Intuit Enters Logo Business With QuickBooks

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (TheStreet) -- In one of the strangest twists in small-business software, accounting giant Intuit(INTU Quote) has started providing design services.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Intuit's has 4.1 million active users for its desktop-based QuickBooks software and less than a million for its online product. That might sound small considering there are 26 million private businesses in the U.S. But keep in mind that only 1.2 million of those have more than 12 employees.

There are other Web-based business accounting packages, but Intuit is the market leader. The company now has to find new ways to grow.

Intuit has embarked on a multi-front campaign to expand its products and services. It now offers sophisticated Web hosting and graphics. On Monday, the company released its annual update of QuickBooks 2010. (The Pro edition most businesses of any size would want is $199). This accounting package comes chock full of new products and services: easier-to-use interfaces, e-mail marketing and even logo design.

What you get: QuickBooks 2010 is a softer, smoother version of the accounting classic.

First of all, Intuit has drastically reduced the time it takes to install the program. Previous editions of QuickBooks to 45 minutes to install. This time, it took me 12 minutes.

The company has done a nice job of giving users improved Excel integration, which is Microsoft Accounting's great advantage. There are some nice database management tools for managing inbound accounts. I liked the improved presentation of financial information, which ape online finance tools like such as Mint.com, which Intuit recently purchased.