QuickBooks simplifies health insurance for small business

Intuit has announced that customers of QuickBooks Online Payroll, the number one payroll provider for small businesses, can now take care of their employees with easy and affordable medical, dental and vision benefits right from within QuickBooks. This is just the latest example of how Intuit’s technology-driven Payroll solution leverages the power of the QuickBooks platform and helps businesses better manage their most valuable resources – the humans that make their business work. Today, one in twelve American workers are paid through QuickBooks Payroll, with $185B payroll payments processed annually.

“We know that many small business owners want to do right by their employees and offer health insurance benefits, but many feel it’s too expensive or confusing. When we focus on helping small business owners with the many aspects of managing their employees, we can turn one person’s dream into a thriving team. By connecting them with affordable medical, dental and vision insurance directly within QuickBooks, we’re making it easy, fast and cost effective for small businesses to offer their employees insurance plans, helping them to attract and retain top talent.” – Olivier Bartholot, Director of QuickBooks Payroll.

According to a recent survey conducted by QuickBooks of more than 2,000 small business owners and HR professionals, 71 percent of small businesses with 1 to 50 employees already offer their employees some kind of health insurance benefits. In fact, in the QuickBooks Online Payroll study of small business employee health benefits, its impact on employees and business owners attitudes about it, two-thirds (66 percent) of the respondents said offering health insurance is very important for attracting employees and 58 percent said it was very important for retaining employees. For the 29 percent of small businesses who don’t currently offer health benefits, more than one-third (36 percent) said they had no idea how much offering health insurance for employees would cost, and nearly half (45 percent) said they did not know what steps to take to get group health insurance for their employees. The majority of all respondents (56 percent), however, said they would be more inclined to purchase health insurance if it was linked to another product, like payroll. Given these findings¹, QuickBooks is aiming to encourage more business owners to offer health insurance for their employees, as it’s now affordable and easier to navigate and manage.

SimplyInsured Integration and Solution

The QuickBooks Online Payroll insurance offering is powered by an integration with SimplyInsured, an online platform that helps small businesses compare and purchase employee medical, dental and vision insurance plans. Users of QuickBooks Online Payroll will now be empowered to:

• Find the Plan That is Perfect for Them & Apply Quickly: Employers can compare plans side by side to find the one that best fits their business and budget. Once a business owner has chosen a plan, he or she can apply in just three simple steps.
• Streamline Everyday Tasks: Employers can manage relevant business details, including payroll and health insurance benefits, right within QuickBooks.
• Boost Business Appeal: By offering health insurance benefits, business owners will keep their employees happy and healthy, while helping to attract and retain top talent.

Additional features available to QuickBooks Online Payroll customers include:

• Simplify Tax Deductions: QuickBooks will automatically calculate employee benefit deductions so business owners don’t have to.
• See Instant Quotes: Business owners will be able to see instant quotes from SimplyInsured based on zip code, without having to enter any data.*
• Receive Ongoing Help: Full-time, dedicated customer support is available for users, ensuring business owners won’t have to solve complex insurance issues on their own. Customer support is available Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.

“This was my first time offering health insurance benefits to my employees. Before, I always felt like there wasn’t enough information out there to help business owners navigate the different plans available, but the QuickBooks integration with SimplyInsured has made this entire experience seamless and easy, ” said David Hendrickson, VP of Big Waves Fitness. “I get the support I need and my employees are getting the health coverage they deserve. We could not be happier with the offering, and love that it grows with our business.”

For more information on providing health insurance benefits to employees, please visit the QuickBooks Resource Center here.