QuickBooks Comes To iPhone, BlackBerry 2QuickBooks Comes To iPhone, BlackBerry 2

Intuit announced Tuesday it has developed a Web-based mobile application to enable customers to access QuickBooks Online from an iPhone or a BlackBerry.

The application has an optimized interface for the mobile screen and customers can access it through a smartphone's mobile browser. With the application, mobile users can check current bank and credit card balances, track who owes them money and who they owe, find vendor and contact information with addresses via Google Maps, and run balance sheets.

"A growing number of small businesses are looking to mobile technology to run their business," said Rick Jensen, senior VP of Intuit's small business division, in a statement. "Our goal with these new mobile services is to give QuickBooks Online users the edge they need to compete and manage their busy lives by keeping tabs on their business even when they are out of the office."

The mobile Web-based application is part of the company's Intuitlabs.com, a site where customers are encouraged to try Intuit's releases and provide feedback. On the QuickBooks for iPhone page, the developers are already fielding multiple suggestions for improvements. QuickBooks Online costs $9.95 a month, and the company is offering a free 30-day trial.

BlackBerry users have long been used to business applications, but it's a relatively new territory for Apple's handset. Apple has taken multiple steps to ensure that its consumer-friendly device has enough features and security for mobile workforces, and the research firm Gartner recently gave it a stamp of approval for a corporate environment.

While it's too early to tell if the iPhone 3G will become a mainstay in mobile workforces, developers like IBM, Salesforce.com, and Oracle have already released business applications for Apple's handset.