Company
More Than Thirty Years Of History
For over three decades, Suntower Systems has published Simple Accounting: a complete business accounting and management system in use by over 10,000 businesses throughout the world. We providing the most reliable solutions using the latest standards for the Microsoft Windows® platform. Each installation is customized for your business.
A Brief History
- 1985
- 1987
- 1988
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
- 1999
- 2003
- 2005
- 2013
- 2014
- 2016
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Beginnings
Suntower Systems opened for business on 12 May, 1985 initially to provide network consulting to automotive and related manufacturing companies in the Detroit area. We quickly began getting requests for customized accounting applications to replace expensive main-frame and proprietary systems at local shops.
The principals of Suntower Systems (and most of our other team members, as well) hail from Ireland, both the Republic and ‘The Six Counties’. So don’t be surprised if you hear a soft (or not so soft!) brogue at the other end of the phone when you call! In fact, many of us still speak an seán teanga (the old irish tongue).
The company logo was a stylized version of an actual place in Ireland ‘Tír Na Greinne’ (‘Tower Of The Sun’) in County Mayo. In the legend, it was a place where Irish heroes went to acquire powerful abilities and be able to see into the future. (Of course, many of our customers thought it was just a bar graph going up, up, up.)
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Simple Accounting
Through word-of-mouth, more and more requests for the same core accounting package began to pour in. Faced with the unenviable task of `re-inventing the wheel’ for every customer, the team created a core application in which everything the user sees is ‘data driven.’ This means that every part of the program in which users interact: The screen display, data entry screen, report
and even the menu system, are stored in a database. This allows the software to be easily customized by the user (creating their own reports/queries) and by us (modifying data entry screens) so that every customer can get, in effect, personalized software, without the custom price.The other major advantage of this approach is one of reliability. Since the core logic of the program remains the same, the reliability of the program is unaffected by changes in the user-interface. And reliability must be the main criteria in choosing an accounting package.
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Networking
But there was a problem: How do we sell a low cost, reliable multi-user accounting system without low cost, reliable networks? So in the spirit of DIY, we began researching ways to provide complete packages for our customers. We began partnering with LANtastic® from Artisoft, Inc and Novell®.
By 1996 Suntower Systems had served over 5000 customers throughout North America and published applications for eight vertical markets. Additionally we continue to increase our networking business by offering Groupware Management Services for several Fortune 500 in Southeastern Michigan.
So now we are authorized Microsoft Solution Providers, Novell Netware Dealers, Artisoft LANtastic Advantage Partners and IBM Certified System Engineers. Please contact us for all
your networking needs.
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Seattle
In 1996, Suntower Systems opened a new branch office in Seattle, WA. The Seattle is now home to all Simple Accounting development, while the Westland, MI office remains the corporate headquarters and the home base for networking services.
To mark this turning point, we also changed our image a bit (note the spiffy new logo, courtesy of local artist Danielle Cameron). The new logo embodies our new Northwest optimism. A quality we hope to transmit to all our customers, everywhere.
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Seattle
In May of 1997, the first fruits of our time in Seattle were realized as we shipped Simple Accounting for Forms Experts Windows Version 2.0 (WinSAFE 2.0 for short!) The good news is that within the first thirty days, over 400 units were shipped—the strongest initial response to Simple Accounting products ever!
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WebSAFE
OK, but we had something else even bigger in mind: the Internet, of course! You see we already had the technology to turn SAFE into WebSAFE: a complete web-based accounting solution for you and your customers that runs concurrently with your in-office system. Two years before anyone else, we were doing integrated, web-based transactions. Not just ‘web catalogs’.
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SAFE for Windows
Now Suntower Systems delivers SAFE Enterprise Edition, the latest version of our Simple Accounting software for forms distributors. The only complete solution for all size distributors of forms and office products.
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SAFE/SQL
In 2003 Suntower Systems debuted SAFE SQL, the sixth major release of Simple Accounting for Forms Experts. SAFE SQL is designed specifically to allow the largest distributors (or those who plan on it!) to completely integrate their company, their customers and their suppliers in a seemless network. But that’s just in January!
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Ollie
This year we released our On-Line Ordering Extensions Ollie; an easy to use web ordering system for end users with advanced features such as custom reporting, PDF templates, automatic reordering and multi-level approvals.
Learn More About Ollie -
SAFE-OS
Suntower Systems released new versions of SAFE, WebSAFE and Ollie which completed our transition to open-source and cloud-based services. Highlights included integration with the WordPress publication platform and an Android app for SAFE.
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What’s Next?
