After their short-lived stardom in early 2000, accounting software vendors went home to lick the wounds of a boom-to-bust buying cycle, allowing pantyhose advertisements to reclaim their rightful place on the back of buses.
Two years down the track, Australia still has a handful of accounting software vendors who have managed to survive in the post-GST landscape. They now face a particularly cutthroat market, armed with multifaceted software solutions, which increasingly incorporate tasks and functionality from beyond the traditional realm of accounting software.
Fostering functionality
At Quicken, ASX-listed resellers of the Quicken suite, its software is becoming a virtual accounting tutor, with the latest version coming complete with background information on financial terminology. It doesn't end there.
"The software is now largely based on HTML, so it is easy to navigate around and faster," explains Quicken business development manager Steve Batten. "It is also more focused on how business operates. We have made it easier for people to access their accounting information in a way that is beneficial to the performance of their business."
In describing a plethora of smaller changes, which resulted in significant improvement in functionality, Batten points to increased levels of integration between accounting software and other packages, such as the Microsoft Office suite.
In a similar vein, MYOB general manager Andrew Fiori-Dea says product modifications over the last year have been focused on ease of use.
"We have simplified our screen design, so that the navigation is a lot more intuitive," Fiori-Dea said. "And we've been working with third-party developers so as to link the information on MYOB with other software like Cyrstal Reports or Filemaker Pro."
According to Fiori-Dea, the MYOB development process is focused on customer feedback and focus groups -- which enables the company to target changes at their users, rather than follow technological fads.
"At the moment, things like Web services aren't really interesting from the perspective of our users," Fiori-Dea said. "We are focusing on changes that will add direct value to their business."
While a combination of these two brands dominate the SME and SOHO markets in Australia, the landscape is by no means fixed. Accpac made a sudden recent entry into the market, launching a free version of their SME accounting software offering pinned to the cover of a computer magazine.
New players
Perhaps due to their legacy with mid-range enterprise, Accpac International Senior Vice President Daithi Holden says the software is focused on scalability, and more attuned to technological advancements filtering through from the enterprise level.
"We probably do about two percent of our sales based on an ASP model," Holden said. "Most of those have some kind of Web-based operations, and it makes sense for them to approach software via an ASP-type approach."
However, Holden is more sceptical when it comes to Web services, saying it will be a long time before they are actually being used by business.
"Databases are a company's greatest asset, they are not going to just open them up," Holden said. "People still don't understand the way the Web operates. There will be lots of advantages to a Web services based system, when it becomes a reality, but it is a grander vision of what will happen, not a description of what is happening now."
Quicken's Batten is similarly opined, saying at this stage of the game it is important for the software to be Web services enabled, even if it will not be used immediately.
With the small end of the market chanting the "ease-of-use" mantra, and not allowing itself to be carried away by techno-hype, most of the changes to accounting software at this level are coming from third party developers.
Diversification
As founder and software developer for midrange accounting software company FinancePlus Software, Alain Legrand started seriously looking for options in the period immediately following the implementation of the GST. Looking at the relative growth between financials and CRM he used the lull to develop a CRM solution for the lower end of town.
It would appear that Legrand was not the only one thinking along those lines, given the May 2001 purchase of Interact Commerce by European accounting software vendor, Sage.
"It is not rocket science, it is just about saving time for smaller businesses by allowing them to use the database in their accounting system as the basis for the customer relationships," Legrand explained.
Another area experiencing significant growth, thanks to third party developers, is mobile options, as mobile devices gradually come into the realm of affordability for small to medium businesses.
Kerry Tomlin, the director of business development for IT integrators 4IT, says even small businesses are increasingly likely to spend up to AU$2,500 on a mobile computing device, as long as the software allows their employees to work offsite.
"It's all about ease of use," said Tomlin. "If it makes sense for a business to send information directly back to the office via a mobile connection, then they will do it."
Part 2 of this special feature examines the offerings at an enterprise level.
