SilverSun Technologies is doing another deal in which the company plans to sell itsself and spin off its operating businesses into another company, which will then go public.

The end result is that the current leaders of SilverSun parent of SWK Technologies, including CEO Mark Meller. will continue to run the businesses in the mid-market. The existing shareholders will receive a $2.5-million special dividend.  SilverSun is being sold to Jacobs Private Equity II which will contribute $900 million while co-investors, including Sequoia Heritage will invest $100 million and then rename the company.  The current SilverSun shareholds will have an equity in Jacbos' company. This agreement is somewhat similar to the aborted effort by bitminer Rhodium to buy SilverSun through a reserve acquisition and then spin off a company to handle the current operations. That deal was called off after a year when the parties could not complete it. Brad Jacobs will become CEO and chair of SilverSun Technologies, which will essentially act like a special acquisitions company in using its assets to buy other businesses with the invested funds. The announcement said Jacobs has built five multi-billion dollar publicly traded companies included United Rentals and United Waste Systems.

 Quisitive Technology Solutions reported a 9.1-percent decline in sales for the third quarter ended September. But at the same time, cost-cutting helped it cut its loss to 40-percent year-over-year.

The Toronto, Ont.-based Dynamics reseller lost $1.3-million loss versus a loss of $2.14 million in last year's corresponding quarter. Global Cloud Solutions, which encompasses the reseller business, reported revenue of $30.7 million in the most recently ended period, off 13.4 percent from $36 million a year ago. Revenue for Global Payment Solutions dropped to $13.7 million, off 7 percent from $12.8 million in last year’s corresponding period. The payments business is the PayiQ operations which are being sold to Fulcrum IT Partners, said  current market conditions mean “investment and execution poses challenges” for building PayiQ, a factor in the decision to sell the operation. The divestment of PayiQ, expected to be completed by January 1, is expected to save $12-million annually in capital costs. Quisitive will also be a reseller of PayiQ products. On the Cloud front, CEO Mike Reinhart noted a return to improvement in margins but said, “Our revenue generarting capacity has been impacted by cost-cutting measures.”  In general, the company is exploring cross-selling opportunities with Reinhart saying Fulcrum has a big portfolio of retail customers that are target customers for Dynamics applications. While Quisitive expects modest growth in the first half of 2024 it expects that the AI boom will contribute to additional sales, while deals that had been deferred by large customers are now closing.

Intuit announced QuickBooks Enterprise and again achieve revenue growth “in the low 20s” in terms of percentage growth the same week it said QBE will be the only desktop QB package sold to new customers after July 31.

After that, the company will only sell desktop version of QB to current purchases of the following: Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus and Enhanced Payroll. In the final desktop chapter, QB helped the software company’s desktop QB business to achieve year-over-revenue growth of 14 percent for the first quarter ended October 31.  Desktop QB’s steady growth came as QB Online revenue rose by 22.3 percent over the same period.  CFO Sandeep Singh Aujla said in the recent earnings webcast that QB desktop revenue was also helped by price increases on multiple products in September “consistent with our principle to price for value”.  In addition, QBO growth was fueled by pricing action, along with adding more customers and a shift in the mix of versions sold. QBO posted revenue of $762 million in the quarter, compared to $623 million a year earlier. First-revenue revenue for QBO hit $2.85 billion, rising 25.7. percent from $2.27 billion. Services is the area where QBO growth outstrips desktop. Desktop services were flat at $1.17 billion. However, the same category for QBO reached $2.91. billion, a 34 percent rise form $2.17 billion. Overall, QBO ecosystem revenue shot past $5 billion, hitting $5.76 billion, up from $4.44 billion a year earlier. QBO services received a boost from MailChimp, payroll, payments, capital and time tracking. Overall, Intuit posted income of $241 million in the most recently ended period, up from $40 million. Revenue grew 15 percent to slightly less than $3 billion from $2.6 billion in last year’s corresponding period.

Nancy Teixeira, who formerly led Sage’s North American channel, has joined reseller Net at Work as VP of corporate development.

She will oversee M&A and also contribute to the expand of the Net at Work Partner Alliance Program. Teixeira was with Sage for eight years four months and led the partner channel from May 2019 through January. She then spent nine months at LeaseQuery, leaving in September. Net at Work says its alliance program which includes resellers, MSPs and professional services consultants, has more than 300 partners. M&A is expected to be an active area since the reseller received an investment of undisclosed size from private equity firm, Lovell Minnick Partners. Co-president Alex Solomon, whose firm has acquired several small Sage and Acumatica resellers and practices, plans to use some of the funds to buy larger dealers

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.

Submissions are closing for Bob Scott’s VAR Stars for 2023.

But your firm can still be considered if you act quickly. VAR Stars is designed to acknowledge 100 quality firms in the mid-market reselling business for financial software regardless of size. Firms chosen in past years have included single-person firms all the way up to the largest VARs.  We are looking for firms that building their business around ERP applications that have shown growth, produced innovative products or contributed in other ways, such as showing leadership and vision, to the mid-market. To receive a form, please contact me at [email protected] and return your information as soon as possible.

To say the broad economic picture is confusing when applied to mid-market reselling would be an understatement.

Many observers expect a recession and some report sales cycles stretching out. Meanwhile, the immediate problem for many firms is a shortage of consultants to handle all the cloud implementations—a recession might send more businesses scrambling for SaaS financial software for more efficient operations. In a world reshaped by the Covid shutdown, remote work drove an accelerated interest in cloud computing. It's a new world in which how the forces interplay is yet to be fully understood.

This year's Special Report for Bob Scott's Top 100 VARs, "A Tougher Road Ahead?" looks at the thoughts of leaders in the channel and in the vendor community about these issues and the trends that have impacted ERP mid-market resellers over the last year. Of course, this report also features 100 reselling firms that have been chosen based on revenue. This year's list includes more than the usual number of newcomers and the expectation is, next year will reflect the continue rapid pace of change in technology and layers.

There is still time to submit a form for consideration in Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs for 2023—but just barely.

 This year’s special report will once again discuss the trends in the mid-market ERP industry. With many expecting a recession ahead, how is this business faring as demand for cloud accounting is still strong and a majority of businesses have not moved away from on-premise systems, yet.? If you are interested in having your firm considered, please complete the attached form and return it ASAP to [email protected]

The pandemic is gone, or at least just simmering, and ERP resellers are moving from a period of explosive cloud growth to one of economic uncertainty with many technology companies laying off staff.

But there are many companies that have yet to adopt cloud-based financial software and the best firms adapt and thrive as situations change. Thiis year’s Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs will look at the much-changed conditions in the market served by ERP dealers. Those trends will be discussed as part of the special report in which this year’s Top 100 are named.

To be considered please complete a form and submit it to [email protected] as soon as possible.