Should You Consult For Microsoft, Intuit Or Both? A Developer’s Perspective

Platform Independence
For five years, BQE Software has been an Intuit Premier Partner, integrating
our flagship product BillQuick Time & Billing software with QuickBooks.
Our customers enjoy the benefits of powerful accounting and payroll solutions
provided by QuickBooks. However, when it comes to Time-Billing and Project Management
functionality, BillQuick’s advanced capabilities add much-needed vertical
depth to QuickBooks’ horizontal features.

Last year, Microsoft invited BQE Software to be one of six SBA Launch Partners.
This was quite an opportunity. On the surface, it looks like an obvious “Yeah”
decision, but there were many potential “gotchas.” For example,
what impact would this have on our already strong relationship with Intuit?
What would Microsoft’s approach be to partner relationships? And how complete
(or incomplete) is the early version of its Software Developer’s Kit (SDK)?

After meeting the Microsoft team and reviewing the early release of its SDK,
we knew Microsoft was making a serious commitment and that this was a huge opportunity
for BQE. A far more important strategic factor for us was that it would make
BillQuick truly “Platform Independent.” Users win here — big
time. Because BillQuick’s powerful capabilities make it the front-end
practice management solution for businesses that adopt it, the results of the
upcoming competition aren’t nearly as important to our users.

Intuit and Microsoft both offer accounting solutions with strong foundations
upon which developers like us can build. To some, the question would be, “Which
wagon should I hook my horse to?” We choose not to be the arbiter of “the
better software question.” Frankly, it would be an arrogant presumption
for us to declare either product the ideal accounting solution for every accounting,
law, architectural, engineering, consulting firm, etc. Too many factors are
involved, not the least of which are management style and accounting skills.

Also, neither Intuit nor Microsoft demands such singular loyalty. BQE Software
has enjoyed an excellent relationship with Intuit Developer Network management
and staff for a long time. A pleasant surprise, Microsoft’s response has
also been very friendly, and we have been quite impressed by their level of
attention and helpfulness.

The biggest difference in approach between the two companies is the speed
at which decisions are made. Compared to Microsoft, Intuit moves slowly and
carefully. Intuit’s domination of small business accounting afforded them
the luxury of taking things slowly and avoiding any big changes to its successful
QuickBooks product. Part of it, I believe, was the fear of “breaking”
what isn’t broken. No doubt this approach will change now that Microsoft
is in the race.

I predict that Intuit will make big changes and, once again, claim its innovative
cap to remind us why they are so successful to begin with.

Will QuickBooks Developers Follow?
A critical factor affecting your consulting services decision is the availability
of vertical market depth among solutions your clients need that integrate with
QuickBooks and SBA. Industry-specific capabilities are essential. Obviously,
Intuit and Microsoft cannot be everything to everybody.

Like any strategic business decision, deciding to consult or develop for a
new platform demands careful analysis. Among the critical issues are
the following: How much must be invested (time, funds) to work with SBA? How
many customers will they acquire, and what percentage of these new customers
will need my services or software? If you are considering developing for either
platform, it’s important for you to understand the underlying technology
in their SDKs.

QuickBooks’ SDK employs an “XML Wrapper” in its control
mechanism for integrated third-party applications. The XML controller is part
of a three-tier gateway between BillQuick (for example) and QuickBooks data.
This makes it easy to integrate with QuickBooks, but, in general, it results
in a slower internal process and demands a larger memory footprint. In comparison,
Microsoft’s SDK has a direct link to its database and works faster.

On the other hand, QuickBooks’ SDK supports “batch updates.”
Efficiently, a program issues a single command to do the job. SBA’s control
mechanism supports updating only one record at a time. If you want to save 50
records, for instance, an application must send the “save” command
to SBA’s controller for each record.

Another factor is whether integration can be achieved without the SDK. SBA
utilizes the Microsoft SQL Desktop Engine (MSDE). This can easily migrate to
the full SQL Server database as your company grows. Derived from its state-of-the-art
SQL Server database product, MSDE opens the door for direct data access utilizing
Microsoft Access or Excel, for example. For this do-it-yourself integration,
the SDK is not needed. In comparison, the only doorway into QuickBooks data
is through its SDK.

The upside: MSDE allows easy access to data.

The downside: MSDE allows easy access to data.

The direct data access approach carries a security risk and possible data
corruption. How does this bear on your decision to consult? We predict that
most third-party QuickBooks developers will integrate with SBA. Its SDK is powerful
and easy to learn. The fact that its SDK was written from the ground up with
the product gives it a better structure and blends very well with Microsoft’s
development tools such as Visual Studio.Net. In short, many solutions will be
available, and many of your clients and prospects will be asking you about SBA,
leading to more opportunities for you.

QuickBooks vs. SBA – Inevitable?

It is unfair to compare features and functions in QuickBooks and Microsoft
Small Business Accounting. QuickBooks is a mature product, with years of improvements
derived from customer and market feedback. While Microsoft has obviously done
a great deal of research and learned from its competitors, feature-by-feature
comparisons should wait two to three years. Microsoft will work very hard to
match QuickBooks’ full functionality. Intuit, on the other hand, will
continue to innovate and make it a difficult race for Microsoft.

Still, three critical items should be mentioned. On the upside, SBA integrates
seamlessly with Microsoft Office. Most exceptional is the ease, speed and simplicity
of integration with Excel, Outlook and Word. The downside is that SBA does not
offer an Accountant version like QuickBooks. Also, it does not offer an in-house
payroll module comparable to QuickBooks’ Do-It-Yourself Payroll. (SBA
integrates with ADP Payroll.)

While shortcomings for many potential users, these items will not be issues
for long. Microsoft’s huge ecosystem and extensive developer management
and partnering experience will reverse them very soon. As noted above, many
independent QuickBooks developers will integrate their solutions with SBA. Also,
the need for an Accountant’s Version will drop dramatically once Microsoft’s
new Windows Vista (code name: Longhorn) and its collaborative tools like SharePoint
services are in place and an integral part of the operating system. In the next
few years, these new capa-bilities will allow secure and easy collaboration
between an accounting firm and its clients with a few simple clicks. Although
the race has just started, the winner is already declared — you and your
clients.

Bottom Line
Should you consult on one or both applications? Both. Whether you currently
consult on QuickBooks or not, you should invest time in SBA. Its core target
market for the next few years will be the small business owners with very limited
(if any) accounting skills. With consulting, other service opportunities will
present themselves.

Current and future clients need consulting, advisory and part-time CFO services
in order to effectively implement QuickBooks and SBA to solve their accounting
pain points. If you do not meet the demand, someone else will.