Private equity firm Firmament has acquired Scanco Software, which makes warehouse and manufacturing automation software for Sage ERP applications. Terms were not disclosed

Scanco, which sold by owners Shaun and Tess Boros, was founded in 1998. Shaun had been a partner with the company since 2005. The announcement said the investment “will pave the way for Scanco to grow and expand its suite of warehouse and manufacturing automation solutions.” The management team, including CEO Andrew Nunez, will remain in place. Scanco’s products, which integrate with Sage 100/100 and Intact, include mobile apps. It also markets AR and AP payments operations for Sage 100 with its website noting that payment products for Sage 300 and Intacct are coming soon. The company offers both referral and reseller programs and a technology integration program for ISVs.

 Revenue for QuickBooks Online rose to $723 million for Intuit’s third quarter ended April 30, and increase of 25.1 percent from $578 million in last year’s corresponding quarter

. That rate of growth outstripped the overall increase for revenue which was up 6.9 percent to $6.02 billion for the most recently ended period from $5.62 billion. Net income was $2.09 billion, rising 16.3 percent, from $1.79 billion a year ago.  The company said the QBO increase was driven mainly by customer growth, higher effective prices, and mix-shift.” Desktop revenue also continue to experience strong growth hitting $280 million for the most recently ended period, a 39.1 percent rise from $201 million. During the company’s recent earnings webcast, CEO Sasan Goodarzi noted the quarter’s debut of the QuickBooks Business Network in January followed by a beta test of a bill payment application in May. Meanwhile, Intuit increase its revenue guidance for the year ended July 31, with total revenue expected to grow by 12 percent to 13 percent, compared to prior expectation’s annual growth of 10 percent to 12 percent.

Cegid, which makes retail and HR software, has agreed to buy Notilus, which makes T&E applications, from French Software vendor Dimo Software. Terms were not disclosed.

Cegid, headed by former Sage executive CEO Pascal Houillon, said 138 Notilus employees will join the company. The acquired business’ main products are Notilus T&E for managing expense reports and travel reservations for the private sector; Notilus InOne, an expense report and travel management solution for the public sector; and Notilus YourWay, for vehicle fleet management, as a complement to InOne. Besides increasing its addressable market, Cegid said will be boost development of Notilus and SaaS sales. Cegid represents Acumatica in France and its Cegid xRP Flex is built on the Acumatica xRP platform.

 Donna DeRosa, VP of marketing, is retiring from her position at AccountMate soon after more than 20 years with the company.

DeRosa said she is leaving to travel and check off things on her lists that she wishes to do. “It’s kind of bittersweet,” she said. “My 20 years have been great.” DeRosa came the ERP after an eight-year career at AutoDesk, three at the former SBT Accounting Systems until it was acquired at Sage, and three at the former CCH (now part of Wolters Kluwer).  DeRosa was operations director for AccountMate from 2004 through 2006 and then assumed the marketing leadership role in 2007. DeRosa noted that she has three departments reporting to her.

You know it’s been a bad day if you see a sign saying, “If you see anything suspicious report it” and your photograph is posted next to it.

… There’s a new movie in the magic franchise, “Harry Potter and the Orkin Man” in which the Ministry of Magic has to call an exterminator to deal with a nasty outbreak of house elves. After dealing with the nasty little vermin, he caught villain, Peter Pettigrew, in a rat trap. … With the focus on new diseases, scientists have reported the first episode of a disease combining monkey pox, chicken pox, swine flu, avian flu and equine encephalitis. It causes infected individuals to rant at animals of all kinds and is being labeled the “Dr. Doolittle Disease.” … I was relieved to find that the phrases “Manufacturing Execution Systems” is not the dire life-threatening experience I had feared. … Made it to Manhattan for the first time in three years in the middle of humid sweltering day. Of course, there was the smell of something slightly disgusting from the gutter along 42nd Street. On the same street, at Madame Tussaud’s wax figures near the door was melting in the heat. But a second look showed that was a tourist group from the Midwest. The wax figures were fine. The I ran into a guy promoting Hop On, Hop Off. “Buses?" I asked. “No, hookers, he replied.

I spent most of the last week unable to speak with laryngitis.

A surprising number of my acquaintances and friends remarked upon the improvement..  … The crypto market crash has spurred new looks at blockchain technology, which in this context is now being referred to as blockhead technology. Blockhead technology is based on the premise that crypto currency is immune from historical market forces and can serve as a store of value when other markets crash.  … I told a friend that when it comes to deals I always before a win/win outcome. I also like it when I win, win, win. …. The resignation of the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the architect of Brexit who is making is own Bexit, has spurred interest in what his next move might be. There is some talk that he will embark on a new business sponsoring parties during times of distress, such as pandemics. Also, the combative leader is also planning a string of hair salons “Mr. Boris” in honor of his coiffure. It has been report4ed in some places, Liar's Poker has been renamed Boris' poker.

One of the hot trends of the last few years is the Gender Reveal party.  Someone asked my opinion.

“Gender reveal? That’s hardly new. We have had guys running around in raincoats doing that for years. Just not my style.” … Inflation is taking a toll on products of all kinds. The manufacturer of “20 Mule Team Borax” has been forced to reduce the product to 17 mules.  … I have decided that the purpose of blister packs is to make you prove you really want to take the pills you have. …. When they pulled out of the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Russian soldiers are said to have left behind 100 liters of high-quality vodka. Apparently, they thought it might to prove a practical substitute for fissionable material in powering the plant. … Somebody asked me how much I paid to fill up my gasoline tank the last time. “I think it was three cents a gallon higher when I finished than when I started,” I said. … A local van had large lettering advertising the “Racoon Guy”.  I thought maybe he was a feature in a carnival sideshow. But now, he was just an animal control expert.  Actually, he did have rather short noise and beady eyes. …  The latest in the saurian franchise is Jurassic World Dominion. If there’s a sequel, we’ll probably find the dinosaurs are getting a bit long in the tooth. There are some reports the next victims of tyrannosaur will actually be pureed meat disguised by Halloween costume and makeup specialists so he won’t have to gum his food. That will probably be similar to the next in final editions of Top Gun so that 10 years from now, the currently 59-year-old superstar Tom Cruise, will be carrying a Hurry-cane and have to have a handicapped access ramps for the fighter jet. Of course, he will be probably be assisted by lower-level members of the Church of Scientology.

 What the public didn’t know in the well-publicized verdict in the trial of Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard, there was an initial ballot in which the seven jury members registered their real feelings.

Two were for Depp; two for Heard and three didn’t care anymore. … In the last week, England’s Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 70 years on the throne, her Platinum Jubilee. What can you give the woman who has, well the crown jewels; a few palaces? I thought coupons for trading in Prince Andrew for a new model might be welcome. Or we could buy her a nice set of platinum dinnerware. … A woman recently was the recipient of an ear made by 3D printer. I asked someone if that involved dot matrix or laser? The break-through will revolutionized the childhood game of “I have your nose” to “I made you a new nose.” … Dr. Mahmet Oz was just declared the winner of the highly contested Republican senatorial primary in Pennsylvanian. If Oz is elected, he will likely become a key spokesman for the GOPs plan for healthcare reform. He will a stalwart champion of eye of newt, bleach and exorcism as major tools in the fight against contagious diseases. He will also propose that discounts for healthcare with be available as coupons in packaged meals at Mcdonald’s and other fast food outlets.

To say the broad economic picture is confusing when applied to mid-market reselling would be an understatement.

Many observers expect a recession and some report sales cycles stretching out. Meanwhile, the immediate problem for many firms is a shortage of consultants to handle all the cloud implementations—a recession might send more businesses scrambling for SaaS financial software for more efficient operations. In a world reshaped by the Covid shutdown, remote work drove an accelerated interest in cloud computing. It's a new world in which how the forces interplay is yet to be fully understood.

This year's Special Report for Bob Scott's Top 100 VARs, "A Tougher Road Ahead?" looks at the thoughts of leaders in the channel and in the vendor community about these issues and the trends that have impacted ERP mid-market resellers over the last year. Of course, this report also features 100 reselling firms that have been chosen based on revenue. This year's list includes more than the usual number of newcomers and the expectation is, next year will reflect the continue rapid pace of change in technology and layers.

There is still time to submit a form for consideration in Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs for 2023—but just barely.

 This year’s special report will once again discuss the trends in the mid-market ERP industry. With many expecting a recession ahead, how is this business faring as demand for cloud accounting is still strong and a majority of businesses have not moved away from on-premise systems, yet.? If you are interested in having your firm considered, please complete the attached form and return it ASAP to bob.scott@pmg360.com

The pandemic is gone, or at least just simmering, and ERP resellers are moving from a period of explosive cloud growth to one of economic uncertainty with many technology companies laying off staff.

But there are many companies that have yet to adopt cloud-based financial software and the best firms adapt and thrive as situations change. Thiis year’s Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs will look at the much-changed conditions in the market served by ERP dealers. Those trends will be discussed as part of the special report in which this year’s Top 100 are named.

To be considered please complete a form and submit it to bob.scott@pmg360.com as soon as possible.