Kaseya Adds Billing Capabilities to MSP Toolset
An expansion of Kaseya's automated IT systems management software toolset that will be available later this month brings the Swiss vendor closer to offering an end-to-end solution for smaller managed services providers.
The company introduced two new modules for its Kaseya IT Automation platform. Service Billing 1.0 is designed to allow MSPs to automate billing from a central portal. That module is integrated with the new Service Desk 1.3, which tracks billable time against open tickets and work orders and includes other enhancements to streamline the ticket process from ticket entry to remediation, according to the company. A related enhancement is integration of Service Billing with Intuit QuickBooks for generating invoices and processing receipts.
Kaseya traditionally played on the remote monitoring and management side of the MSP marketplace, relying on partnerships with professional services automation (PSA) vendors like Autotask, Connectwise and Tigerpaw for most business, time tracking and billing functions.
Gerald Beaulieu, director of product marketing for Kaseya, says the company will continue to enhance its integration with those PSA vendors. At this point, the new Kaseya tools are for smaller MSPs for whom the PSA tools are overkill, he says.
"We've been primarily [designing] this solution set for the smaller end of the service provider space -- around five employees" and up, Beaulieu says. Of Kaseya's existing MSP customer base of roughly 4,000 providers, about half are potential candidates for the new service tools, he says.
"Within that base, it's probably about 20 percent using a PSA," Beaulieu says. "They're primarily using Excel, QuickBooks and some other solutions they may have cobbled together. We really think we can provide them with a great solution out of the box."
Subscriptions for Service Billing start at $0.75 per seat per month and for Service Desk at $1.50 per seat per month. Both are also available through a perpetual license and both will be offered as either a cloud service or on-premise solution.
Posted by Scott Bekker on April 22, 2011