In this edition of 'Streamlining the Advisor Awards Process' I want to discuss both 'training' and 'educators'. We've made some substantial changes in the applications (both U.S. and International) as they related to 'training' and 'educators'.
Training
I previously told you that we were changing the way we have applicants report their training. Instead of us trying to compile a list of every possible training that a ProAdvisor might take over the course of a year, we are going to let you 'tell us' the training events you were involved with.
To begin with, we ask you if you need (or want I guess) to report 'ANY' CE, CPE or Hours-based Training you completed between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. If you answer 'Yes' then we turn on a question about training you completed, if you don't answer yes, then we skip over training.
It really would surprise me that anybody would not answer 'YES', but we wanted to give you the option.
The very next question asks you about your training during the year. This training may consist of live (in-person), live virtual (like webinars), recorded instruction, or self-paced training which you completed and obtained CPE/CE or Hours certificate issued by the event host. You can include everything from podcasts to multi-day conferences, from one-time to recurring webinars. from recorded webinars to QuickBooks Academy self-paced courses. Pretty much anything can fit under the live, live virtual, recorded or self-paced training types.
Just be certain to tab from one field to another so that you reach ever column requiring information to be entered.
One other note of importance here. The ProAdvisor Training page of the application is not for 'Tax Advisors' (unless they are also ProAdvisor) or for reporting tax trainings (for either Tax Advisors or ProAdvisors). There is a separate 'Tax Training' section of the application for those meeting the criteria as tax practitioners.
You can also consolidate a podcast or webinar series into a single entry, and we (here at IA) prefer you do so. For example, if you attend all 12 QBTalks webinars from Insightful Accountant, list QB Talks once, list the last webinar date in 2025, and total CPEs you obtained.
There is an exception to consolidation. If you were a participant at an event for part of any event, and an instructor at the same event for part of the event you need to list each part separately (as shown in the example below regarding Scaling New Heights).
Please notice that I've given you an 'example point value' based on the three training courses listed here. In this example, the 30 CPE credits actually earned 36 points toward the awards; 30 of them were for 'training' and 6 of them were for educator category points. In past years, Educator category applicants would have been required to record their teaching/instructional hours in addition to their training hours, now with the flip of a toggle, its computed simultaneously. That's what I call "streamlining."
You may be wondering, "What if I have more than 12 things to list?" The next question asks if you have more training to report, if yes, then it turns on another 12 rows (#13-24). That process repeats to allow you to report up to 48 training events, if needed.
Educators1
There are two sub-categories of Educators evaluated within the application form. The first is 'training and public speaking' and the second is 'authorship (writing). You tell us whether one or both of these sub-categories applies to you as an Educator.
We also know that not all 'instructors' are the same. Some instructors train professional (Accountants, Bookkeepers, other ProAdvisors), while other educators train/instruct only their clients (or perhaps other QuickBooks 'users'). Still some may speak publicly at events on the topics of the profession regardless of the audience makeup.
Preliminary questions within the Educator section of the Application Form solicit the above information so that the form can then display the appropriate questions. The question below solicits the hours of training that needs to be reported.
You are reminded not to duplicate training hours reported elsewhere within the Application Form.
Once again, in the Educator hours application shown above, I have given you an example of the point scoring such reported hours earn for the Educator category. Total Educator category points are added to the overall point total within the application.
Summary
This feature serves as a valuable tool to help applicants, or future applicants, understand the particulars of the Application Form and process. Good luck when it comes time for you to complete your Awards Application. We look forward to having you participate in the 2026 Top Advisor Awards. (Murph)
Footnote: 1 - Some aspects of the following may not apply to the International Application form.
Sponsor Acknowledgement
We want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the official sponsors for the 2026 Advisor Awards without whom these awards would not be possible. You can find out more and support our 2026 Advisor Award sponsors by visiting the ProAdvisor Awards Sponsors webpage!