Ron and Ed welcomed Sage Intacct Partner Brian Terrell to the show to talk about his transition to offering implementations as a subscription service. The BTerrell Group has offered this option for over a year and we talked with Brian about the results thus far.

Before we get to the show notes, here is a bit more about Brian…

Brian Terrell founded BTerrell Group in 1991 and oversees management and strategy for this Dallas based provider of Sage Intacct financial management software. Sage Intacct is the only accounting application ever to be designated by the AICPA as their Preferred Provider of Financial Applications. In addition, BTerrell’s experienced developers tailor the application’s business functionality to exact customer requirements, when necessary. Born in Plainview, Texas, Brian grew up on a farm where he learned the importance of a strong work ethic and conservative principles. From there, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University before starting a career with Arthur Andersen & Co. In February 1991, Brian and his wife Nancy began practicing public accounting with Terrell & Terrell, CPAs. Within a year, the firm refocused all professional services exclusively on accounting software and business automation and eventually rebranded as BTerrell Group in 2008. Brian rides 125 miles a week as an avid cyclist and ride leader for the Plano Bicycle Association. He and his wife Nancy live in Dallas and recently celebrated the birth of their third grandchild.

Here are the questions Ron and Ed presented to Brian during the show.

How did you go from farming to being a CPA?
I have to ask you, Brian, because I was asked this recently and it just kind of stuck in my mind. If you were starting your practice over, what would you do differently?
When did you pivot to subscription? And why did you do it? What was the motivation?
What's the difference between a subscription and taking an annual price and dividing it by 12?
What has been the reaction that you've gotten from some of your fellow Sage partners that you've talked to about doing this?
Have you been asked to go back to doing implementations the old way by some prospects?
When charing for implementations by subscription, what happens after they're implemented? Aren't customers going to want to lower price?
What has been the reaction of the folks inside your organization as you made this transition to subscription? Let me ask it a little bit differently: Did they think you were crazy, too?
Talk to us about what you consider a cost of goods sold. Why would you why would you think that that's the right way to go with an implementation as a subscription?
What does subscribing to your firm do to the customer from a psychological perspective? I think there's a huge psychological difference between entering into a transaction with a professional or getting a bunch of services, versus subscribing to their firm.
Do you also find the subscription business model to be a competitive advantage in that it's very hard to compare your offering to the competition?
Have you found better pricing power with the subscription model?
Have you found a way to model customer lifetime value?
Do you use any specific software to track your financial subscription KPIs?
What other KPIs do you look at besides the financial ones?
What is the future of ERP software maybe five or even 10 years out? What's your thinking on that?

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

This week was “bonus episode 394 - Umpteenth subscription economy update”. Here are a few links discussed: