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LessAccounting, the Startup That Challenged QuickBooks, Sold
- ThomasSmale 10y agoCongratulations to Steven and Allan! Was an honor for the FE International team to be part of the process!
- spIrr 10y agoI've seen their prospectus on FE International, and was surprised by some numbers. Interesting to listen to the founder's reflection now.
- mariusc23 10y agoFor those wondering, they sold to American SMB Services.
- bhouston 10y agoGiven that American SMD Services has 8 employees on Linkedin, I assume it was a low value deal.
- mattzito 10y agoOr 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.
- pbreit 10y agoAccording to: https://web.archive.org/web/20160127001734/http://feinternational.com/buy-a-website/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160127001734/http://feinternat... Asking was $950k which I gather was the ceiling. Did they have any investors?
- simonswords82 10y agoSomebody might correct me but I'm pretty sure they were bootstrapped
- djloche 10y agoCan we change the URL to the actual mixergy link: https://mixergy.com/interviews/lessaccounting-allan-branch-steven-bristol/ https://mixergy.com/interviews/lessaccounting-allan-branch-s...
- dang 10y agoSure. URL changed from https://twitter.com/Mixergy/status/739866196246290432 https://twitter.com/Mixergy/status/739866196246290432.
- rrggrr 10y agoWe 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.
- simonswords82 10y agoWe 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.
- Hengjie 10y agoI 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.
- simonswords82 10y agoThat'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?
- cylinder 10y agoMy experience mirrors yours.
- swah 10y agoInteresting product. Do they provide a native app as well?
- flog 10y agoThere's a handy iOS app at least but only does on the go stuff which makes good use of your smart phone
- deleted 10y ago
- djloche 10y agoNews 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.
- andycroll 10y agoThe Wayback Machine is your friend. https://web.archive.org/web/20160127001734/http://feinternational.com/buy-a-website/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160127001734/http://feinternat... Third listing. A really solid, profitable business.
- andrewtbham 10y agoYearly revenue $432,000 Yearly net profit $289,000 Asking price $950,000
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- mikeryan 10y agoAs 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.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 10y agoIntuit 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.
- pmichaud 10y agoMan, 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!
- fredleblanc 10y agoI met Allan at a conference a couple of years ago, and after meeting him, I recall skipping most of the sessions just to pick his brain about all things business — marketing, structure, etc. He's still one of the nicest folks I've ever met. 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.
- fencepost 10y agoInteresting, 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).
- kylecordes 10y agoAllan and Steven are fantastic guys. Great to see them finish a successful exit.