René Martín Torres Fragoso, CONTPAQi® President, and CEO: “We are pioneers in accounting and administrative software. Our goal is to promote companies and professionals throughout Mexico”

Nowadays, in the digital world, accounting software has become an integral part of business transactions. The programs offered can vary based on the scope because some programs are designed to carry more punch than simple bookkeeping, while there are programs that are designed to fully manage the financial comings and goings of big corporations. Accounting software can offer many new capabilities for you to optimize your business. From basic billing and invoicing to project management and tax calculation, it is highly important to have robust accounting software in your strategies. It also helps in reconciling bank accounts, managing clients, and generating financial reports that nurture the growth of business continuously and smoothly.

Globally, there are various companies delivering excellent accounting solutions, but one that stands out from the rest is CONTPAQi^®. Since 1984, CONTPAQi^® has been the pioneer in the software industry. René and his partners Bertha Limón and José Luis de Alba, democratized the technology by introducing a programming language that allowed them to express a big idea in a few code lines. Thus, with the firm intention to facilitate the life of both individuals and companies, CONTPAQi^® developed software addressing the need to facilitate tax procedures for the fiscal year. At the time, only big corporations had access to this technology; however, CONTPAQi^® software had a price of only a tenth of the regular cost. With this pricing, a lot of SMEs had access to computer technology for the first time. CONTPAQi^® believes in maintaining leadership in innovation. The offer is diversified in specialized products for accounting, billing, training, and expense control, serving companies of a variety of sizes in different industries.

In conversation with René Martín Torres Fragoso, President, and CEO of CONTPAQi^®

Q. Going back to your early career decisions, tell us what factors influenced you to start your own business?

Before founding CONTPAQi^®, our main goal was to produce a tool that could serve as a facilitator in the management, accounting, and financial processes of companies, to provide agile and timely information that could allow businessmen and managers to have a better decision-making process, and, of course, in addition to saving time and efforts in the resources assigned to such tasks.

Q. Provide a brief detail about your education, professional journey, and family background.

I am the founder of CONTPAQi^® and co-creator of the software that revolutionized accounting in Mexico by providing a technology that helps businesses to record and retrieve their accounting and financial data immediately. Currently, I lead the team that is responsible for developing solutions that provide information to improve the decision-making procedures and potentialize the sales and collection tasks for SMEs nationwide.

From 2020, I am (for a second period) the CEO of CONTPAQi^® in order to lead the strategies that strengthen the brand’s presence in cloud apps/software and reinforce the leadership in the SMEs and entrepreneurs segment, always driving their digital transformation. I graduated in Communications and Electronics from the University of Guadalajara (UDG) and have an Honoris Causa Ph.D. degree from the International University (UNINTER) of Cuernavaca, Morelos, for my contribution to education and the development of MSMEs within the nation. In addition, during the last three years, I have served as President of the Board of Directors of CONTPAQi^®. I am also a graduate of the Executive Business Management AD2 Program by IPADE Business School and am certified as an Ontological Coach with Honorable Mention by the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM).

Q. Being a business leader, what kind of difficulties and challenges do you face? What keeps you motivated?

The great lesson left by the pandemics is that: with less you can do more. MSMEs already have the capability to do, by themselves, activities that represent time expenses and additional costs in their budgets. And, with the progressive disappearance of most worksites (physical offices and stores), MSMEs will have larger resources to invest in their digitalization. Furthermore, within this period of economic recovery, where we find new and bigger challenges, a change in the thinking of owners and responsible parties for these companies prevails. Due to all this, our major challenge is positioning ourselves in an increasingly competitive market, always putting our trust in constant innovation, allowing us to develop better accounting, administrative, and marketing solutions.

Q. How do you motivate your team to be innovative and productive at work?

At CONTPAQi^®, we are always keeping track of the professional and human development of our employees and Business Partners, so we constantly support them with training, in addition to providing them with bonuses and implementing actions such as “Flex Friday,” which allows our personnel to get disconnected once a month, to spend more time with their families. In addition, in this period of pandemics, we have implemented the home office model, providing financial support to pay for the Internet service. We have also applied the survey required by the NOM 035 standard, and, where necessary, we provide psychological support through specialists in the field. Currently, CONTPAQi^® is one of the best companies qualified by its labor policies and is recognized by The Great Place To Work Institute, showing that we are a company valued by its employees, who thus show that they are happy to be part of the “Blue Heart” family.

Please tell us about your achievements and accomplishments.

The major achievement of our company has been to position ourselves as leaders in the development of business software in Mexico, leaving behind being a company with five programmers to having now hundreds of employees and a community of more than six thousand Business Partners served by 12 offices along with the domestic territory. In addition, we have a presence in more than one thousand universities and a base of over one million SMEs.

Q. What is your advice to budding and aspiring entrepreneurs?

Never lost sight of doing good for others. No matter what is idea or project you are leading, you must keep in mind the great responsibility you have by incorporating yourselves as an essential part of the domestic economic system. With technology and constant preparation and dedication, and passion for your work, you contribute to finding a much clearer path to lead your business to success. 

“Nowadays, in CONTPAQi^® we are convinced that happiness is the key, not only to improve productivity but also to have a positive impact in the lives of all those who are part of our community. Because we understand that we are not living within a universe, but rather a universe is living within us.”