Tuesday night, I asked Justin Kitch, who sold his company, Homestead.com, to Intuit in 2007, how much Intuit paid for the company. "$170 million," he said. "No," I said, "That was Mint. How much was Homestead?"
"It's funny, isn't it?" he said. Both Mint and Homestead went for the same price.
Coincidence? Intuit also bought another company, Paycycle, in June of this year. Guess for how much. That's right. $170 million.
What the heck is going on at Inuit? Do they have a stack of pre-printed $170 million checks? Do they only like companies as they pass through that magical valuation number (as decided by their own analysts)?
Intuit says this: It's a coincidence. And, I've been reminded, the company has made non-$170 million buys: MyCorporation.com in 2005, for $20 million; Digital Insight (2007) for $1.3 billion; Electronic Clearing House (2007) for $131 million; and Entellium (2008) for $8 million.
I still think if you're selling a company to Intuit, you should ask for $170 million. It's a figure they're comfortable with.
Mint launched a new tool on Thursday that gives users real-time updates on the latest personal-finance topics hitting Twitter.
Dubbed Money Tweets, the personal-finance service's new feature tracks tweets about everything from investing and saving to the most popular finance-related topics at any given time. It also has a "question of the day" option where Mint poses a question and displays all the tweets that answer it.
Money Tweets in action on Mint.com.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)To ensure Money Tweets doesn't list any tweets that might be offensive or contain links to potentially malicious sites, the tool's Topics section includes tweets from trusted sources, like The Wall Street Journal and Morningstar. It also displays messages from prominent bloggers who write about the respective topics.
Aside from finances, Mint even added a "Tweets about Mint" option. When a user clicks on it, they will see all the tweets that reference Mint. It even displays tweets from users who have bad things to say about Mint. That's commendable.
I had a chance to check out some of the content in Money Tweets. You can check out useful content on several topics. And since many tweets feature links to outside content, you'll probably find yourself visiting several finance sites with a lot of interesting financial content. Overall, I like Money Tweets. It's a nice addition to Mint's current slate of services.
Click here to check it out.
Conventional wisdom is that Intuit's acquisition of the personal finance Web service Mint will mean the end of the line for the company's standalone software app, Quicken. Upstart Mint, which is being acquired by Intuit for $170 million, has a personal finance product more in line with the times, with a younger demographic, a working business model, and a passionate CEO, Aaron Patzer, who's slated to take over the Quicken product line at Intuit once the acquisition closes. It doesn't look good for the old desktop app, Quicken.
It's a shame that we think of Quicken that way, but it's Intuit's own fault that we've gotten here. The product, according to Intuit legend, started at founder Scott Cook's kitchen table in 1983 as he watched his wife struggle with paying bills. The original Quicken, little more than an DOS-based checkbook and register, over time became an ambitious personal finance suite that handled budgeting, retirement planning, loans, public equities and employee stock options. It became more capable but also more complex, harder to use, and much harder to get started with.
Mint got access to investment data a year ago.
(Credit: Mint.)More importantly, as Julie Miller, director of corporate communications for the consumer group at Intuit told me, "Quicken made its way through the organization. We shuffled the Quicken business around. That had a direct effect on the quality of the product." You can see the effect on CNET's own reviews. Users hate Quicken. Few products have user reviews scores as low: none of the variations of of Quicken from recent years have user reviews garnering more than 1 and a half stars out of 5. (Our official reviews score the products higher.)
Another reason that Quicken suffered: Intuit shifted its focus away from the flagship product to new moneymakers, in particular its small-business product, QuickBooks, and its tax software and service, TurboTax. As Miller says, "There were decisions made over time that had the unintended consequence of putting the Quicken business where it was starved for focus and resources."
Finally, though, the light began to dawn at Intuit. Miller: "Our thinking was too limited. We weren't thinking beyond the desktop solution. The way we grow this, we realized, was to look for acquisitions."
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This week, I'm joined by CNET security expert Elinor Mills in a discussion with Mint CEO Aaron Patzer, whose personal finance site is being acquired by Intuit. We grill Patzer on why he sold the company, the future of Quicken, and the security of online financial data.
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I really enjoyed recording this podcast. We had the start-up CEO of the moment in to talk about why he sold his personal finance company, Mint, to Intuit--the company he built Mint to compete with in the first place.
Also, Elinor grills Patzer on the security safeguards in his system. Patzer tells us getting access to Mint data is like initiating self-destruct on the Starship Enterprise: You need three people to give their individual passwords at the same time or no go. Play the podcast for the full content, and for our show notes, including some bonus content from a post-show discussion, keep reading.
... Read moreFinancial software maker Intuit has signed an agreement to acquire personal finance service Mint.com for $170 million.
"With this transaction, Intuit will gain another fast-growing consumer brand and a highly successful Software as a Service (SaaS) offering that helps people save and make money," Intuit CEO Brad Smith said in a statement Monday. "This move will enhance Intuit's position as a leading provider of consumer SaaS offerings that connect customers across desktop, online and mobile."
TechCrunch reported the deal Sunday night, citing unnamed sources.
Mint, a start-up launched two years ago that tracks personal finance data, became a CNET Webware 100 winner in 2008 and again in 2009. It was also the 2007 winner of the TechCrunch50, which kicks off once again Monday in San Francisco.
Mint's features have apparently helped it attract a younger, more diverse demographic than Intuit's Quicken Online. Mint founder and CEO Aaron Patzer told CNET News last year that 40 percent of his company's users are women. He claimed Quicken's demographic was still "85 percent men." Assuming that's true, it would appear that Intuit can significantly expand its base with the Mint acquisition.
When the deal is made final, Mountain View, Calif.-based Mint will become part of Intuit's Consumer Group, which includes both Quicken and TurboTax. Patzer will become general manager of Intuit's Personal Finance group.
Although Mint and Intuit's Quicken Online are direct competitors, Intuit said it plans to maintain both products. According to Intuit, they serve "separate and equally important purposes."
The acquisition is expected to become final in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory review.
Living close to the edge.
(Credit: Intuit)Intuit has just released a handy, free iPhone app to accompany its free online financial service, Quicken Online.
Unlike the software version of Quicken, a feature-laden financial management app, Quicken Online and its Quicken Online Mobile companion app (get it here--iTunes store link) are really only designed to help you get a view into your cash flow. The main screen of Quicken Online Mobile shows you how much cash you have access to before your next payday, and it shows how you're doing against any monthly budget numbers you have set up.
You can also add new cash transactions from the app; credit card transactions get picked up automatically when the service connects to your financial institutions for updates.
Glitzy features include a cash position graph that shows up when you rotate the phone to the landscape orientation, and a location-aware ATM finder.
One big advantage of Quicken Online Mobile over competitor Mint (mobile app review) is that Quicken lets you set up a PIN password screen in front of the app, if you wish; Mint relies on you setting up a password on the iPhone itself, which would be fine--unless you like to run your iPhone without a password. (Mint does let you disable access to your iPhone app via your account page on the Mint Web site, though.)
This is a good app for keeping tabs on your cash. So's Mint, security issue aside. If you use either Quicken Online or Mint on the Web and have an iPhone, do be sure to check out their mobile apps.
Rotate your iPhone for a different view of your account.
(Credit: Intuit)April 15 is quickly approaching, which means we all need to buckle down and spend a Saturday preparing our taxes. I prepare my own taxes, and I know all too well how hard it can be to find the right program to help out. Let's look at four online tax preparation software packages that are good places to start.
H&R Block TaxCut Online: Powerful, but not ideal
H&R Block may offer its tax services in franchised locations across the U.S., but it also provides its software online. And although those who are less knowledgeable about tax law shouldn't have too much trouble preparing their taxes with the company's TaxCut Online software, there aren't enough options to justify using it if you file a complex return.
TaxCut Online is free when you e-file your federal taxes, but just like every other service in this roundup, it charges you to e-file your state taxes. With TaxCut Online, that will run you $29.95. Aside from the free edition, TaxCut Online is also available in Basic for simple returns for $14.95 or Premium for those who have more complicated returns for $39.95. Neither of those fees include the state e-file charge.
TaxCut Online makes the hard stuff simple.
(Credit: H&R Block)I created a fake return (without filing) to evaluate each service and found that TaxCut Online works beautifully for those who have simple returns. In a matter of seconds, I was able to work my way through wage income, interest, and basic deductions to create a return. It was quick and easy.
But when I tried to create a complicated return that featured the sale of a home, self-employment income, and investment income, TaxCut Online proved to be a relatively useless tool, at least compared to TurboTax Online. It didn't maximize my tax credits, it failed to provide me with enough control to pinpoint specific deductions like self-employment insurance, and it delivered a tax liability that was almost $1,000 higher than the figure TurboTax Online calculated. That said, its "Worry-free Audit Support" tool came in handy and its error correction feature fixed mistakes it found along the way, which certainly helps put the mind at ease.
But I can't even recommend using TaxCut Online if you file a basic return. It's too expensive. Nor do I recommend using TaxCut Online if you file more complex returns. TurboTax Online is a much better alternative.
TaxAct Online: Simplicity is king
When I first started using TaxAct, I was impressed by its simplicity. It doesn't feature all the extras you'll find in more capable products and it's obviously designed for someone who wants to get their taxes filed as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you want to find obscure tax code topics, you won't find it in TaxAct. It's simply not that kind of preparation tool.
Quick and easy is TaxAct's motto.
(Credit: TaxAct Online)TaxAct comes in three versions: Free, Deluxe, and Ultimate. After you e-file your state taxes (for free), it will cost you $13.95 to file federal. The Deluxe and Ultimate versions will both run you $16.95. That's a fair price for what you're getting with the software.
When I prepared my basic return on TaxAct Free edition, it couldn't have been easier. I input the wages, interest, and other data and within 30 minutes, TaxAct had my return ready to be e-filed with the government. The refund it calculated was exactly the same as the refund the other tax preparation solutions determined.
But as good as TaxAct was on my basic return, it was equally poor on my complicated return. Inputting self-employment income and expenses was too difficult, and the software's import feature, which attempts to find tax data from your banks and employers, was useless; it found nothing. Once I finally completed the return, it calculated a tax liability that was more than $2,500 higher than what I calculated with TurboTax Online. Suffice it to say that TaxAct Ultimate is best-suited for someone who has wage income, owns a home, and hasn't sold any investments over the past year. Anything more than that and the software becomes difficult to use.
Is TaxAct worth the $13.95 it charges for the basic edition with state e-file? You bet. It's simple, it's quick, and most importantly, you can't screw anything up. But if you have a complicated return, don't waste your time trying to save a few bucks on TaxAct. You'll lose more when you file your taxes.
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Yesterday, the online version of Intuit's Quickbooks, the small business accounting service, went offline for several hours. A related outage apparently also took down Intuit's credit-card processing service, Innovative Merchant Solutions, which the standalone version of Quickbooks uses as well.
Affected customers of Quickbooks Online were left without access to their financial records. While users of the software version of Quickbooks could access their records, those relying on Intuit for credit-card processing had to do authorizations manually over the phone--a slower, more expensive process.
All online services have outages from time to time, but this one appears to have been lengthy for a line-of-business service, and for many users, unsatisfactorily managed. We received complaints from users that communications from Intuit gave neither a reason for the outages nor an estimate on when the service would return.
Intuit spokespeople are still not commenting on what caused the outage, but I did hear this from the company on Tuesday morning:
QuickBooks services, including IMS and QuickBooks Online, are fully running and have been since late yesterday afternoon. Yesterday, some customers may have experienced intermittent delays in accessing these services because of network issues over a course of about six hours.
With service restored, we have extended our QuickBooks Online service hours so that we can respond individually to any issues they may have related to this outage. We notified customers to contact us so we can be of further assistance. Customers choose Intuit to provide the high-quality service they've come to expect from us. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate their patience. We know that they need and expect our services to be available when they want them and working to prevent this from happening again.
Intuit, makers of the accounting product QuickBooks for small business, and the consumer accounting apps Quicken and TurboTax, today announced a cleverly-named "stimulus package" for its small business products.
The program, Small Business United, consists of reduced-price services or extended trial periods on online apps. For example, the Inuit Online Payroll services is now free for six months ($9.95 a month thereafter). Intuit-hosted small business Web sites are now free for a full year ($4.99 a month afterward).
"Grant" = "Prize." But money's money.
More interesting than the effective price drops on Inuit small business products is the competition the company is running to share small business tips. Considering the economy today, sharing advice on making through is a great idea. All tips are visible on the site. The community helps to vote on the best ideas (the mechanics are exactly clear). Fifty-five winners receive prizes ("grants") ranging from $5000 to the $25,000 grand prize, in addition to Intuit products and services. It's not exactly like the constraint-free bailouts banks are getting, and small businesses do have to sing for their supper, but money is money, and we appreciate the spirit of these awards.
Less appreciated by many (like me) is Intuit's continued lack of a bailout for consumers using its paid software app, Quicken. The company still "sunsets" its annual versions of Quicken, forcing users to upgrade to newer versions. Often, these annual releases are not mature on launch and cause users new problems. I'd like to see the stimulus package extend down to this product. Our society is entering a buy-and-hold era with consumer goods like appliances and cars. It would be nice if software vendors respected this as well.
Correction, 12:10 p.m. PST: This story misspelled the name of one of the private investors in Snooth. His name is Kevin Fortuna.
Apple announced Friday that over 500 million apps have been downloaded from its App Store. Amazingly, the company only reached 300 million downloads on December 5, meaning its App Store has enjoyed accelerating growth since the holiday season. The announcement, which was made in the form of an advertisement on Apple's home page, also claims that the App Store now features more than 15,000 apps.
A new report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project says that more adults than ever are using social networks. That said, from a percentage perspective, there are still more teens using individual networks. According to the report, 65 percent of teens in the United States are using social networks, compared with just 35 percent of all the adults. But because there are more adults than teens in the country, the younger crowd is still outnumbered. Pew found that only 6 percent of adults in the U.S. use LinkedIn, a social network for professionals, and the majority of adults become part of social networks to "stay in touch with friends." The full report can be viewed here (PDF).
Web streaming service, Ustream, will allow its users to stream President-elect Barack Obama's Inauguration Day through their iPhone, a report from TechCrunch says. The iPhone app will be made available before the inauguration, and, once downloaded onto Apple's phone, users can stream any channel on Ustream directly to their iPhone. Ustream's iPhone app will be free and made available in the iTunes App Store.
Just in time for tax season, Intuit announced Friday that it has launched FreeLoader Nation, a marketing and social media campaign with MySpace. According to the company, FreeLoader Nation will offer access to TurboTax's free online federal tax preparation software, as well as other freebies like concert tickets. Once users sign up for FreeloaderNation, they will receive e-mail bulletins announcing updates and have the option of becoming friends with other members in the group.
Snooth, a social wine review site, announced Friday that it has raised $1 million in an angel round of financing. The round was led by private investors Joe Meyer and Kevin Fortuna. Company executives say they will use the funding to grow the service and improve site infrastructure.
