ken Essentials for Mac. The company’s Mint personal finance service is free to users and shows them all of their financial accounts in one online location; provides tools that help them set up budgets and monitor spending; identifies money-saving ideas; and provides step-by-step guidance and advice on achieving their financial goals. It also offers a Mint application that is accessible from smartphones. Intuit Health The company’s Intuit Health offerings provide online patient-to-provider communication solutions. Services are delivered through a standard Web browser on a subscription basis and include features, such as appointment scheduling, patient pre-registration, prescription renewal, and electronic bill payment. Global Business In Canada, the company offers versions of QuickBooks that it has ‘localized’, that is, customized to meet the needs of customers in that specific international location. These include QuickBooks software offerings, payroll offerings, and service plans. It also offers consumer tax return preparation software, professional tax preparation products and services, merchant payment processing services, and localized versions of Quicken and Mint in Canada. In the United Kingdom, the company offers localized versions of QuickBooks and QuickBooks Payroll, including products and services sold in partnership with banks. In Singapore, it offers a localized version of Quickbooks Online in partnership with a major telecommunications provider. Distribution Channels Direct Sales Channel: The company sells majority of its products and services directly through its Websites and call centers. Its Financial Services business sells its products and services using a direct sales model and in cooperation with core processing partners. Retail Channel: The company sells its QuickBooks, TurboTax, and Quicken desktop software, as well as payroll services and merchant credit card payment processing services at retail locations across the United States. It sells these products and services directly and through distributors to office supply superstores, warehouse clubs, consumer electronics retailers, general mass merchandisers, online retailers, and catalogs. In Canada and other international markets, the company also relies on distributors and other third parties who sell products into the retail channel. App Stores: The company distributes majority of its offerings for mobile devices through proprietary online stores that provide applications for specific devices. These include the Apple App Store, which provides apps for the Apple iPhone and iPad, and Google’s Play Store, which provides apps for Android-compatible smartphones and tablets. Other Channels: The company sells its consumer and small business products and services through selected alliance partners, primarily banks, credit unions, and securities and investment firms. Its Financial Services business has joint marketing arrangements with various core processing vendors, such as Fiserv, Inc.; Open Solutions, Inc.; Fidelity Information Services, Inc.; and Computer Services Inc. Strategy The company’s growth strategy includes driving growth in its core businesses; building adjacent businesses and entering new geographies; and accelerating its transition to connected services. Research and Development The company’s research and development expenses were $669 million for the year ended July 31, 2012. Seasonality The company’s QuickBooks, Consumer Tax, and Accounting Professionals businesses are highly seasonal. Revenue from its QuickBooks software products tends to be highest during its second and third fiscal quarters (year ending July 2012). Sales of income tax preparation products and services are heavily concentrated in the period from November through April. In its Consumer Tax business, a greater proportion of its revenue has been occurring later in this seasonal period due in part to the growth in sales of TurboTax Online, for which revenue is recognized upon printing or electronic filing of a tax return. The seasonality of the company’s Consumer Tax and Accounting Professionals revenue is also affected by