Intuit QuickBooks Canada Joins Digital Main Street to Help Canadian Small Businesses Digitally Transform

By Jessica Finch

Intuit QuickBooks Canada joins tech leaders to help Digital Main Street expand its program capacity nationally, further enabling small business recovery amid COVID-19.

Intuit Canada, a leading global financial platform company known for products such as QuickBooks,  TurboTax, and Mint, has joined Digital Main Street in its mission to facilitate 50,000 Canadian small businesses to establish themselves online over the next year through the development of e-commerce storefronts.

Intuit Canada is set to help Digital Main Street advance its online web platform, enabling small businesses to receive direct 1-on-1 support through consultation meetings and online webinar training sessions.

“Now more than ever, digital transformation is key to small business success,” said David Marquis, Country Manager, Intuit Canada. “We are thrilled to be joining Digital Main Street to help Canadian small businesses get online and equip them with important digital skills they need to recover and grow.”

According to a July 2020 survey done by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), 57% of small businesses have entirely reopened and around 53% think it will take more than six months to get back to normal profitability. The Ontario government has revealed that about 40% of small enterprises in the province do not have a website. The correlation between ecommerce and survival is undeniable in a post-COVID world, and by adopting and optimizing an online presence, small businesses may be able to avoid permanent closures.

“We are committed to doing everything we can to help our main street small businesses get through this crisis,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory in a statement. “The Digital Main Street program operated by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) would not be possible without the generous community and corporate support of the partners involved. I am thrilled that Intuit Canada is joining the Digital Main Street network today to strengthen the support already in place for main street businesses through this innovative program.”

Over the next year, this new collaboration will support Digital Main Street initiatives across Canada in the following ways:

• By increasing the capacity of Digital Main Street programming, including supporting advanced development of the online web platform, which is a hub for small businesses to receive on-demand training.

• By supporting the continued growth of the ShopHERE program powered by Google Canada, to help get 50,000 businesses online this year through the development of e-commerce storefronts.

• By increasing the capacity of the Digital Service Squad, enabling small and medium sized businesses to receive direct 1-on-1 support through consultation meetings and online webinar training sessions.

“Our partners have been at the heart of everything we have done over the last 5 years, supporting over 20,000 businesses across Ontario and now the country,” said John Kiru, Executive Director of TABIA. “With the need for digital adoption amongst small main street businesses amplified by these unprecedented times, we are thrilled to have Intuit Canada joining our network that also includes: Google, Mastercard, Shopify, Microsoft, and Facebook. We are looking forward to working with them to continue increasing our capacity and support resources for the small main street business community.”

To learn more about Digital Main Street and the programs and learning opportunities available to main street business owners, visit www.digitalmainstreet.ca

*Retail Insider has partnered with Digital Main Street on content about small businesses in Canada.

Jessica Finch is a writer and editor based in Toronto. She holds a BA in English and Psychology and is a graduate of Ryerson University’s Publishing program. She has extensive managerial experience in the food service industry, and is interested in exploring innovations within this sector and other retail environments. Email: jessica@retail-insider.com

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