Dealers Slam SU For Margin Slide

Systems Union has been accused of using bully-boy tactics in its revised tough stance on margins

Dealers have lashed out at accountancy software firm Systems Union (SU) after the vendor introduced tougher rules on margins last month.

Under the revised scheme, dealers will have to fulfil discretionary targets as well as volume-based targets to maintain existing margins. To be able to claim discretionary rebate, which represents a margin of about 10 per cent, dealers have to be competent in four areas including overseas sales, vertical market sales and customer satisfaction.

But one dealer accused SU of penalising the channel. ?There?s no talk of margins going up, only down. Systems Union have been expanding its direct sales for the past year, so people have been signing up with other authors. It seems to be reacting by saying ?do what we say or else?. There?s been no discussion about it,? he said.

But Paul White, Systems Union indirect sales manager, claimed the system was more flexible. ?We understand that there may be concern among dealers, but our policy was three-and-a-half years old, so we?ve revised it because it wasn?t relevant any more.

?We want to focus sales. There?s no point in restricting revenue into the channel if we want to grow our business, so no one?s margin is being revised down.?

According to White, the system would work by agreeing ?specific objectives with dealers?. ?On that basis of success or failure, changes would be made?, he said.

David Robbins, managing director of Systems Union dealer Icos, said: ?We?re one of their longest-standing partners and since we are committed to their product and growing their business, then we anticipate that we will enjoy the margins that we have enjoyed in the past.

?There is, of course, the discretionary element, but we would only be concerned if we felt that we would not be able to achieve at least the same margins as we were used to.?