and we hope to have the portal available by February 2012. Though we strongly suggest you attend the session you pre-selected prior to the conference, movement between sessions in permitted provided there is an available seat in the session. Note: This ability to move freely between sessions does not apply to fee-based workshops. See the question below for more information.

Question: Why do you charge extra for some sessions?

Answer: Scaling New Heights 2012 will provide selected sessions as hands-on workshops with limited seating. First, we are charging a fee for these events because of the enhanced learning experience these workshops offer. The hands-on exercises and typically smaller instructor to student ration provides provides an extremely effective learning environment and better retention of the material covered. Second, these hands on events are much more costly to administrate and require additional audio/visual equipment and services. Also, the much lower instructor to attendee ratio increases our average costs per participant. So, for the most part your additional registration investment compensates us for these additional expenses. For this reason, workshops are not eligible for any type of discount (e.g. early registration discounts, group registration discounts or National Advisor Network discounts). As you can see on the registration page we charge $75 for four hour workshops, $100 for six hour workshops and $125 for 8 hour workshops.

Question: Why do you not offer early registration discounts, group discounts or National Advisor Network discounts on workshop registrations?

Answer: See the answer to the question above.

Question: Why is this conference so focused on Intuit software?

Answer: First: There are numerous organizations in the country that do excellent general accounting technology shows. Scaling New Heights is primarily an in-depth technical training conference designed to equip professionals to provide new (or expanded) consulting services. (Note: The conference does have an exhibition floor and offers bonus sessions called "Power Breakfasts" on a wide range of Intuit-integrated applications.) By covering fewer applications during our general sessions and breakout sessions we have more time to dedicate to each product. That allows us to make the sessions more comprehensive, in-depth, and practical. Second: Many Intuit Solution Providers and most QuickBooks ProAdvisors make Intuit products a primary (of not sole) focus of their technology consulting. We designed this conference to be as applicable to your practice as possible.

Question: I'm a ProAdvisor but not a Member of the Intuit Solution Provider Program (ISP). Am I eligible to attend sessions in the tracks designed for ISPs?

Answer: Yes. Some tracks prepare ISPs for certification on Intuit Field Service Management ES and Intuit QuickBase. You are correct that these tracks are designed with the Intuit Solution Provider in mind. However, even though you cannot certify on these products as a ProAdvisor, the educational value is considerable. In other words, you can promote yourself as an expert on these products and you can provide consulting services on these products even if you are not a member of the Intuit Solution Provider Program. In fact, many ISPs regularly refer consulting services on these products to other professionals. During the conference you could gain expertise in one of the products listed above and network with Intuit Solution Providers attending the conference.

Question: Do the QuickBooks sessions at this conference prepare ProAdvisors to take either the ProAdvisor certification exam or the Advanced ProAdvisor certification exam?

Answer: Many of the concepts we teach at Scaling New Heights are addressed by the ProAdvisor certification exam and the Advanced ProAdvisor Certification exams. For the latter this includes both the initial exam to become an Advanced ProAdvisor and the exams (e.g. designed for bi-annual course review) required to maintain Advanced ProAdvisor certification. However, our courses on QuickBooks are not designed specifically to help you pass these exams and as such many of the technical concepts covered by these exams are not included in the conference sessions. Instead, the QuickBooks courses are designed to empower you to consult more effectively on QuickBooks and any overlap in content with ProAdvisor certification exams on QuickBooks is incidental. To fully prepare for these certifications we encourage you to leverage the web-based, on-demand courses available from Intuit - through your course locker at www.qbadvisor.com. Tip: Though we will offer at least two intermediate level QuickBooks courses during each breakout segment throughout the conference, many sessions at Scaling New Heights focus on highly advanced QuickBooks topics and on non-QuickBooks topics (e.g. QuickBooks Point of Sale, Intuit Field Service Management and products that integrate with QuickBooks). If you earn your Advanced ProAdvisor certification prior to attending Scaling New Heights you will have a wider range of learning choices throughout the conference.

Question: Why does the conference include Method training - including certification training?

Answer: First: We believe Method is a true game changer within the QuickBooks world. Second: Joe Woodard (conference host) has found consulting on Method to be a significant benefit to his practice and he wants to extend this strategic opportunity to the conference attendees. Equipping professionals to provide new (or expanded) consulting services is the primary design of Scaling New Heights. In-depth training on Method certainly fits within that design. Third: Joe Woodard is partnered with Method as the only Method-authorized provider of Method Solution Provider certification training in the U.S. Scaling New Heights is an incredible way for both Joe and Method to continue offering training related to Method Solution Provider certification.

Question: Why does the conference include Fishbowl and ACCTivate! training?

Answer: As with Intuit products and Method, Joe Woodard (conference host) has found consulting on inventory solutions to be a significant benefit to his practice and he wants to extend this strategic opportunity to conference attendees. Equipping professionals to provide new (or expanded) consulting services is the primary design of Scaling New Heights. In-depth training on Fishbowl and ACCTivate! certainly fits within that design.

Question: Now that Scaling New Heights has sponsors and exhibitors, will the nature of the conference change? Is Scaling New Heights still an in-depth training conference or is it becoming a general accounting technology show (e.g. an Expo?)

Answer: In short, Scaling New Heights will always be first and foremost an in-depth training conference primarily focused on Intuit products. Even though we are expanding our tracks to include some popular products that integrate with QuickBooks, every breakout segment of Scaling New Heights offers at least three training sessions on QuickBooks and at least one segment on QuickBooks Point of Sale. Over and above this emphasis (and within our model of empowerment training) we will offer in-depth technical training on Method, Fishbowl, ACCTivate!, XpandedReports and Crystal Reports. We chose these products because their products provide significant opportunities for consulting and/or product resale for consultants who have QuickBooks expertise.

Pure, in-depth technical training is the common denominator (and differentiator) for all we do. Scaling New Heights is not an accounting technology show. There are numerous other organizations doing a great job providing these types of shows. It is our intention to equip our attendees to consult effectively on the entire Intuit small business product line as well as selected, highly strategic applications that integrate with QuickBooks.

All of that said, we do believe the exhibitions (and our optional exhibitor "Power Breakfasts") provide all of our attendees with a much broader exposure to a wider range of QuickBooks-integrated products and specialized services. We encourage all attendees to spend time on our exhibition floor and to attend as many of the "Power Breakfast" sessions as possible.

Joe Woodard Presents

Scaling New Heights 2012

An Advanced Training Conference for Intuit Advisors

June 17-20, 2012 - Nashville TN

Conducted in Cooperation with