Petro-Data Was Acquired by AIMS: What It Means for Complete Jobber Customers, and the Alternatives

On April 1, 2026, AIMS bought Petro-Data. If you run Complete Jobber, this is the article I would want to read.

I have watched a lot of jobber software companies change hands since the 1990s, and the first weeks after an announcement are always the same: the release says continuity, the account manager says nothing changes, and the customer is left to guess what the second year looks like. This article is for the jobber, petroleum marketer, or wholesaler running Petro-Data's Complete Jobber, or AIMS's Commander, who wants to know what was actually said, what to ask next, and what else is out there.

The deal at a glance

What AIMS said

The release is short and I'll take it at its word. AIMS said the purchase "reflects our continued investment in the wholesale petroleum industry" and that Complete Jobber complements its Commander platform. Petro-Data's CEO, Randy Robertson, said that after 40 years it mattered to find "the right longterm home for our customers." Petro-Data customers were promised business continuity, a dedicated customer success team for the transition, direct access to support, and the option to take up AIMS's accounting, dispatch, and fuel management products.

That is a better letter than many jobbers have received from an acquirer. AIMS has been in jobber accounting since 1968, it is privately held, and it now owns two products that do overlapping jobs. That last point is the one to keep your eye on.

Where AIMS is the right answer

AIMS knows jobber accounting. Commander is a proprietary general ledger built for petroleum financials, Fuel Dispatch feeds completed deliveries back into it, and AutoSIR handles EPA statistical inventory reconciliation for underground tanks with nothing installed at the site, which is a real convenience for a wholesaler with dealer tanks scattered across three states. If you run Commander already and it fits, the acquisition gives you more products from a company you know, and there is nothing here that says you should move.

What to get in writing

The pattern in this industry, when one company ends up owning two products that do the same job, is that the products converge over time. PDI's CEO said as much in 2018 and that is how it went. AIMS has said nothing of the kind, and may never. But a promise of continuity is a promise about now. Before your next renewal, ask for four things on paper.

• A support horizon for Complete Jobber. A date, or a written statement that there is none.
• The roadmap. Which product gets new features, and whether Complete Jobber and Commander stay separate.
• License terms. Complete Jobber was often sold as a one-time license. Ask what happens to that license, and to maintenance pricing, if the product moves to a subscription.
• The data path. How your history moves to Commander if you go that way, and how it leaves if you go somewhere else.

Straight answers to those four mean you can stay put with your eyes open. Vague answers mean the time to compare is now, while the timing is still yours.

What most jobbers, marketers, and wholesalers actually need

The independent wholesaler I've spent 30 years around runs fuel, but that's rarely his only business. Sometimes it's c-stores. Sometimes it's a haul company. A handful of commissioned agents. Real estate. Separate books for each because the accountant said so. FastDragon is built for that operator: dedicated to the jobber, the petroleum marketer, the wholesaler, and the c-store owner, direct about the price, modular, and all in one place. You switch on what you run:

• Wholesale distribution. Rack pricing, BOL to invoice in one entry, freight and motor fuel tax pass-through, purchase-to-sales allocation, dealer billing.
• Commissioned-agent stations. Daily settlement of fuel sales, card receipts, rent, and commission.
• Company-owned c-stores. Back office, pricebook, shrink, fuel reconciliation, synced to the POS you already have.
• Accounting and books. A full ledger with multi-entity built in, or posting to the QuickBooks you already run.
• Compliance. Tank, inspection, and permit records with the dates on a calendar.
• Real estate. Leases, rent, and the property side of each site.
• Fleet and haul. Trucks, drivers, and freight billing.
• Fuel rebates, loyalty, and security. Each its own switch.

Run two of those and you pay for two. Add a third when the business does. The move itself is fast. Think six weeks, not six months, depending on the client, and a couple of months for a complex one. Our team does the data work and you keep running your old system until the cutover.

How to run the comparison

Whatever you are leaving and wherever you land, the same four questions sort the field fast. Bring your own numbers to every demo: a month of BOLs, your dealer list, your tax jurisdictions, and one of your own statements.

• Show me my load. One BOL from purchase through tax through dealer invoice, with nothing typed twice.
• Show me the price. A written monthly figure for what I run today, and the figure for adding one more piece next year.
• Show me the exit. How my data leaves if I ever go, in what format, and what it costs.
• Show me who answers. Who picks up the phone at 7 am on a Monday when the rack file is wrong, and where they sit.

Who's behind it

I've been in and around fuel and convenience since the 1990s, on the technology side. I was the tech lead on the Jack in the Box c-store and gas station rollout, working beside their CEO. I also worked at Series2K for over a decade, and still recommend their c-store back office to people it fits. The years since have gone to serving jobbers, who tend to get overlooked by vendors chasing the hundred-site accounts.

Alternatives to AIMS and Petro-Data for a jobber, petroleum marketer, or wholesaler

For the independent jobber, marketer, wholesaler, or c-store owner, FastDragon is the modular option: everything above, switched on a piece at a time and priced to what you run. The other established systems worth a call are Series2K, ADD Systems, Red River, and iRely. If PDI bought your vendor, start with the PDI article. Our vendor comparison puts the field side by side and the buyer's guide has the demo questions to bring to each.

If you have a renewal or an upgrade date in front of you, send it to us. We'll tell you in one call whether we fit.

Questions people ask

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Sources

The acquisition: AIMS, Inc. Acquires Petro Data Inc., PRWeb, April 1, 2026 (dateline, founding years, product names, the promises to customers, the quotes from Robert Canterbury and Randy Robertson). AIMS products: aims1.com/products. Petro-Data profile: Mergr. The 2018 PDI quote on converging products: Fuels Market News.