History of A-Systems Software

Contractor III

In the 1970's, Michael Donald Wise was regarded as a computer expert. He was self-trained, having learned to program when he wrote the operating system for his Sphere I computer. At the time, that kind of training was not available in universities, where COBOL was one of the primary programming languages.

In 1977, Mike was approached by a contractor who needed help buying a computer and an accounting system for his construction company. Between the price of hardware and software, the cost came to over $200,000—far more than the contractor wished to invest. Mike proposed writing a totally new accounting program.

Working with the contractor and the contractor’s CPA, Mike created a job cost accounting program for the CP/M operating system. Following the CPA’s guidance, Mike followed Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP). At the same time, the contractor provided insights into the types of reports he needed to effectively monitor job costs. Together, they named their finished product, "Contractor III," reflecting the contribution of each party. Mike purchased the rights to sell the program and it became the basis of A-Systems Corporation, which was formally organized on May 15, 1978. He raised money from sales and hired programmers to expand the functionality of Contractor III.

Mike truly was inventive; he had the capacity to think out of the box. He created many ease-of-use conveniences that were not available in accounting programs at the time. For instance, all accounting systems at the time were limited to transactions in one fiscal period at a time. As a result, it was necessary to "close a month" before transactions for the next month could be entered. Mike designed Contractor III so that 18 accounting periods could be open at any time. That meant accounting could be a continual process, months could be "closed" as they were finished, and the accounting department was able to keep up with the work on a daily basis. This was a radical concept at the time, but, in time, many other accounting programs followed.

Contractor III was originally written in BASIC to run in the operating system CP/M. It was distributed on 8” floppy diskettes. When it was installed, it included the raw code, so it required an interpreter to run the code. A number of minicomputers could run the program, including the WANG 2200, one of the most affordable at the time.

DOS - It wasn’t until 1981 that IBM introduced its PC (and MS-DOS), and computing came to desktops at far more affordable prices. Mike immediately moved his new accounting program to DOS, making it the first job costing program written for the PC. Contractor III quickly became very popular with PC users.

In time, lack of capital, the one factor common to nearly all small businesses, created struggles for Mike. Eventually, he was forced to sell the copyright to his program in order to stay afloat. The financial stress, along with Mike’s declining health, caused him to turn the company over to one of his investors, a successful architect, who reluctantly took ownership. Busy with his own career, the architect simply did not have time to be involved in daily operations. Mike tried to help when his health allowed, but it was difficult for him to do so. In time, he met an experienced business manager who was interested in turning A-Systems around. In August 1993, Arnold Grundvig agreed to acquire A-Systems. Over time, he bought out all but one of the shareholders, leaving the architect with a small stake. Shortly thereafter, the copyright was resolved.

Windows - In time, the Windows operating system was improved to become a more stable environment—something more suitable to reliably run a professional accounting program. In 1999, A-Systems released a windows version of the software, known as A-Systems JobView. It had all of the innovations included in the DOS version, along with countless new functions requested by users.

A-Systems Corp

A-Systems has developed accounting software for contractors for 45 years, making it one of the longest running software companies in the world.

A-Systems JobView is continuously enhanced, with two comprehensive updates per year, along with interim updates as needed. A-Systems meets the needs and wants of its clients by actively soliciting ideas for new features and functions. In addition to providing powerful, affordable, easy-to-use construction management software, A-Systems distinguishes itself by providing personal service to successful general contractors and subcontractors across the USA.

A-Systems has been profitable and debt-free for over a quarter of a century. Most of the company’s larger competitors have sold out since the recession of 2007-2008, but A-Systems remains fiercely independent. It is owned, managed, and headquartered in the USA.