Interview with

David Butler

President and Chief Operating Officer

Best Software
By J. Carlton Collins, CPA

Best Software has emerged to become the most dominant accounting software company in the United States. Since 1998 corporate revenues have grown steadily from $84 million to nearly $400 million in the U. S. alone. On February 7, 2002 I had the pleasure of talking with Best’s Mid-Market Division President and Chief Operating Officer, David R. Butler. Presented below are the results of this intriguing interview.

Candid Observation

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to meet with dozens of accounting software company presidents. Many of these presidents talk in such a way as to convince me that they are the most important person in the world. However, David Butler talks in such a way as to convince me that I am the most important person in the world. David has that affect on people. Employees, resellers, customers, and even the media are always made to feel important, special, appreciated. No matter what the circumstances, David always appears to have time for you, even when you know that his time is tight. He listens with his whole body, and summarizes what he heard you say to make sure that he understands you clearly. Simply put, David’s style of leadership is a pleasure to watch. We should all be so talented.

Best-Kept Secret

I asked David to put into words the secret to Best’s monstrous success. Here’s what David had to say:

Best Software offers solutions for companies of all sizes – be they new companies, growing companies, or extremely large companies. Best’s solutions span many industries and market segments. Regardless of your size or industry, Best probably has the “right product at the right point in your company’s life” to meet your needs.

I’ve heard David make this point before, and he makes this point well. Best is committed to supporting a diverse “family” of products. In doing so, Best acknowledges that many companies will eventually outgrow their current accounting systems – that’s a fact of life. (The average company changes its accounting package every 7 to 8 years). However, Best offers its current customers logical upgrade paths to more powerful products with stronger capabilities. This strategy has worked well. Mature Peachtree users can migrate to BusinessWorks or MAS 90. Mature MAS 90 users can migrate to MAS 200. Mature MAS 200 users can migrate to MAS 500. To this logical upgrade path, Best also adds data conversion tools, a large reseller channel, award winning end-user support, and a host of advanced add on applications. The result is that a respectable percentage of Best customers tend to be Best customers for life.

This is an interesting point because historically, it has differentiated Best from the rest. However, Best’s competitors may be following Best’s lead. For example, ACCPAC has adopted a similar "family strategy" with Simply Accounting, VisionPoint, ProSeries, Advantage Series, and Executive Series. It could be argued that Microsoft is also adopting the Best family approach with its' recent entrance into the entry level arena with SBM. Microsoft now boasts Money, SBM, Dynamics, Solomon IV, and eEnterprise. Softline may also be exhibiting a touch of “family-ism” with it’s product offerings of BusinessVision 32 and Accountmate. Still, other publishers such as Exact, SysproUSA, Epicor and Navision stand firm with no entry-level offering.

MAS 500

I next focused on the MAS 500, Best’s high-end accounting software solution. In particular, I have noticed over the past year that many non-Best resellers around the country have picked up the MAS 500 and are now reselling that product. For example, here in my hometown of Atlanta, Cherry Williamson ⁽¹⁾ of Emerald Consulting and David Kennedy ⁽²⁾ of Pactus have both embraced the MAS 500. These two vendors have previously concentrated their efforts on Epicor and PeopleSoft respectively. I asked Mr. Butler if he could confirm the growth of the MAS 500. His reply:

Yes, MAS 500 is growing well, both in terms of resellers and customers. As an example, David mentioned Dan McGuckin ⁽³⁾ of DSD Business Systems in San Diego. Dan is a top MAS 90 reseller who had picked up the Navision Attain product line to meet the growing needs of his larger clients. While Dan still has good things to say about Navision, he found that it was not working out to be a good logical "next-step" for many of his current MAS 90 customers. Therefore, Dan has switched his high-end focus from Navision Attain to the MAS 500, a strategy which is working well.

David explained that the MAS 500’s steady rise in popularity is attributed to the depth of functionality and the product’s mature manufacturing solution. MAS 500 often competes head-to-head with traditional powerhouse products from Lawson, JD Edwards, PeopleSoft and SAP and is having “tons of success” in this arena. For example, David mentioned Clear Channel Communications ⁽⁴⁾ as a MAS 500 reference site. Clear Channel has 450 AM and FM radio stations, 200 cable stations, and almost 500 users. MAS 500 is meeting their needs just fine. David explained that while MAS 500 can easily accommodate very large companies, most MAS 500 customers have between 20 to 60 users. What customers like most about MAS 500 is the product's functionality, which is comparable to that of a traditional tier 1 product, while the MAS 500's total cost of ownership is more comparable to that of a mid-range product.

For anyone out there who has not seen the MAS 500 in action, I can tell you personally that this is a great looking product. The technology, look and feel, and functionality are outstanding. The product also demos very well, especially if Kevin Karle ⁽⁵⁾ (of Best Software) shows up to perform the demo. I’ve watched this product grow from inception, and it has always had a great foundation; still, I tended to dismiss this product for many years before the inventory and order entry modules were introduced in 1999. Since then, Best has been pouring on the development of this product and this solution has definitely arrived. In my opinion, anyone considering a tier 1 product such as JD Edwards, Peoplesoft, or SAP should at least evaluate the MAS 500 before making a final decision. You could end up with a superior product and save some major bank.

The CPA Connection

Next we turned our attention to the CPA community. I reminded David that Best Software was built by leveraging the influence of the CPA, and in return Best has always catered to the CPA community. I asked David about the CPA programs offered by Best Software? David:

Our research shows that CPAs are considered to be the most trusted advisor by our customers. In an effort to encourage a strong affiliation with the CPA community, Best has long offered two CPA programs. The Accountants Alliance program has traditionally been an MAS 90 related program in which CPAs obtain a variety of benefits including: software to use in their firm (MAS 90’s general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, & bank reconciliation); product support; option to purchase Best’s client write up, time and billing, and fixed assets solutions at deeply discounted prices; a CPA referral program; CPA referral fees (in states that allow such fees); and CPE credit for attending MAS 90 training classes. Priced at a minimum fee of $395 the first year and $295 a year thereafter, this has been a popular program. Today, more than 8,000 CPA firms now run their business on MAS 90. The application to sign up for the Accountant’s Alliance program is located here: http://www.bestsoftware.com/PDF/saa/SAA_Enroll.pdf

Best also offers the Account Care program which is associated with the Peachtree product lines. For $299, this program provides CPAs with many benefits including Peachtree Complete Accounting value pack; two hours of support; payroll tax service; self study guides; automatic software upgrades; discounts on other Peachtree products; and more. CPAs can enroll in this program here: https://www.peachtree.com/html/accountcare_gold.cfm.

Being a CPA myself, and lecturing to tens of thousands of CPAs over the past ten years on accounting software, I concur that the CPA is a very influential element in the accounting software selection process. Best knows this all too well and accordingly, they want CPAs to be affiliated with their company. The CPA programs offered by Best have been the best in the industry for more than a dozen years.

Juggling 101

In talking with David, it occurred to me that it must be an overwhelming task to manage a large operation like Best Software's Mid-Market Division. Between product managers, market managers, resellers, employee issues, Wall Street pundits, legal matters, acquisitions, etc., I am sure that David has his hands full 24/7. I asked David how he managed and divided his time. Here’s what he said:

The key to managing this organization is the number of talented and capable people working under me. They do their jobs so well that I am able to concentrate on the strategic direction of the company and customer service. Here at Best Software, we take customer satisfaction very seriously. We are always looking at our customers [by conducting studies and surveys] in order to understand their needs and respond tactically to those needs.

This is just like David to pass credit along to others in his organization. David definitely embraces the “team” concept. I also asked David what he liked most about his job?

I love being able to drive down the road and see the names of companies who are using our products to run their business smoothly. Because our products do their job well, our customers are able to focus on their core business without having to concern themselves with the software behind the company. It is more than mere “product pride” – it is knowing that our company provides a solution, which contributes to the overall business community, which is the backbone of our great society. Businesses provide the jobs and products that make our society great, and we provide the software solutions that make businesses great. It may seem like a stretch to some, but to me, I think that we play a small, but important part in this grand scheme.

I think that I caught David off guard a little with this question of a personal nature, but he seemed to answer it from the heart. As a teenager, I spent my summers as a construction laborer building houses on Sea Island, Georgia. It was tough, hot work and I can still remember days in which beads of sweat would drip from my chin in perfect synchronization with the blows from my hammer. But even today I enjoy seeing the fruits of my labor. My efforts (small they may have been) contributed to a finished product that I can still gaze upon to this day. I think that David shares the same sense of accomplishment as he gazes at lively businesses that use the Best products produced, in part through his efforts. I think that I can relate to David’s view ⁽⁶⁾.

Specific Product Comments

I mentioned a variety of Best product offerings and asked David to comment on these products. Here is what I learned:

MAS 200 SQL. “This product is selling beautifully”. MAS 200 is the most successful product launch that we’ve ever had. This is because the product has all the functionality of the MAS 90 product but extends the ability to use the product to larger organizations with more users, multi-location users, and users who access the product via remote locations. I can remember in years past where the typical MAS 90 customer had 1 to 5 users. Today, the typical MAS 200 customer has 10-15 users. According to David, MAS 200 is a logical next step for MAS 90 customers. Fifty percent of MAS 200 users are former MAS 90 users.

When MAS 200 first came out, Taylor Macdonald ⁽⁷⁾ (former founder and President of Macdonald Consulting, and now Senior VP of Business Partners for Best Software US) relayed to me the following story about one of his clients. In this case, his client was using MAS 90 to process approximately 600 orders a day and it took nearly three hours to post all of these orders each evening. However, after upgrading to MAS 200, the company found that the same volume of transactions were posted in less than 3 minutes. Clearly, MAS 200 represents a quantum step forward in terms of performance compared to MAS 90. It is simply a matter of volume and number of users. Most smaller companies find that MAS 90 meets their needs just fine, but as they grow, MAS 200 offers a natural and relatively painless upgrade path.

Business Alerts. Business Alerts has been a fabulous success. This product fits real customer needs. I use this product myself every day to keep track of my business. For example, I receive an e-mail alert every time our company bills a customer an invoice for more than $20,000. This allows me to know with whom we are doing business, and I can keep track of the business without having to ask. About 20% of all new MAS 90 and MAS 200 customers are also purchasing the Business Alerts module. The product contains dozens of pre-configured alerts, and we keep adding more standard alerts with every new version. Users can also build their own alerts using the built-in wizard.

This is a personal pet peeve of mine. According to the Keiso-Weygandt text book titled Intermediate Accounting (which I studied in college), the "primary objective of an accounting system is to summarize detailed transactional data into useful reports that management can use to run their business"⁽⁸⁾. Many publishers of accounting software seem to have missed this point. Often, many accounting products fail to produce a decent set of financial statements and executive reports. These publishers discount financial reporting criticisms claiming "you can build any report with our product’s built in report writer". To me, they don’t seem to get it. I believe that every accounting system should automatically produce a wide variety of statements and executive reports right out of the box. To see what I am talking about, just check out the Flash Reports embedded in the BusinessWorks product – with this product Jeff Gold got it right. The MAS 90 / MAS 200 Business Alerts module is the right tool for everybody and the success of this product is not a surprise to me.

MAS 90’s Palm Pilot Integration - The adoption of the Palm Pilot integration has been slower than expected. It is great technology and we are not sure why adoption has been slower. However we do know that the adoption of MAS 200 running through the Internet has gone very well. Today more people carry portable laptops, and they are using these laptops to access MAS 200 more than ever before. Perhaps the increased use of smaller and more powerful portable laptops is competing to some degree with Palm Pilot adoption.

If you haven’t seen it, you need to. Best has developed instant MAS 90 / MAS 200 synchronization with the Palm Pilot on an impressive scale. This functionality allows sales persons to enter customer orders directly into their Palm Pilot, and the Palm Pilot contains all inventory information including quantities on hand and pricing by customer. This amazing feat took a great deal of savvy programming I can assure you. Still, I too have seen the promise of hand-helds and wireless devices fall sort. Is it still too early? Will this technology take off this year? In my opinion, three things are holding handheld devices back: inadequate battery life, hard to read screens, and difficult data entry. When this gets fixed (and eventually it will), hand-held technology will take off in a big way and Best stands ready to capitalize.

Complaints

I asked David to describe the number one complaint he sees from users. Here’s what he had to say:

It is shocking to see how many people call up to request features that are already in the product. Often users are simply not aware that these features already exist, and if they were aware, they would get far more utility out of the product. The problem is that they don’t have the training to exploit all the capabilities of the product. We are combating this problem by launching web seminars, which educate customers about some of the products most useful and advanced features.

Conclusion

It was an honor to interview David Butler. His contributions to the accounting software industry are already monumental, yet it is obvious to all that he will continue to shape this industry for years to come. His leadership abilities stand as a testament to any who might dare to take on such a role. David possesses many gifts that contribute to his success, among them patience, the ability to listen, and the ability to get to the point. It is a paradox that David is able to command respect and be so humble at the same time. Thank you David, for the time.

Respectfully,

Footnotes

(1) Cherry Williamson is President of Emerald Technology Consulting, 1235 Old Alpharetta Road, Suite 130, Alpharetta, GA 30005, 770.343.8846, F.770.772.6583 cwilliamson@emeraldtc.com

(2) David Kennedy is the President of Pactus Suite 400, 1950 Spectrum Circle , Marietta, GA 30067, (770) 857-2275, FAX: (770) 988-8300 davidkennedy@pactus.com

(3) Dan McGuckin is President of DSD Business Systems, 7050 Friars Rd., Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92108, Tel 619.683.9900, Fax: 619.683.9975 danm@dsdinc.com.

(4) Corporate Headquarters, Clear Channel Communications, Inc., 200 East Basse Road, San Antonio, Texas 78209, 210 822 2828 http://www.clearchannel.com/main.html

(5) Kevin Karle is Kevin Karle, Product Specialist Supervisor, Best Software, 410 Bennett Circle, Chalfont , PA 18914, 215-997-8570, kevin.karle@bestsoftware.com. In my opinion, Kevin is very talented demonstrator of accounting software. (Hey, I’ve done more than a 1,000 live demos myself, therefore I deem myself qualified to render such an opinion.)

(6) My wife gave me a very hard time for comparing my job as a laborer to David’s job of running a $400 million company. She makes a good point, doesn’t she?

(7) Taylor Macdonald is Senior VP of Business Partners for Best Software US Operations, 800.854.3415 x2262, 404.365.9225, taylor.macdonald@bestsoftware.com

(8) Keiso-Weygandt, Intermediate Accounting, Fifth Edition, Page 4, first paragraph. (I did paraphrase this section, here are exact quotes so that you can decide for yourself whether I took too much liberty translating this text) "Financial Accounting is the process that culminates in the preparation of financial reports...Managerial Accounting is the process of ...communication of financial information used by management to plan, evaluate, and control..."