[ ASP news ] [ publications ] [ forum ] [ about us ] [ directory ]
NEWS
Aug 9th 1999: A startup backed by Oracle boss Larry Ellison today announced $5-a-month online accounting for small businesses. NetLedger charges companies a monthly fee of $4.95 for up to 1000 transactions and 10 users. The prospective customers are small businesses with from one to fifty employees. Due to go live later this month, the service is accessed from a standard version 4.0 or above web browser, and NetLedger's marketing will major on its "anywhere, anytime" accessibility, VP of marketing Bill Mirbach told ASP News Review in a briefing last week. "In focus groups, [business owners] really clicked to that - you could see that turning on lightbulbs," he said. NetLedger will also stress its use of the Oracle8i platform and its ability to deliver enterprise-strength security and high-speed reporting, even of historical data. The service is hosted by Oracle's ASP operation, making it the first ASP hosting contract announced by Oracle Business OnLine (BOL). "BOL is banking its reputation on never losing the data of Fortune 500 companies. We're allying ourselves with the gold standard of reliability," said Mirbach. The Oracle division is passing small company leads across to NetLedger, he added. The service provides accounts receivable, accounts payable and general ledger modules, allowing small businesses and their accountants to enter transactions, view reports and maintain lists of customers and vendors. It includes a facility for instant import of Quickbooks data. Users print cheques, invoices and reports using free-of-charge Adobe Acrobat software. After completing an initial free trial period, customers will pay annually in advance, but will be able to cancel at any time and get a pro-rata refund for the unused days. There is no setup fee. Customers configure user profiles themselves and can allocate variable access rights. In addition to the entry-level $60-a-year band for up to 10 users, two additional bands will be introduced, said Mirbach, but they have not yet been finalised. NetLedger's breakthrough price point has been achieved by applying a standard margin over its development and operating costs, said Mirbach. "We can make money at what we're pricing it for." It will offer other services alongside the core accounting function, generating additional revenue opportunities. These will include online payroll services operated by partner providers, specialised extra NetLedger modules such as job costing, and a range of integrated extra applications such as online stores, customer relationship management and electronic purchasing. Optional system features such as extra backups will also incur an supplement. "The model is integrated outsourced apps for small business," said Mirbach. Later plans include the ability to integrate with central offices running Oracle Financials, for instance in an extranet or franchise business environment. NetLedger adopted the flat-rate banded price model as a result of focus group research, said Mirbach. Prospective customers wanted to avoid the administrative overhead of having to account for a per-user or per-transaction fee. Based in Menlo Park CA, the company was founded September 1998 with the personal backing of Oracle CEO and founder Larry Ellison, who is its chairman. NetLedger's founder and CEO Evan Goldberg was formerly a leading developer at Oracle Corp and held a VP position before moving on to found an Internet graphics software business. When he subsequently suggested the NetLedger concept to Ellison, the Oracle CEO decided to fund the venture on the spot. Rather than competing with other ASPs, the company believes its entry to the market will boost the sector. "The potential for us breaking the ice for other ASPs is going to be great," said Mirbach. "If we can get everyone using online accounting, they'll use everything online."
Copyright © 1999, Farleit Limited. All Rights Reserved. |
ANALYSIS
|