Payments vendor Paya grew its marketing push for the second quarter ended June 30. That helped cut into the company’s net income, which dropped 47.8 percent to $1.6 million, compared to $3.2 million in last year’s corresponding period.

“We significantly expanded our marketing efforts,” CEO Jeff Hack said during a recent earnings webcast. Paya said head count grew principally in sales and marketing and technology, but there were no figures about the change in number of employees. However, the biggest contributor to the overall loss was changes in the fair value of interest rate caps. The company’s revenue reached $72.5 million for the most recently ended period, an increase of 13.3 percent from slightly less than $64 million.  Hack said card revenue rose 15 percent year-over-year while ACH revenue A big contributor to the revenue increase was from the Integrated Solutions segment, representing applications since as ERP software that integrates Vertex’s capabilities. That revenue hit $46.6 million, up 17.8 percent from $39.6 million the prior year. Payment Services segment revenue was $25.9 million, rising 6.1 percent from $24.4 million year-over-year was up 2 7 percent. The bi

Indirect tax software vendor Vertex reported revenue of $119.3 million for the second quarter ended June 30, a 13.7-percent increase from $104.9 million a year ago. Cloud revenue drove results with subscription revenue increasing  to 40 percent of the total from 36 percent of the total a year ago.

Vertex lost $5.5 million compared to $800,000 net income in last year’s corresponding period. The operating loss grew to $4.3 million from $1.5 million a year ago. In addition, average revenue per direct customer rose to $93,850 in the second quarter up 4.6 percent from $89,700 in the first quarter. Moreover, the company does not see growth slowing. ”The great news is we're not seeing any elongation or slowdown in our pipeline across all our verticals,” CEO David Destefano said during a recent earnings webcast

00:03:35 France-based ERP vendor Cegid has agreed to combine with Grupo Primavera. The deal is pictured as giving Cegid a strong presence in the Iberian peninsula and enhancing opportunities to expand on Latin America.

The announcement did not specify any revenue or transaction amount in the all stock deal but said the value of the larger Cegid as $6.9 billion. Both companies have been led by Sage veterans. The CEO of Cegid, Pascal Houillon, was CEO of Sage Americas from January 2011 through May 2015. Santiago Solanas, CEO of Grupo Primavera since December 2020, was with Sage for nine years 11 months and served as global chief marketing officer there from March 2014 through April 2017. Silver Lake will remain the majority shareholder of the combined company. Oakley Capital created Primavera starting with the 2019 purchase of Ekon, led by Solanas, and the acquired Primavera BBS in 2021.

 Syspro USA is hiring a channel VP for the United States. The word is hiring, not seeking candidates, as the online ads show applications are no longer being accepted.

The job description for the position in Tustin, Calif. noted the position involves building a reseller and referral partner network. The company also has been looking for a channel partner manager as part of the PartnerUp program, the iteration of the channel program Syspro USA introduced in 2018. Applications were still being accepted for that position as of this writing This appears to be a continuation of a redevelopment of the program since Michael Bennett was hired as Syspro’s global channel executive in 2018.

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.

index.php/component/rsform/form/31-2022-bob-scott-s-top-100-varsThe last two years have been like nothing else the mid-market has experienced--indeed like nothing most peope alive have experienced. But for the ERP channel, the pandemic produced opporuntity as remote work accelerated the move of businesses to the cloud.

But new opporunties and new problems usually go hand and hand and the demand for web-based financial products has been accompanied by a shortage of the consultants needed to install and implement them. This Special Report "Beyond the Pandemic" discusses these issues, as it announces the 2022 edition of Bob Scott's Top 100 VARs. It tells you where the leaders rank and examines how several of them have addressed the problems and the opportunities.

 Sponsored by:

Top 100 VARS Survivor? Given the pandemic over the last two year and the swift move to remote work and the cloud, it may have felt that way. But the top firms have done more than just survive--they have prospered.

We'll look at the trends impacting the market in a period that has been one of the most unusual events in the lives of most people--well, most of the earth's population. There's war in the Ukraine a virus outbreak exploding in China. So is the next year more likely to resemble thelast two years, or maybe there will be some return to the way life looked befoe March 2020

As we try to gain a handle on the market direction, the call for entries for Bob Scott's Top 100 VARs is open for the 2022 selection. So to receive a form for submission so you can be a part of this year's story, email to request a form and return it to  bob.scott@pmg360.com 

The title of this special report "Reselling the Era of COVID" sounds even more relevant with the recent outbreak of the Omicron variant. But one thing is for sure, the move to the cloud was accelerated by the pandemic in a way no one could have anticipated.

It has not beneftied everyone in the midmarket who sells ERP software. But a large number of resellers and software publishers have benefited, even as they work around issued such as remote work. So within that framework, we are pleased to announce the 100 resellers who have been chosen as VAR Stars for 2021 and share some of their experiences of the last year.

Just what kind of year has it been for the mid-market reselling community? It depends.

For some, it was very tough, but for others, it was the best year in their history as demand for cloud products drove business. If you were in segments such as hospitality and restaurants, it was very hard, if you were in ecommerce, things have never been better. Overall, it was a year of great change with the accelerated shift to the cloud from on-premise applications and the forced move to remote work which is producnglasting changes.

So click the button below to find out who made Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs for 2021 and many of their thoughts about the last year and the future