TotalSoft is a Romanian software publisher with three decades on the market, building ERP, HCM and Financial Services products for mid-market and large customers. After years of organic, license-led growth in its home country, the company has reached a clear ceiling and is now investing in indirect channels, such as distributors, resellers and implementers, to expand across Europe, DACH and the Middle East & North Africa.

Robert Dospinescu joined as Partner Operations Manager to design and run that program. Coming from a large enterprise software background, he was explicitly looking for a tool that wouldn't replicate the heaviness of his previous environment.

From Ad-hoc Deals to a Scalable System

“It was done in an ad hoc manner… not through a defined partner network that can be scalable.”  — Robert Dospinescu, Partner Operations Manager

TotalSoft had partners before Kiflo, but no real partner program. Every deal was negotiated case by case, driven by an RFP or a specific opportunity, with little common process, no shared visibility and no system to measure what partners were generating.

• No structured partner network — engagements were deal-driven, not program-driven. “I wouldn't call it a partnership… more of a joint venture… just to complete a particular RFP.”
• A growth ceiling at home — “We've reached the market cap here in Romania.” License sales and services alone couldn't take TotalSoft to its next stage.
• No infrastructure to onboard, track or pay partners — everything lived in inboxes, spreadsheets and personal relationships.
• A team of one — before Robert joined, a single person was carrying the entire partnership function.

Why Now: International Expansion Forced the Question

“The reason we're using Kiflo is because we are expanding internationally at the moment through our network of partners.”  — Robert Dospinescu

Two forces converged in 2025–26:

• Strategic — the Romanian market had plateaued. To reach the company's next revenue target, growth had to come from outside the country, and partners were the only realistic way to deploy fast in Europe, DACH and MENA.
• Organizational — the partner team grew from 1 to 5 people. The previous “track everything in your head” approach was no longer viable. As Robert put it: “It's the same as when you have a sales team and you need a CRM… you can't go without.”

Insight: PRM here is not a tool. It is the infrastructure layer that lets indirect revenue exist as a real business line.

PRM that Fits the Moment, Not the Destination

Robert benchmarked 8 PRM vendors using a formal scorecard, with sign-off from the Head of Partnerships, the COO, the CFO, and the Sales Director. The decision took roughly six weeks, while the full internal validation around three more months.

Three pillars made Kiflo the chosen platform:

1. Right Level of Robustness, Without Enterprise Complexity

Several alternatives priced themselves at €25K and above, with feature sets clearly designed for enterprise organizations running global, multi-tier partner programs. For TotalSoft, that complexity wasn't a strength, but a liability.

“Their solution was more towards an enterprise client… it didn't justify the complexity.”  — Robert Dospinescu

Kiflo offered the operational core, partner onboarding, deal registration, pipeline visibility, commission tracking, without forcing TotalSoft to staff a dedicated PRM admin or run a 6-month implementation.

2. A Pricing Structure that Protects the Rest Of the Stack

For a partner team that is still building its tooling, total cost of ownership matters more than per-feature comparison. Kiflo's pricing gave Robert room to invest in adjacent tools (data, enablement, marketing) without blowing the budget.

3. Flexibility: A Platform that Evolves with the Program

Robert was explicit that the partner program will not look the same in a year. He needed a platform that could absorb new program types, new geographies and new partner tiers without being torn down and rebuilt.

“We know for a fact that what it looks like today won't be what it looks like in a year.”  — Robert Dospinescu

4. A Human Factor that Mattered

As a growing company expanding internationally, TotalSoft wanted a vendor relationship that felt aligned and not the asymmetric dynamic of a small customer inside a large vendor's portfolio.

Partner Stack: Where Kiflo Fits

Trade-offs accepted at selection time: native LMS, certification, MDF — added later if needed. Robert was OK with these gaps because Kiflo's core hit the immediate need: structuring the partner motion before scaling it.

Tangible results

The program is in its build-out phase. The structural results are already visible; the revenue numbers will be confirmed in the next reporting cycle.

• Partner team scaled from 1 to 5 FTE — a clear signal of organizational investment in indirect revenue.
• 8 PRM vendors benchmarked, structured scorecard — buying process documented and reusable, replicable by other teams (Head of Partnerships, COO, CFO, Sales Director all signed off).
• Decision in 6 weeks : for a mid-market enterprise software org, this is fast. The fit was clear once Kiflo was put side by side with enterprise-class incumbents.
• Target: $100M revenue in 2 years, 70 % via partners
• International coverage — partner program designed to operate across Europe, DACH and Middle East / North Africa.

‍