In May of 2014 the inaugural Top 100 ProAdvisors made their debut within Insightful Accountant. That June, the first ProAdvisor of the Year Award was recognized, along with nine categorical awards, at Scaling New Heights.
But the process of those awards began much sooner. Shortly after Insightful Accountant ‘went live’ during Scaling New Heights of 2013, Gary DeHart, the publisher of Insightful Accountant and Joe Woodard who was then a partner in Insightful Accountant reached out to me with the idea of hosting an Awards Program for the ‘Best ProAdvisors.’
All of that sounded good until they said, “and Murph, we want you to figure out how to objectively identify the best ProAdvisors in the world.” The task was daunting… the words, ‘objectively identify’ and ‘the best ProAdvisors’ frightened me, but those words, 'in the world' scared me to death.
Weeks went by as I struggled to identify a mechanism that would work and lend itself to clearly defined criteria that could be objectively quantified and classified in such to identify ProAdvisors within categories related to the clients they supported and the Intuit products they used.
Once identified and scored, the participants in each classification had to be ranked to represent the award recipient group as a whole, then the top ranked ProAdvisors in each classification were combined to establish the Top 100, with the single best ProAdvisor from each classification the award recipient, and the highest scoring of the classification recipients would become the ProAdvisor of the Year.
First came the basics
What makes these awards different from all the rest?
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ProAdvisors accept and appreciate the role of Insightful Accountant as the awarding entity, host and sponsor of the ProAdvisor Awards.
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ProAdvisors respect the rules, regulations, policies and procedures implemented for the ProAdvisor Awards, they recognize their ‘objectivity’ rather than just another ‘subjective’ award chosen by a panel.
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ProAdvisors respect the history, traditions and integrity of the profession of ProAdvisor.
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ProAdvisors are willing to share honest and open appraisals of their backgrounds, practices, strengths and weaknesses of themselves as ProAdvisors.
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ProAdvisors consider the practice of the ProAdvisor profession to be paramount within those accountants, bookkeepers and consultants supporting Intuit accounting products.
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ProAdvisors commit themselves to the values of honesty, courtesy, and earnest objectives set forth for the ProAdvisor Awards.
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ProAdvisors refuse to compromise their commitment and obligation to the profession of ProAdvisor by injecting any unfair advantage or consideration into the awards’ process including their formal applications.
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ProAdvisors welcome, encourage, and support newcomers to the ProAdvisor profession and the ProAdvisor Awards.
Next came the criteria
The original award categories included QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop Integrations, QuickBooks Online Apps, QuickBooks Niche Practice, QuickBooks Social Evangelist, QuickBooks Business-process-outsourcing, QuickBooks Writer/Trainer, the Up-n-comer ProAdvisor, and the International ProAdvisor.
Formal application questions were developed to measure each associated criteria, along with the minimum standards, like client requirements and certification(s). A limited number of practice related demographics and practice considerations were also included in the application form so as to determine the paths ProAdvisors were taking in the advancement of the profession.
Determining the Awards
Scoring has always been and still is directly based upon a ProAdvisor’s responses within the application form. ProAdvisors are not rated against each other, they are objectively evaluated based on the standards for the categories in which apply to their practices. The only subjective score that becomes part of the formal ratings and rankings is the vote by their peers conducted once formal applications are completed, and ballot eligibility determined.
Final scores determine the formal ratings of each candidate, and each candidate is then ranked in all applicable categories. A predetermined number of positions for each category make-up the total number of candidates by category whose ranking qualifies them for the Top 100. The number ‘one’ ranked candidate in each category is the categorical award recipient. Of the categorical award recipients, the one candidate with the overall highest cumulative score earns the position of ProAdvisor of the Year.
Award and Categorical Changes over the years
Times change, and certainly the Intuit ecosystem has changed along with the respective number of users of each of Intuit’s products. Adjustments to the categories, as well as the number of predetermined positions for each category making up the Top100, are made each year to reflect both the number of qualified ProAdvisors from the prior year as well as Intuit product user numbers.
Aware nomenclature has changed to more closely correspond to what is occurring in the profession. For example, the Business-process-outsourcing Award was renamed the Client Accounting & Advisory Services (CAAS) Award and the Writer/trainer award became the Educator Award.
Some other categories have undergone major revamps. The original International ProAdvisor Award has changed several times over the year and is now the International ProAdvisor Awards (recognizing up to 50 ProAdvisors from around the Globe) as a separate award group. While it occurs simultaneously with the Top 100 Awards, it uses a unique application form related to International ProAdvisors around the world, and conforms to the various international Intuit regions.
In 2023, the Up-n-comer Category Award was split-off into the separate Up-n-Coming ProAdvisor Awards, recognizing as many as 25 recipients. Even though the recognition of Up-n-comers is now a separate award group, applicants use the same formal application and go through the identical forms of evaluation as the Top 100.
Additional areas of sub-specialization contribute toward some categories and provide useful information that helps Insightful Accountant determine the potential for future categorical changes.
For example, in 2026 we spun off the area of ‘tax’, recognizing that both QuickBooks ProAdvisors, and Intuit Tax Practitioners, have practices focused around Intuit’s professional tax products. Our goal is to always recognize the major groups within the profession that learn from Intuit training, and use Intuit products.
It was at that time that Insightful Accountant officially renamed the awards to the ‘Top Advisor Awards’ since some tax award recipients might not be ProAdvisors. Even so, the vast majority of the ProAdvisor community still refers to the awards as the ‘Top 100’ and we recognize and appreciate their continuing support in doing so.
So, why should you participate?
It's simple... YOU cannot be recognized unless you go through the process. We therefore want to encourage you to begin preparing now for the upcoming 2027 Awards process when the application (and nomination) period is announced.
Looking to the 2027 ProAdvisor Awards
Even though it seems we just announced the 2026 ProAdvisor Award recipients, we are approaching the launch of the 2027 ProAdvisor Awards process within just a few weeks.
This year’s process will be nearly five months in length to give ProAdvisors adequate time to self-apply (or be nominated) and complete their application forms. Our “come & go” application form allows you to add new trainings you participate in, new certifications you obtain, changes in your practice dynamics (like number of clients, products being used, etc.) and new or different apps that you may work with.
We also have incorporated an option to ‘choose to use’ your application data from the prior year and update areas with significant changes as well as non-static date related to the measurement year of January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. Of course, this option will only be available for those who participated in the 2026 awards.
There will be one fundamental change for the 2027 Awards. Because Intuit is in the middle of sunsetting the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program in favor of their new Intuit ProPartner Program, you will see references to ProPartner (i.e.: IPP) within some sections of the application form. This change is driven by evolving patterns within the accounting community and Intuit’s evolution of a new program that is designed to meet those evolving patterns.
For 2027, all ProAdvisor applicants will continue to be required to have an “active practice” with one or more actual clients using Intuit software or services. This is designed to make the appropriate award groups (Top 100, Top Tax, Top UNC, and Top International) available to more qualified individuals.
For 2027, the fundamental requirement for ‘ProAdvisor* Certification’ has not changed for 2025. All U.S. ProAdvisor Award applicants much possess certification. International ProAdvisor applicants must be certified based upon the certifications within their specific International Regional area or Rest-of-world Intuit offerings.
“2027 U.S. ProAdvisor* Certification Requirement”
All U.S. ProAdvisor applicants must currently hold at least one of the following three (3) ProAdvisor* Certifications issued by Intuit QuickBooks U.S., and such current certification must not be dated prior to 11/1/2025.
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QuickBooks Level 1 ProAdvisor* Certification
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QuickBooks Level-2 ProAdvisor* Certification
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QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor* Certification
*- On or after November 1, 2026, such certifications may carry the new nomenclature associated with the Intuit ProPartner Program. Certificates with such nomenclature will be acceptable and are recognized as fully compliant with requirements of the Award Program.
Of course, other Intuit certificates will be accepted for both training and certification(s) ratings.
To meet certification requirements, all applicants must provide proof of certification by uploading a copy of their ‘most current certification’ into the official application form for automated verification.
We hope this information helps to prepare you for the upcoming start of the 2027 ProAdvisor Awards process. We look forward to your participation whether you have never participated in the past, or participated but didn’t quite make one of the years’ lists or been part of those ProAdvisors recognized in prior years.
More information will become available soon, stay tuned to Insightful Accountant for our next article regarding the 2027 Award Process.
Disclosure:
The feature image was created by HubSpot AI based on the article’s subject content. It is not reflective of any living (or deceased) individual or actual event occurring prior to the publication of this feature.