Intuit Developer Network | Sales and Marketing -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 12/17/2003
Last Visited: 7/11/2004
Brad Waddell
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Meet IDN charter member Brad Waddell
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Brad WaddellBrad Waddell discovered a way to solve a hairy problem in QuickBooks.
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Waddell.With FLEXquarters' products, ProAdvisors can press one button and export the numbers."We've eliminated their grudge work," he adds.
The FLEXquarters tools work much like printer drivers, explains Waddell."You install different model printers, but as long as you have a driver, or translator, to talk to it, it will work with all of your applications."He applies this straightforward model to QuickBooks accounting data to make that data look just like other data sources, such as dBase, Access, and SQL Server.
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"We offer inexpensive products that serve the entire QuickBooks user base," explains Waddell.While other developers and ProAdvisors are among his customers, his 10-person team ensures that the FLEXquarters products are for everyone, vs. those in specific vertical industries."We built our products from the ground up.They're designed for any QuickBooks user to have access to information they need from whatever application they use," he says.
Waddell's company has been building ODBC drivers since 1995 and completed its first product in 1998, before the first QuickBooks SDK was complete.The company waited to release its product, however, until the initial QuickBooks SDK was released."Accountants are picky about their files, so we didn't want to upset any accountants by getting into their QuickBooks files through a back door approach and just shelved the product until 2002," explains Waddell.
"But now [with the QuickBooks SDK], we work with Intuit so that all transactions with our products are validated by QuickBooks.IDN has been extremely supportive and has afforded us every business opportunity," he adds.