It was interesting to see that a new vendor called carrytheone has developed an integration between KashFlow and OSCommerce for those needing seamless integration between e-commerce solutions and on-demand accounting. It is the first of what they promise will be a stream of integrations that may include Zen Cart (my personal open source favourite) CREloaded and oscMax. It’s a good idea and one to be welcomed.
How long carrytheone can survive as a separate entity remains to be seen because in reality, such integrations are features that any competent developer can mimic. What is more worrying are claims made on the site about numbers of user – presumably in the KashFlow universe. The website talks about:
The UK’s leading online accounting software with 15,000 small business accounts.
That’s not true at two levels. First up, WinWeb passed that figure at least 2 years ago. I know that because I was following the stats at that time. It reached 10,000 users in June 2006 and passed the 200,000 mark in May, 2007. Second, when I asked Duane Jackson, KashFlow’s CEO to verify the number he said:
@dahowlett whichever you like. 15k isn’t my number. we have ~3k paying. >20k through the door over the years
Duane may not care too much about such things but when a company is making claims, it would be hoped they are in the right ballpark. There is enough BS talked in the software industry as it is. carrytheone must have got the numbers from somewhere and whether KashFlow likes it or not, I’m pointing the finger at them.
What Duane doesn’t get – and he has said to me that he’s seen four different numbers quoted at carrytheone – is that market perceptions are formed from, among other things, numbers. So let’s take his 20K figure as a starting point. What we can deduce from that is the conversion rate to paying customer is around 15%. That’s not shabby but is way off other numbers I see frequently quoted running in the 25-32% range by other vendors. In other words, regardless of claims about market share, on its current stated run rate, KashFlow will find itself eclipsed by others.
Does that matter? Yes it does. The on-demand accounting market is still nascent although there is plenty of evidence to show that it is in strong growth mode. That means we do not yet know the winners and losers even though I’d agree there is plenty to play for in the UK market alone. When thinking about recommendation for instance, professionals want to know whether clients will be left high and dry. Like it or not, when someone else runs your data, that risk exists and in markets of this kind, it is difficult to be certain what will happen to any of the players.
Duane defends the uncertainty by claiming that:
Our API is public http://is.gd/hFbz – anyone can write apps for it. Doesn’t make them “partners” or make us responsible 4 them
I had to laugh. That’s the SAP defense. Anyone who knows about SAP partners also knows that certain of those partners represent a significant source of problem for that company and its poor implementation reputation. I have long argued that software vendors have a real responsibility for partners in their ecosystem.There are many ways to achieve that.
Simply saying anyone can grab a public API and then wash their hands is not good enough. You cannot point to others who may be using your API, shout ‘benefit’ and ‘value’ on the one hand and shrug on the other. It’s irresponsible. At the very least, you should have a certification program in place so that you can exercise a measure of quality control and influence what is said about you.
KashFlow has been pimping a number of ‘partnerships’ in recent times. Good luck to them. But if this is a demonstration of the company’s laissez-faire attitude to those partners then be warned. Sloppy partnerships always lead to trouble down the road. No exceptions.
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