The company has already announced an accountant track would be offered for the first time ever at its annual Insights reseller conference, being held in Denver in May. And following that event, Warawa and executives plan to hit the road on an eight-to-12-city tour that is designed to give accountants a chance to express their views. Plans are still being created, Connie Certusi, senior VP and general manager for the company's Small Business Accounting Solutions group will be present for all and other executives, depending on the city, will also likely attend.
"It’s a key piece for me that we take down the walls between them [accountants] and our executives," says Warawa.
The company has also been working to standardize its programs across its wide product line and lining up programs for small business accounting packages is going to get the same treatment. Warawa is responsible for programs for products including BusinessWorks, BusinessVision, Simply Accounting and Master Builder.
"If they (partners) have three different products, we want to make it’s not three different sign ups," she says.
The accountants being hired are called accountant advocates and Sage is seeking those who have years of experience and can talk the language of accounting professionals. "They are not selling anything. They are trying to help you with your business," she says.
A certification program for Peachtree, which has never been offered, is scheduled to be launched about the time of the Insights conference. The company also is hiring a staffer to help place Sage's software products in more university and college classrooms.