DELHI, INDIA: In a bid to tap the small business opportunity, Busy Infotech launched an accounting software called Starter's Edition for as low as Rs. 199. It is the first time that an accounting software has been made available at such low costs.

Speaking about the product Dinesh Kumar Gupta, MD, Busy Infotech said, “This product has almost everything a small business would require. It is a no-frills product which has been very successful.”

Gupta added that they have tied up with a few vendors to bundle the software with computers, and made it available for use in exhibitions. Last year, during the trial phase of the software, Busy Infotech managed to sell 20,000 licenses, and this year they are targeting to sell 50,000.

Explaining the rational behind the launch of a no-frills affordable software, Gupta said, “We have launched Starter's Edition to provide a solution to people who go pirated software due to the price factor. More than 80 percent of people use pirated products so it is a big market. We hope that when these people will adopt this software, and as their requirements grow they will opt for our other basic products. If it does well it will lead to further sales of our other products.”

Busy is also hopeful that Starter's Edition will help them penetrate the markets, which is otherwise a difficult task. “It is a strategic product people can buy impulsively without a demonstration. With it we aim to grow in markets we are not presently in,” added Gupta. At present the software has been bundled with Intel (CPUs), HP, Intex, Wipro, TVS-E and Epson, and acts as a value-add for products from these vendors.

Apart from India, Starter's Edition has also been launched in markets like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Middle East, Nigeria and Ghana. “These regions' accounting requirements are similar to that in India. We have also found that in small businesses the driver of accounting software is the statutory requirements,” shared Gupta.