Open Accounts
Enterprise software of the year. Investment in research and development brings rewards, as this two-time winner's performance proves.
Enterprise software of the year. Investment in research and development brings rewards, as this two-time winner's performance proves.
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In a stiffly fought contest in this category, OpenAccounts Financials has retained its coveted title for a second year running.
Getting to the top is difficult but maintaining that position is even harder. OpenAccounts Financials has proved once again this year that its software outperforms, on many levels, that of its competitors, ensuring ease-of-use and accessibility to finance as well as non-finance people.
The judges were greatly impressed by the investment in research and development of the company, which is neither the biggest nor the most-established player in the enterprise field.
It won’t surprise users and industry watchers that the company won this award for a second time. A glance over its financial growth figures and customer satisfaction levels swiftly confirms its award-winning status.
The company has also won a growing number of new finance system contracts to add to its list of clients in the charity and not-for-profit sector, further boosting its reach and accessibility.
Jonathan Kalemera, finance director at CAFCASS, says: ‘Extended finance allows us to work with the non-finance people locally. What extended finance has allowed us to do is to work with people who are engaged in other functions without having to become finance experts. With public sector efficiencies, being able to use non-finance people across departments and organisations like ours is the future.’
For the financial year 2003/2004, the company reported 37.6% profit growth on last year, rising to £1.1m. It also revealed 19.6% revenue growth on turnover of £8.9m with 14% of revenues allocated to research and development. In fact, OpenAccounts has grown at around 20% per year for the last seven years and has been profitable every quarter.
An independent customer survey revealed in spring this year that 100% of respondents rated OpenAccounts financials’ ability to do what is expected from a financial system as good or excellent. An emphatic 90% of customers surveyed said they would definitely recommend OpenAccounts.
The judges said: ‘Users rated its ease of use and value particularly highly, though it scored well across the board. Customer satisfaction is high and users rate it.’
Its continued customer satisfaction levels have also assured the company a consistent inflow of new customers.
In the last financial year alone, it won 91 new business customers. The company currently boasts around 750 customers with 170 international sites outside the UK and Ireland.
Roy Budge, finance manager at CORGI, said: ‘I have witnessed many finance system implementations over the years, and OpenAccounts has been by far the most successful implementation I have ever seen.’
To win, OpenAccounts had to see off other high-end financial and business software solutions aimed at the needs of large corporations with a need to integrate with transactional systems.
This award also covered software that addresses the practice management needs of accountancy firms with 16 or more partners.