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| November 01, 2001 |
DSS NAMED ACCOUNTING TODAY TECHNOLOGY PACESETTER |
Hurricane Andrew was one of the best things that ever happened to Dynamic Software Solutions. It destroyed much of the local economy and forced owner Peter Kaufman to expand his business geographically.
"It was a period where we were hemorrhaging money," says Kaufman, recalling the period after Andrew ravaged south Florida in 1992. "It was one of the most upsetting periods to be owning a business."
The local devastation forced Kaufman to diversify. He branched out to the Caribbean and South America. Now about 30 percent of his $2 million in annual revenue comes from the Caribbean area, with engagements in Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Guyana, along with partner offices in Aruba and Caracas.
"In hindsight, that was a very difficult period in my life, but it was one of the best times in terms of where we are today," Kaufman notes.
And it meant the next time business took a downturn--after the Y2K well ran dry--DSS was somewhat insulated from the slowdown. The double-digit growth the company experienced for ten years dropped to single digits this year. But at least DSS had revenue growth.
Kaufman has had a long association with the accounting profession--he has worked in accounting firms since he was a child. His uncle was a partner at the firm of Kaufman & Rossin, and Kaufman recalls, "I was the file room guy, the assemble financial statements guy." He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Florida. Along the way, he became involved in technology. While working for a mortgage processing and software company, he received a temporary assignment as software sales manager. That assignment became more permanent after the company achieved record sales over the next eight months. Kaufman decided to start his own business, and picked up the Accpac line, following the example of his uncle's accounting firm.
DSS sells the Accpac Corporate and Enterprise Editions, utilizing both the Pervasive and Microsoft SQL platforms. DSS has several installations among securities and financial services companies, including banks. The company also serves the distribution and manufacturing market with MISys, a third-party product that works with Accpac. Smaller installations range from roughly $20,000 to $50,000 for a five-user system. Sites purchasing Microsoft SQL Server are typically generating $60,000 to $150,000 in revenue. Billing rates range from $105 to $135 an hour, with fixed fees sometimes used for programming jobs.
Besides focusing on the Accpac line, managing client expectations is a major part of DSS' plan. In fact, Kaufman labels it as the main reason for his success.
"If you tell people life is going to be difficult for a month and everybody will hate changing, and then those things happen, the job will be more successful," says Kaufman. "My whole sales angle involves creating a comfort level so clients feel comfortable with us."
In fact, fees can't be fixed until the parties have held a pre-implementation meeting so that DSS can understand all of the client's reporting requirements.
That formula has proven successful. DSS was the top reseller for Accpac in 1996, 1998, and 2000, and expects to be near the top this year.
Kaufman has offices in Miami and Orlando, and is in the process of opening one in Tampa. His staff of fifteen is "mostly CPAs and Accpac consulting types." It includes two administrative personnel, a programmer, and two integration staff people. Kaufman is the "dedicated sales force."
As new sales have slowed, Kaufman has ratcheted up the marketing effort.
"The time to do marketing is when business is slowing down," says Kaufman. DSS has added a full-time telemarketer. The company also operates an active public relations program.
"We do a tremendous amount of public relations," says Kaufman. That means issuing a press release at every opportunity, such as opening a new office, being named to the Accpac Advisory Council, and, oh yes, when DSS was named Accpac's top VAR.
The softer market has made DSS more willing to deal. During the Y2K boom, "our rate was our rate," says Kaufman. "If clients contested our bills, we got rid of them."
Now the firm is more willing to cut deals and make concessions to get engagements. "We've got to be more aggressive about getting jobs because out of every five installs, three of them are going to be long-term relationships."
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