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The former managing director of PTP Software has joined as a Director of Keytime, one of the last of the independents with a significant presence in the tax software market.

Vaughan Thompson successfully steered PTP from a fledgling business with a turnover of £120,000 in its first year to a company with sales of £2.5 million when he left four years ago, helping to build it into one of the leading suppliers of tax software in the UK.

As such he had repositioned PTP from well below the acquisition radar to “a very attractive target” – the end result being the recent takeover by Iris.

It was a as a direct result of this that Vaughan decided the time was right to move back into the tax and related software arena.

Before joining Keytime Vaughan reviewed their Tax Professional program, and says that “I was surprised by just how good the software is, it does everything that PTP’s Tax Return does, often much better and more besides. Capital allowances and opening years calculators are included as standard and reports are clear and easily obtained”.
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Having closely monitored what is happening – and what is likely to happen – he felt that Keytime offered the best vehicle to resolve the uncertainty for accountants that had effectively found that they had been “bought up” by a much larger supplier.

Vaughan warns “These acquisitions will inevitably lead to customers of what once were independent suppliers facing higher prices, and software packages that are alien to them”.

“In the case of PTP users in particular, no real change was promised for three years and there is only a year to go. It simply doesn’t seem to make economic sense to keep several development teams in place, especially as PTP’s tax compliance software is produced by a third party.”

“Let’s not forget that unlike the independents, who traditionally have been an offshoot of the accountancy profession, focussing on the needs of their customers, the larger suppliers are focused on the needs of their investors”