In this episode, host Taylor Baker speaks with William “Bill” Cornfield, president of WSG Systems and the creator behind Empire Suite Products, about building practical software for professional services focusing on making time entry, billing, and scheduling easier and more reliable for accounting firms.
What You’ll Learn
- How a services-first software background can evolve into a focused vertical product by narrowing in on repeatable, high-pain workflows.
- Why “least hated time entry” becomes a real advantage and how usability directly affects data quality and profitability.
- What changes when resource scheduling is treated as part of operations and financial outcomes, not just planning.
- How to apply automation in grounded ways, including when optimization models can outperform “AI” hype for scheduling.
- How integrations reduce implementation friction and remove a common barrier to adoption in professional services.
- Why consistent customer listening drives product innovation—and how to balance requests without creating “sales prevention.”
- Practical signals that help teams identify out-of-scope work earlier using time patterns, context, and behavior.
- Scaling lessons from a long-running business: outsource strategically, invest in retention, and build a culture people want to stay in.
Overall, the conversation highlights a long-term, customer-driven approach to software: simplify the work people do every day, apply technology with clarity instead of buzzwords, and keep improving the product and team systems that make growth sustainable.
To learn more about William Cornfield and their work.