“The No. 1 question we get is 'What is a Zoho?’", Val Steed, director of accountants for the software company, said during the company's recent ZohoDay. “We have to explain we are a cloud software companies we have quite a few aps and we have finance suites.”

Even though it has a CPA program, Zoo enlists all kinds of professionals, including accountants and bookkeepers. There has been a website for the program, zoho.com/CPA, which has been available for about two years.

Steed says Zoho know it needs to grow the program. “We don’t have a Proadvisor Program [the Intuit program,” said Steed. “We know we need that. We need a level where they can come  and get training.”

Eventually, Zoho wants a certification program and training program. “Intuit has got that part right,” Steed said. “We have got to match up.”

Zoho must also add features that firms need. “We need a dashboard to control clients, to control staff who go to clients,” he noted.

Bob Scott

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Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards.  Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He  has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that.  A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind