Company History
It all started when Signature's predecessor, John Makepeace & Associates (JMA), worked in conjunction with three established Xerox licensees, to develope a DOS based software package designed to automate the day-to-day operations of a Xerox Shop in September 1989. The development of the original software concept took place in 1989 with a general market release in 1993. The IP was sold in 1994 to two companies and in 2000 these companies merged to form Signature Software. The first system was called the TXS Business Management System, its success led to numerous inquiries from other photocopier businesses. As a result, the JMA Copy Shop System evolved from the TXS System to a broader system designed to accommodate a wider range of photocopier and general office equipment businesses. The JMA release was in 1993. In April 1994, Designed Software Solutions Pty Ltd purchased the rights to the JMA Copy Shop System. JMA retained the Xerox Shop System (TXS) until December 1994 when Signature Software Pty Ltd, purchased the rights for the TXS System. At this time, 50% of the Xerox Shops in Australia were using the TXS system.
Both companies continued to develop, sell and support each product individually, yet work together to exchange information and in some cases, software source code. By 1996, there were some 92 users of the systems. Redevelopment of the DOS based software for compatibility with Windows led the two firms to combine resources, industry understanding and product knowledge into an informal partnership and eventually combined as one company under the Signature Software name Year 2000. In the same year, Signature was approached by Telstra to assist in the piloting of a retail remuneration management system for their planned Telstra Licensed Stores. After a 3-month beta test, Telstra accepted the system for the rollout of their Telstra Licensed Store network of stores. Office Automation companies and Telco businesses use one single software product (ICE) with corresponding support services. ICE is a software product developed in Delphi and interfaces with a relational database that is compatible with Firebird. ICE contains modules that encompass the functions that businesses encounter in their operations. These are Inventory control, Sales including POS, Debtors and Creditors as well as a General Ledger. There are also more specific modules tailored to certain types of businesses, which include Service of Equipment, Automatic Billing for accurate tracking of on-going service contracts, and Mobile and Fixed line phone connections. The future of Signature is primarily in web based software or software as a service (SAAS). We constantly look for any opportunities where a new module, or complete software addition could be developed as a web product instead of the current client server application. BillPoint is one of those opportunities that has proved to be a successful experience for the customer at an effective cost. |
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integrated
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Bringing together core management systems, (supply chain, assets, service, and customer management), and industry specific procedures provides Integrated Business Solutions that enables the removal of the barriers to optimal business efficiency. In addition, integrating industry specific procedures means that information is entered in once, and can be utilised across the entire system.
