IDN FAQs
Business
- What is the Intuit Developer Network all about?
- Why is Intuit launching this initiative?
- What role does IDN play in Intuit's small business strategy?
- What does integration mean?
- What is NED2?
- Is IDN a revenue-generator for Intuit?
- Are startups and other small software companies part of the IDN vision?
- What are the intentions of Intuit with regards to the information developers submit?
Sales and Marketing
- How does Intuit help developers market their applications?
- Will developers have access to Intuit brands and logos for their integrated solutions?
- Will Intuit compete with developers participating in IDN by developing similar applications, and if so, in what areas?
Technical
- Do developers have to register or pay fees to download the SDKs?
- What language do the developers code in?
- Will Intuit support Mac Development?
- Does Intuit have a solution certification program?
- Does Intuit provide developer support?
IDN Membership
- How do I join IDN?
- How much does it cost to join IDN?
- What are the benefits of joining IDN?
Business
1. What is the Intuit Develper Network all about?
The Intuit Developer Network helps third-party developers integrate their applications with Intuit's software products, and sell them to small business owners. In short, the Intuit Developer Network is all about unlocking value for small business users, third-party developers and, indirectly, Intuit.
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2. Why is Intuit launching this initiative?
Intuit is working with third-party developers because of significant demand from small businesses. Millions of small business owners in a wide variety of industries use Intuit software to manage their businesses. Intuit has been successful because of its focus on ease of use and flexibility, but small business customers have requested that Intuit go beyond that to provide business solutions that are specific to their industries.
Through the Intuit Developer Network, third-party developers can integrate their small-business solutions with Intuit's software products to meet the unique business needs of millions of small business owners. The Intuit Developer Network also helps you market these solutions to millions of small businesses.
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3. What role does IDN play in Intuit's small business strategy?
The goal of IDN is to work with third-party developers to present small businesses with a wealth of choices for extending Intuit product functionalities in ways that are truly right for their business.
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4. What does integration mean?
Right now, "integration with QuickBooks" means the ability to exchange data back and forth. But we're expanding that definition with each new version of the SDK.
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5. What is NED2?
Intuit's mantra for small business applications and services is NED2—Never Enter Data Twice. The existence of multiple, incompatible applications and databases is a source of enormous frustration for small businesses. Application integration is one of the most common requests that Intuit receives from QuickBooks users. Enabling third-party developers to integrate applications and services with QuickBooks is a key component of realizing this NED2 vision.
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6. Is IDN a revenue-generator for Intuit?
The main objective of the Intuit Developer Network is to provide better solutions for a large number of small businesses and increase the sales of Intuit products and services.
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7. Are startups and other small software companies part of the IDN vision?
Absolutely. The most visible sign of this is the fact that the SDK and other technical documents are available to you for free on this site. We ask that you register to become a Community Developer in exchange, but we don't charge for that.
Intuit Developer Network membership is essentially a package of support, marketing, and other benefits designed to help developers be more productive, and to help them succeed in marketing products to small businesses.
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8. What are the intentions of Intuit with regards to the information developers submit?
First, Intuit Developer Network members are under no obligation to share non-public information with Intuit. Appropriating information from third-party developers is not only unethical, but it defeats the Intuit Developer Network's mission and strategy—to encourage as many third-party developers as possible to create compelling solutions for small businesses that are integrated with Intuit products. Doing so would break any sort of trust being built between Intuit and the Intuit Developer Network's members.
That said, Intuit certainly reserves the right to extend the functionality of Intuit products, and to pursue new businesses and opportunities. These will almost certainly be more horizontal than vertical in nature (our expertise is in serving small business broadly, rather than for any particular industry). In cases where this conflicts or overlaps with products offered by members of Intuit Developer Network, it is incumbent on us to signal this as early as possible.
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Sales & Marketing
1. How does Intuit help developers market their applications?
Silver and Gold Developers can participate in several different marketing programs, and use Intuit marketing resources, such as the Gold and Silver Logos in packaging and other advertising. We're also always looking for new opportunities, conducting pilot programs, and refining the programs we do offer. You can get a complete picture of IDN's sales and marketing benefits on the IDN Membership Guide to Sales & Marketing page of this web site.
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2. Will developers have access to Intuit brands and logos for their integrated solutions?
Yes, if you become a Silver or Gold Developer with the Intuit Developer Network. We provide those developers with many marketing resources, including the opportunity to list your products in the Intuit Marketplace, an online catalog of Intuit product compatible software, as well as other marketing benefits. Learn more from the IDN Membership Guide to Sales & Marketing.
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3. Will Intuit compete with developers participating in IDN by developing similar applications, and if so, in what areas?
Intuit is not creating this initiative to go into competition with developers, though it is possible that developers may identify some of the same types of applications as Intuit's own internal teams. Of course, Intuit will continue to focus on features that are likely to appeal to the mass market and are strategic to the interest of Intuit.
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Technical
1. Do developers have to register or pay fees to download the SDKs?
We do require that you register to download the SDKs, but you don't have to pay us anything. Becoming a Community Developer is free. Learn more about your membership options here.
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2. What language do the developers code in?
Intuit has made a concerted effort to enable developers to create integrated applications using the tools and languages they already know. The APIs are based on such industry standards as COM and XML, and support a wide variety of programming languages such as C++, Java and Perl. Learn more about the technical components, requirements, and features of the QuickBooks SDK here.
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3. Will Intuit support Mac Development?
Intuit currently does not support Mac OS development for QuickBooks.
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4. Does Intuit have a solution certification program?
As part of the new IDN membership structure, IDN has a Technical Review that developer applications must pass in order to become a Silver Developer and be able to post their application(s) on the Intuit Marketplace.
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5. Does IDN provide developer support?
Absolutely. Silver Developers receive 3 incidents of email support. Gold Developers receive 10. All members of IDN have access to our Knowledgebase and member forums, as well as articles, white papers, and more.Learn about all Developer support options here.
IDN Membership
1. How do I join IDN?
Review our Membership Overview page to decide which level is right for you, Community, Silver, or Gold. Then, click the link from that page to join as a Community Developer. If you decide to pursue Silver or Gold membership, we'll ask that you fulfill additional requirements. Get all the details on our Membership Overview page.
2. How much does it cost to join IDN?
There are no membership fee associated with IDN. And once you join, you'll have access to all of our open SDKs and marketing tools and resources. As a Community, Silver or Gold Developer, you can purchase NFR and support incidents via the developer site.
3. What are the benefits of joining IDN?
We offer a number of technical and marketing benefits to our Developers. See the membership benefits page for more details. Terms, conditions, pricing, features and program options are subject to change.
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