Indirect tax software provider Vertex has acquired LCR-Dixon Corp. Terms were not disclosed.

The acquired company makes a variety of tax tools for SAP users which are described as enhancing “a customer’s ability to maintain, analyze and validate tax data in procure-to-pay as well as order-to-cash” LCR-Dixon was formed in 2006 through the merger of SAP Specialists LCR-Technologies and Dixon Street Consulting. Among the tax software products are Diagnostax, which features analytic product for understanding transaction data and tax reports and includes data cleansing and audit support tools; TestSuite for automating the tax testing process for purchase orders, invoices, sales orders and billings; Scout, which has conversion programs to handle SAP Tax Jurisdiction code updates; and flexTax, which automates use tax accruals on Procure Card Transactions.

Construction software vendor Procore Technologies, which went public in May, is acquiring Levelset for $500 million. Levelset, whose products include lien rights management software, will operate as a subsidiary of Procore.

The companies said this week the purchase price includes about $425 million in cash and $75 million in Procore stock, The announcement of the deal said Levelset customers have more the 250,000 users. CEO Tooey Courtemanche noted in a webcast this week the acquisition “is the largest in Procore’s history.” The deal is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2021. Procore said Levelset will not be material to results this year, but it will provide more detail about operations in the next earnings call. Levelset will end the year in “low eight-figure revenue count”, CFO Paul Lyandres said during the webcast, with most revenue from subscription. CEO Tooey Courtemanche outlined a vision in which Procore connects “everyone who touches construction”. Besides contractors that includes capital providers and insurance carriers. Procore lost $96.2 million for the year ended December 31, compared to a loss of slightly more than $83 million for 2019. Revenue for the most recently year was $400.2 million, a 38.4-percent rise from $289.2 million the prior year. Analysts on the call were confused by the clue about Levelset revenue, given a reported 300 employees. One said most read the low-eight figure number as indicating $10 million to $20 million in annual revenue while the employee total suggested $50 million in revenue. Lyandres indicated one factor complicating revenue estimates was that Levelset has developers in Cairo, Egypt.

Businesses have a high degree of distrust in predictive data analytics which is slowing adoption of that technology. That conclusion is contained in the report “Unleashing the Potential of Predictive Analytics in Financial Services”, recently released by software vendor Qlik.

Qlik, which surveyed 500 IT leaders in the United Kingdom, found 50 percent of respondents do not believe these tools make decision without bias and 45 percent do not think they are always accurate. The group says training is important in utilizing analytical software with 76 percent of IT leaders in financial reserves saying data literacy training is important to enable users to recognize the technology’s limitations. Respondents also fear they could be held personally responsible for decisions made automatically by predictive systems. That concern is especially strong among those working in funds and investments where 81 percent expressed that fear and 46 percent report the regulatory burden outweighs the benefits from the software. Technical barriers also loom with 40 percent citing issues with data quality; 40 percent, data silos and 36 percent, the speed of data integration. Forty-three percent doubt they have the skills to implement predictive analytics.

 Bill.com is raising $1.5 billion in concurrent stock and debt issues this month. The payments software company has filed prospectuses with the SEC for the sale of $1 billion in stock and $500 million in convertible senior notes.

Underwriters have the option to purchase another $150 million in stock. Initial debt purchasers also have the option to buy another $75 million in notes. A portion of debt is being used to cover privately negotiated capped call transactions. Proceeds from the rest of the debt and all of the stock are targeted for general corporate purposes, although you’d have to think M&A is on the company’s mind. In June, Bill.com closed the purchase of Divvy for $2.3 billion and this looks like filling the war chest for a run at another prospect. The company estimates proceeds from the sale of share at $971.6 million; $1.1 billion in the underwriters exercise their option completely and $487 million from the sale of notes.

There’s a new frankness in how DNA findings are communicated to subscribers—things like are you susceptible to certain diseases, likely to go bald, or sleep deeply.

Mine included a conclusion that “You’re dumber than you look.” …Just found Biscotti in the local 7-11, the same kind that is served as a snack on some domestic air flights. It’s not funny, but people deserve to know one of the few good things about modern flying is having an impact on society. … When someone says a person has served as a global head of some company’s operations, I always wonder if that’s like the Big Giant Head of the TV sitcom “Third Rock from the Sun”. … Singer Nicki Minaj caused an international uproar in relating a second-hand story that taking the COVID-19 vaccine had caused unusual organ growth in a male in Trinidad. Trinidad spent much of the day tracking down the story before reporting much time had been wasted before declaring the claim unfounded. I don’t know. That could be new way of promoting tourism on the island nation. After all, the official tourism slogan of Trinidad and Tobago is “Go Beyond Ordinary”. … Finally saw a realistic disclaimer for a TV movie. It says “Inspired by real events. They don’t have the slightest resemblance to this film, but they were inspired by them. … I am trying to develop a new feature for use when I trigger those “How can I help you” messages on a website. It immediately responds, “Leave Me Alone”.

It’s almost Labor Day and can Christmas displays be far behind. Join the competition to see who can get the most disgusted by the earliest the displays go up.

…. Speaking of holidays, the Halloween candy displays went up a couple of weeks ago. I propose making it a federal crime to flavor any additional items with pumpkin spice. … Resigned New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Florida Representative Matt Gaetz are the leading contenders for this year’s Eliot Spitzer prize. Spitzer is the former New York governor who resigned in 2008 for his habit of employing professional woman—well, professional at $1,000 per hour. Gaetz is considered a shoo-in the award in the juvenile division. Cuomo was a hands-on governor, which many people can testify to, most of them women. Cuomo was initially considered a candidate for the Bill Cosby Repeat Offender Award but was ruled out because of his abysmal completed pass percentage. ... It seems to me that Star Fleet command should request refunds on starship shields. They just don’t hold up. It always seems when the artillery starts up on Star Trek episodes that after the first strike we hear, “Shields are down to 70 percent. 50 percent, 30 percent”. ”Damn it, Scotty, can you adjust this thing?” “Sorry captain, performance went downhill after the warranty ran out." About five strikes and they are done for. … … One of the local supermarkets is big enough that instead of having simply numbered aisles, they also have them designated as west and east. I was asking for the location of something, and the service desk said, “That’s at the end of 9W. Make sure you don’t go to 10W”. “Why not?” I asked. “That’s where planes land in the late afternoon.”  ... The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is in our town, Parsippany, N.J. this weekend. I guess that's like one time I was in our building in Manhattan and saw the Publisher's Clearing House Prize Patrol. It's nice to know these aren't just legends.

The Cleveland Indians have changed their name to the Cleveland Guardians. It sounds like a group of alien overlords Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise encounter on a previously undiscovered planet.

“Captain, the Guardians are preventing us from contacting the ship.” “Set phasers on stun, Mr. Spock.” … Texas’ top elected official, Gov. Greg Abbott, has taken a stand against requiring people to wear masks to combat COVID-19. It recalls the brave men at the Alamo who fought to the death to keep the Mexicans from requiring them to wear masks. Or was that Davy Crockett fighting animal rights activists to preserve the coonskin cap?  Who can forget the thrilling scene in the movie “The Alamo” in which John Wayne declares, “Masks? We don’t need no stinking masks” and vows to fight against fluoridated water and against mandating helmets for motorcyclists. Actually, I admire Abbott. I loved his classic, “Who’s on first” sketch. … A friend is having reverse shoulder replacement. I asked her if that means she will be able to rotate her neck 360 degrees when it’s done. … In the latest sequel to “The DaVinci Code”, the secret group, Illuminati, battle with their bitter rival, the Unilluminati. The former turn off lights; the latter turn them on. It’s part of the continuing battle between light and dark.

The south end of the Las Vegas strip is big on chocolate with Hershey Chocolate World is on one side of the famous avenue. On the other side, although not directly opposite but close, is M&M World.

Few know of the pioneering, but far less successful ExLax World. … Ron Popeil, inventor of the Pocket Fisherman and other gadgets advertized on late night TV died recently.He will be laid to rest in is final groundbreaking (literally) invention, the Instant Coffin. Viewing was generally between the hours of 1 am and 6 am on certain TV stations. Popeil was the originator of the famous pitch phrase, “But wait there’s more ...” But, sadly, not for Ron.… Upcoming this year, is a remake of the sentimental classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” by M. Night Shymalan. In this version, George Bailey finds out Clarence, the angel, is a demon from another world, who George is forced to kill before returning to a world that is the same, except everyone now sports long, pointed ears. … A couple of weeks  ago, there was news about a jet fuel shortage. That probably explains the following announcement and unintended comment on a recent flight’s PA system. “Lady’s and gentleman, this is your captain, we’re going to have to look for a place with fuel.” Copilot’s hushed voice’ “I told you should have checked before you took off’. But you couldn’t be bothered. You said, ‘Oh, there’s no problem.’

Just what kind of year has it been for the mid-market reselling community? It depends.

For some, it was very tough, but for others, it was the best year in their history as demand for cloud products drove business. If you were in segments such as hospitality and restaurants, it was very hard, if you were in ecommerce, things have never been better. Overall, it was a year of great change with the accelerated shift to the cloud from on-premise applications and the forced move to remote work which is producnglasting changes.

So click the button below to find out who made Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs for 2021 and many of their thoughts about the last year and the future

It has been a year like no other for ERP mid-market software VARs. But one thing has stayed the same–it is time to ready your submission for Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs for 2021--and this week is your last chance to do sol.

The IRS just gave you extra time to submit your individual tax returns, so use the opportunity to be considered. Each year, we rank the biggest financial software VARs in the mid-market and  use the occasion to learn more about how the market has worked in the last year and talk about directions it is likely to take in the near future. To be a player, please ask for a submission form  and return your information as soon as possibleto bob.scott@pmg360.com

 The year 2020 has been Dickensian—the worst of times and best of times. For most of the population, the coronavirus has made this year probably the most awful in memory. But for many mid-market software resellers, the move of companies to the cloud as their workforces went to remote operations, meant 2020 has been a good to great year. The results are not uniform. For VARs in markets such as entertainment and hospitality, it was not great. However, if clients were able to conduct business remote, resellers could service them remotely and despite the difficulties, 2020 was fine. Bob Scott’s VAR Stars for 2020 faced the pandemic and many not only survived, they prospered.

Submissions for the 2020 Bob Scott’s VAR Stars are still open. But you have to act fast. .

The door closes next Wednesday. The selection is based on quality—not revenue. Past honorees have ranged from one-person operations to the largest ERP dealers. Factors that are considered in the selection are growth, development of significant products and services and contributions to the industry. If you are interested in having  your firm considered, please email bob.scott@pmg360.com as soon as possible.