MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. —Intuit Inc., a maker of financial and service software for individuals and businesses, began a marketing program last year called "Right for My Business." The heart of the program is the ability to offer small businesses all the services they might need for accounting, management, inventory and e-business, from one company.

In that vein, Intuit began a comprehensive acquisition strategy in 2001, buying OMware, a provider of software to construction companies; American Fundware, a provider of software to the public sector; CBS Payroll, a payroll software provider; and Management Reports, Inc., a software provider for property managers.

The latest acquisition is Eclipse, Inc., a provider of business software for wholesale durable goods distributors. The purchase gives Intuit the opportunity to offer distribution management software and services to companies that already use Intuit's leading accounting product, QuickBooks.

"The acquisition fits all three elements of our strategy: serving larger and more complex businesses, providing solutions beyond accounting and providing industry-specific solutions," said Intuit president and CEO Steve Bennett.

The company will be selling distribution management and e-business solutions in a highly competitive market for those products, which includes vendors like NxTrend, Prophet 21, Tribute, and others.

Most vendors of distribution software sell the basics: inventory management, warehouse management, customer relationship and sales management software, said Michael Honig, director of business development at Intuit Eclipse. Most have accounting programs of varying degrees of complexity. However, Intuit's purchase of Eclipse places both companies in an enviable position, Honig said.

Intuit's purchase of the company provides a major opportunity to market Eclipse's wholesale distribution software to the approximately 225,000 distributors that use Intuit's QuickBooks accounting software, Honig said. He thinks distributors who already own an Intuit brand will readily consider purchasing Eclipse's software.