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"we'd like to see close to two hundred" channel partners overall.
Jan Groth, director, public sector strategy
When Intuit disclosed in May its plan to buy American Fundware, "We had some resellers ask, 'Does this mean we have to start selling QuickBooks?'" recalls Jan Groth, Fundware president at the time. Her answer: "That's not what this acquisition is all about."
Rather, it's about leveraging Fundware's not-- for-profit fund accounting expertise in tandem with Intuit's brand and channel strengths to more deeply penetrate the NFP sector, she insists. "Look at the [product] name Intuit chose to continue with"-- namely, Intuit FundWare.
Now operating as Intuit Public Sector Solutions, the Denver-based operation continues under Michael Potts, formerly American Fundware's chief executive and now an Intuit vice president. Groth's new title is director of public sector strategy. Head count, standing at about 75, is essentially intact, although expected to increase fairly quickly to 100 or so.
Intuit's plans for growth are shown in its expectation that FundWare will contribute $15 million to $20 million in revenue in fiscal year 2003, which started August 1. FundWare's previous owner, The Flagship Group, had sales of $10.1 million in the year ended June 30, 2001, up from $9.7 million the prior year. It earned $1.1 million in fiscal 2001. Revenue was $8.4 million for the nine months ended March 30, 2002.
Before the acquisition, FundWare had struggled to get its Windows program to market and lost resellers. It had 120 resellers four years ago, and a staff of 106 early in 2000. But the staff was trimmed in fiscal 2000, a year in which it lost $9.5 million.