BIA/Kelsey has just learned that business accounting software giant Intuit has acquired the online scheduling company Full Slate. The plan apparently is to connect Full Slate’s capabilities to another recent Intuit acquisition, the digital marketing services player DemandForce.

Intuit acquired Demand Force in early 2012 for a whopping $423.5 million. Terms of the Full Slate deal were not disclosed. Full Slate CEO Bill Lange tells us that Full Slate will be integrated into Intuit’s Small Business Management Solutions unit, and its online scheduling product will complement Intuit’s existing suite of small business solutions. DemandForce, which offers a digital marketing platform for small businesses, also resides withing the Small Business Management Solutions unit.

“We will stay focused on doing what we’ve been doing for the last five-plus years — building great product and providing outstanding service to our customers. But this acquisition opens a world of new opportunities — for both our customers and our team — that we couldn’t be more excited to explore,” Lange told us in an email message Wednesday night. Seattle-based Full Slate was formed in 2008.

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Meineke Car Care Centers, with 900 franchises, has a huge ad budget, which it has been spending on Yellow Pages, TV, coupons, SEM and the Internet. Recently, Meineke has worked to integrate local ad opportunities under one “local expert.” But it has also been adding non-advertising marketing channels.

The company has noted real value from Yelp reviews, which have generated leads, and its “car care club” email reminders. Now it has launched an online scheduling service via Full Slate.

Meineke and Full Slate conducted a three-month pilot with 25 stores prior to committing throughout all the franchises. The pilot reinforced JD Power research showing that online scheduling brings in more elite and satisfied users who are also likely to spend more. Aspen Dental, a 300-office dental mega-chain, for one, says that online scheduling service has added $32 million in new revenues.

The scheduling space is one that should be watched closely. In addition to the attributes cited by JD Power, we’ve noted its likely ramifications on SMB email collection, deals, promotions and engagement.

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