LessAccounting, the Startup That Challenged QuickBooks, Sold(mixergy.com)
mixergy.com
LessAccounting, the Startup That Challenged QuickBooks, Sold
https://mixergy.com/interviews/lessaccounting-allan-branch-steven-bristol/
30 comments
News Summary:
They used FE International to sell the LessAccounting assets to American SMB Services. Took about 6 months to close the deal all together. They declined to disclose any $ numbers, but it was an all cash up front deal.
The interview is actually a really interesting interview to read.
They used FE International to sell the LessAccounting assets to American SMB Services. Took about 6 months to close the deal all together. They declined to disclose any $ numbers, but it was an all cash up front deal.
The interview is actually a really interesting interview to read.
The Wayback Machine is your friend.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160127001734/http://feinternat...
Third listing.
A really solid, profitable business.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160127001734/http://feinternat...
Third listing.
A really solid, profitable business.
Yearly revenue $432,000
Yearly net profit $289,000
Asking price $950,000
We use Xero.com. Its considerably "less shitty" than QB was for us. But I still struggle to wrap my head around basic accounting concepts and therefore require a bookkeeper.
If you're a programmer/CS type, then this is an excellent explanation of accounting principles in terms of graphs:
https://martin.kleppmann.com/2011/03/07/accounting-for-compu...
https://martin.kleppmann.com/2011/03/07/accounting-for-compu...
Thank you!
I hate Xero with a passion. I've a software engineer background and currently serve as CEO, ala non-accountant, I'm constantly finding bugs with their software that go on unfixed for months. I'm only using Xero because my accountant prefers it than spreadsheets.
That's interesting I've got a keen eye for bugs and thought their QA was pretty tight. What kind of issues have you stumbled across?
My experience mirrors yours.
We use Xero and still have our accountant check our books before we file our end of year returns. The bonus of Xero is that our accountant has real time access to our finances - which means he can provide a more proactive service.
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I love wave accounting
As a long time QuickBooks online user it should be noted that about 2 years ago QuickBooks did one of the best online reboots I've ever seen. The new website is way simpler to use and understand.
Intuit must have gotten some good web people because I've seen massive improvements in Turbotax's online product over the past couple years as well.
I've seen their prospectus on FE International, and was surprised by some numbers. Interesting to listen to the founder's reflection now.
Congratulations to Steven and Allan! Was an honor for the FE International team to be part of the process!
Man, this is great. When I lived in Florida, I had a chance to hang out and cowork with Steve a time or two (this was perhaps 7 years ago?). Incredibly nice, very talented. I'm super happy for them!
Interesting, I suspect this is why the interview posting went up last week but was presumably very quickly removed (before I looked at podcast episode listings and attempted to download it).
For those wondering, they sold to American SMB Services.
Given that American SMD Services has 8 employees on Linkedin, I assume it was a low value deal.
According to: https://web.archive.org/web/20160127001734/http://feinternat...
Asking was $950k which I gather was the ceiling. Did they have any investors?
Asking was $950k which I gather was the ceiling. Did they have any investors?
Somebody might correct me but I'm pretty sure they were bootstrapped
Or potentially most of their employees are contractors or remote bookkeepers who don't list them as an employer - a quick Linkedin look shows that a number of the people are located in India, so potentially they're a core group of 5-10 people with X number of offshore contractors.
Allan and Steven are fantastic guys. Great to see them finish a successful exit.
Can we change the URL to the actual mixergy link:
https://mixergy.com/interviews/lessaccounting-allan-branch-s...
Sure. URL changed from https://twitter.com/Mixergy/status/739866196246290432.
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Months later, was connected with him again on Skype, and he remembered just about everything about our interaction, and once again, was super nice and helpful with all of my questions.
I also met Steven quite briefly at the same conference this year. Although we didn't talk for hours on end, he was also very kind, and very approachable.
Anyway, really happy for both of them. It's great to read that nice guys don't always have to finish last.