BEST BUYS MACABE .
The phrase "Best buys" is getting to the place it's a fill-in-the-blank announcement. But the most recent purchase, that of Macabe Associates, is anything but routine. With the announced acquisition of Accpac, VARs have been worried about how Sage/Best will find the R&D money for its burgeoning product line. The purchase of the Seattle-based Macabe is viewed by some resellers as a step that will solve a lot of the development problems for the MAS 90 line. Macabe president Alan Bryant, who has become a Best vice president, has the know-how for the system. Macabe had 34 employees and an estimated $3.5 million in revenue for 2003, according to the Accounting Today Pacesetters Report.

SBM LINK GONE ?
The "Find a Reseller" link on the Web page for Microsoft Business Solutions, that one that could find a reseller for only one product, Small Business Manager, appears to have been removed. I got a nice database of hundreds of resellers by retrieving five names at a time by entering zip codes. Outside of that, selling SBM has been about as lucrative as a garlic bulb exhibit at a vampire convention. The other problem with SBM is that Microsoft just couldn't find the people who knew the market or knew how to run its CPA program.

MICROSOFT ON VAR HUNT .
Microsoft appears to be attempting to enlist anyone with a warm body to sell its accounting software packages. VARs report that they have received a CD with live copies of Great Plains, Navision, and Solomon from the networking side of Microsoft, not from its accounting software side. Does this mean that distribution will be opened up the same way Microsoft opened up distribution of Microsoft CRM to the free world? Many VARs say they shied away from CRM after that because of lowered margins. Guess that explains why I saw the Microsoft CD in the discount bin at Toys 'R' Us.

TIMBERLINE LAYS OFF .
Timberline Software, now under the ownership of Best Software, has laid off 30 people, about 6 percent of its staff, primarily in the area of product development. It was a move to align development costs with revenue. The official word from Best is that, "Timberline management felt that without more significant growth in the industry they could not continue their current level of development." Now, you don't suppose that the Timberline folks had some new financial targets handed down from the new owners?

INTERDYN GROWS .
Interdyn, the company that is owned by a number of major Great Plains resellers, has been adding members again. Early last year, it suffered a major defection when Sigma Designs, whose president was head of Interdyn, was purchased by new VAR In2Gr8. (I do hate that name.) Recently, the group voted in Cargas Systems of Lancaster, Pa., which has 24 employees and ended 2003 with $4.2 million in revenue. At the Microsoft Worldwide Reseller Conference in October, it also admitted ProData Systems of Oklahoma City, which had $2.6 million in sales last year. Interdyn also readmitted Canadian reseller TGO and added members overseas. This group claims to be the largest reseller of products from Microsoft Business Solutions. That claim depends on whether you view this as one company or a consortium. Some members identify more heavily with Interdyn; others simply add the name Interdyn to their organization's name.

INTUIT GOING OFFSHORE ?
Tax software powerhouse Intuit, which has been promising 24-hour support for software users during tax season, may accomplish that end by sending some of its support calls to India. A decision may be forthcoming next month. How do you say "TurboTax" in Gujarati? Meanwhile, Intuit is out peddling new QuickBooks products to the construction industry. Scuttlebutt at the Blackbaud reseller conference is that Intuit has gone direct with MasterBuilder and they expect it may do so with Fundware, which most Blackbaud fans say has disappeared from sight since its purchase by Intuit.

BLACKBAUD RETIRES DEBT .
Blackbaud, the Charleston, S.C.-based provider of nonprofit accounting software, has paid off the $115 million in debt incurred when its current owners bought it in 1999. That's about 12 months ahead of schedule, says president Bob Sywolski. The company throws off $35 million to $40 million in cash annually, which would seemingly now go into operations. The company reports that 58 percent of new sales of Financial Edge came from the channel last year, up from 30 percent two years ago. The channel produced about $3 million in bookings in 2003, up from $2.5 million in 2002. Channel maven Steve Dettor said there are 43 VAR organizations now, up from 19 at the end of 2002. He is hoping to have 100 to 125 by year's end.

TOP 100 VARS .
Accounting Technology will publish the first-ever list of the 100 largest accounting software resellers in the United States, ranked by revenue, in the March issue. With almost all the organizations in the list being privately held, this is a bit of an act of faith. But we've worked to weed out the resellers who claim $300,000 revenue per employee and those who lump their sales of truck parts and pork bellies in with sales from accounting software. Most people, we believe, actually told the truth. See if you agree with our conclusions. By the way, I'm still awaiting a response from Century Business Services, which says it has 388 people in IT consulting and revenue of $35 million. That's about $90,000 sales per employee by my math. Not stellar, is it?

BUSINESSONE, OKAY .
The reseller read on SAP's BusinessOne package is largely that it's okay as an early product. It is missing features-but what early product isn't? Most seem satisfied that improvements and new features are being provided at an acceptable rate. One early problem that needed fixing, according to one VAR, is that apparently cutting checks quickly is a lot more important in the U.S. than it is in Europe. One MBS VAR, asked why he was considering carrying BusinessOne, replied, "I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket." Companies that run SAP at the enterprise level, but need something smaller at the divisional level, are providing a ready-made set of customers. SAP also has the benefit of general brand recognition, so that it's an easier sale than the same package would be from an unknown competitor.

CG TRIMS TECH .
Despite an assurance that all is normal at Clifton Gunderson Technology Solutions, there are continuing reports of layoffs. These include the shut-down of the tech unit at the firm's Baltimore office, and layoffs in Iowa, among others. Matt Camden, who heads the reselling/consulting effort, says that things are simply proceeding in line with the newly formed organized. Well, I didn't really ask him if they cut staff.

RSM MCGLADREY SPINS OUT GROUP .
Blame independence issues for RSM McGladrey's recent decision to cut lose its 12-person reselling and consulting unit from Andover, Mass. Now called KDSA, the group sells Blackbaud's Financial Edge and Great Plains, and provides network infrastructure services. It is headed by Dawn Mortimer and John Loconte, the latter formerly styled director of information technology for the Boston Economic Unit. Although RSM McGladrey does not perform attest work, the federal government apparently views the group as inseparable from the McGladrey & Pullen units that do. Loconte says it's the only tech group being spun out.

RANDOM THOUGHTS .
Remember when commentator Rush Limbaugh said Philadelphia Eagle Donovan McNabb was over-rated as a quarterback? Looks like Limbaugh was over-rated as a drug user. Even with the play-off loss, McNabb had a better year. … Reports are that the late Winston Churchill's parrot, now 104 years old, still curses the Nazis. Pets like that are dangerous. I understand former president Bill Clinton has a bird that says, "You know where you can put that cigar?" … Speaking of Toys 'R' Us, last week the store in Parsippany, N.J., had a "Family Film" shelf that proudly displayed a VHS tape of the Austin Powers movie "Goldmember." Interesting family, now all they need is a copy of "Bad Santa." … President Bush plans to send people to Mars, primarily Democratic presidential candidates. … By the way, I'm still waiting for the new QuickBooks for Undertakers package.

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Consulting Insights January 23, 2004 (next issue mails February 6, 2004)
By Bob Scott, Editor
bob.scott@amgpubs.com

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