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Carburton Street, London -- It's been a tough year for investors in Kewill Systems (LSE: KWL). After starting 2000 at 1565p and peaking at 3112.5p in March, Kewill's shares have subsequently slumped to 451.4p. That's not too surprising, since at the top, Kewill shares stood on a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of over 300. However, even after their decline, Kewill shares still perch on a prospective P/E of 63. The cause of the remaining, but still significant, shareholder optimism is the prospects for the company's e-commerce software. Indeed, Kewill jumped 16.5p higher this morning as it announced an agreement with Tesco (LSE: TSCO). According to its own publicity, Kewill is a "leading provider of business-to-business supply chain management solutions specialising in e-fulfillment". Essentially, Kewill develops software that cuts out the paperwork in the supply chain. Needless to say, it's a growth market. The group's recent interim results, although distorted by acquisitions and disposals, showed that sales of its core product rose 35%. The deal with Tesco undoubtedly underpins the status of Kewill, coming as it does after agreements with several lesser-known names. But as ilyall reports in this post, financially it's not an earth-shattering deal. And although users of Kewill's software appear to be able to profit from the company, it's unlikely that those still holding onto Kewill's highly-rated shares will benefit just as easily. QSP Kewill shareholders can at least take the comfort that their company is winning business. So, spare a thought then for the troubled investors of QSP (LSE: QSP). The financial software firm revealed today that "several business opportunities" will be delayed as customers "assess the implication of IT solutions upon their fast changing business environment". And while the company was confident of its pipeline business for 2001, this year's profits would be below current market expectations. However, not only are there problems on the customer front, but QSP shareholders also had to cope with the news that a review of the company's revenue recognition policy was underway. QSP has always had a few question marks hanging over its accounts, notably that of capitalising software development expenditure rather than applying the traditional write-off, and it appears a restatement of its figures could be on the cards. All in all, not a good sign of prudent financial management. Of course, it goes without saying that QSP investors have suffered similar share price turmoil to their Kewill-holding cousins this year. QSP shares have plunged from a March peak of 292.5p to 45.5p as at yesterday's close, with today's woe sending QSP 14.4p (32%) lower to 31p. Before today's news, QSP had stood on a prospective P/E ratio of 5. But until any revised accounts and estimates emerge, Fools would be best to hold back on any rash "value" or "recovery" investment. Where Next? Have your say. Visit the Kewill Systems discussion board or the QSP discussion board to voice your opinion.