IRIS Software, a U.K.-based provider of accounting software, has acquired AccountantsWorld, a longtime provider of accounting and payroll software and cloud-based services to accountants, based in Hauppauge, New York.
The deal is part of IRIS’s goal of expanding its foothold in North America. Its brands include IRIS Star Practice Management, IRIS FMP, IRIS Innervision, Practice Engine, Doc.It (which it acquired in July 2021), PSI Payroll, Senta and Conarc (which it acquired in September 2021).
AccountantsWorld has been a pioneer in the cloud-based accounting technology space; it was co-founded in 1984 as Micro Vision Software by Dr. Chandra Bhansali and his wife Sharada, after Sharada discovered an error on their tax return and they decided to write their own tax software. Micro Vision was one of the first companies to develop Windows-based client write-up, payroll, tax and practice management software for accountants, and, after the World Wide Web became popular, to develop an online service for accountants called AccountantsWorld.com in 1999. The company was renamed AccountantsWorld in 2003 and capitalized on the increasing popularity of cloud-based technology for client accounting services. Unlike many of its competitors over the years, it has resisted being acquired by larger companies until now. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
