All About Accounting Software

Accounting software is in the transition towards the use of hosted, on-demand services. Some experts are advocating a switch to a purely online Software as a Service (SaaS) model, where data and programs are hosted in secure data centers. Many industry leaders, including Sage, Intuit, CCH, Thomson Reuters and Microsoft, have advocated a switch to a model of some locally installed applications and some hosted services (also known as “software plus services”).

This hybrid approach, which has been adopted by many publishers, offers solutions that leverage the cloud for reach and flexibility, but connect into established on-premise systems for depth of features. For example, the Sage Non-Profit Solutions group recently announced ePhilanthropy, a web-based service targeted at nonprofit fundraising. While there are many successful products that use this model, including many banking and payroll applications, the demise of on-premise software will not occur overnight. Locally installed, Windows-based accounting software will, for the foreseeable future, dominate the small business market, and will be supplemented by online services that meet specific customer needs.

The area of software that will change is in how accountants and clients work with each other, and how both groups will interact with business management applications. Having access to the same data, the same user interface, and being able to see non-verbal cues using webcams along with video conferencing tools like Skype, GotoMeeting or NTR Support will revolutionize how we work with clients.

We’ve all heard the hype about web-based applications and services, but another technology trend that is becoming more common is the use of applications that are hosted on Windows servers in a secure data center. Thomson Reuters has offered its CS Suite of applications in a hosted environment as Virtual Office CS for some time, and CCH’s Next Generation platform offers hosted or local deployment of the applications. One big advantage of these platforms is that you can run the application locally or you can run it from the publisher’s hosting facility. Assuming you have proper backups of your data in multiple locations, you can either switch from hosted to local installation or in the event of an extended emergency (e.g. Hurricane Katrina).

In addition to these software-publisher hosted offerings, companies like Right Networks, MyOwnASP and CPAASP/InsynQ enter the market with hosting for Windows-based end-user accounting applications like Peachtree, QuickBooks and Dynamics GP. These offerings make it possible for clients to work on their accounting software from anywhere and still have their data stored in a secure hosting facility, with easily available redundant power, Internet and hardware in the event of a failure.

Many hosting companies have robust infrastructures with multiple years of experience hosting common tax applications, common accounting software applications, and productivity suites. Even if your firm has ruled out using hosting as a primary technology strategy, you should consider using hosted services in the event you lose access to your offices for an extended period of time as part of your business continuity plan.

If the first months in a year are any indication of the success to be had in 2010, then AccountMate has set the pace for an auspicious year. In January, they scored big in the business software market by integrating with RedTail Solutions (and EDI and GDS provider), and just this week, they scored an account with logo-products manufacturer Kolder, Inc.

RedTail caters to mid-market suppliers and manufacturers, and their integration is taking AccountMate beyond just simple accounting processes. RedTail offers managed service solutions for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Global Data Synchronization (GDS), and they’ve recently enhanced their UI to integrate with the latest version of AccountMate (v 7.6). Both companies target the mid-sized enterprises, and the new integration will allow companies processing large volumes of EDI transactions to cut costs, improve efficiency, and quicken the “order-to-crash” cycle. The new interface was designed by a third party, Figtree Consulting.

Kolder, Inc. implemented AccountMate through one of the company’s Elite Solution partners, and integrated AccountMate’s Manufacturing and CRM modules during deployment. Kolder is responsible for producing licensed and novelty products for some pretty big names—NFL, NBA, NHL, Anheuser-Busch, Coors, and over 130 colleges to name a few—and sought an accounting and finance solution that was integrative with manufacturing processes. Kolder’s solution also needed to meet the scalability they required for national product distribution.

Kolder had recently acquired another company, and each was using a different ERP solution. The AccountMate remedy chosen was AccountMate SQL with Manufacturing Conductor, as well as the AccountMate CRM module. The open architecture AccountMate offers was allegedly a large factor in Kolder’s decision, and the new implementation has allowed them to cut administration staff by 35%.

We don’t like to sound too much like press-release trumpets over here, but when the news is impressive it’s good to take note. A lot of the accounting software news we see is Intuit-related (which is not a bad thing), and it’s interesting to see companies that have grown their accounting products into more complete packages that include ERP and CRM functionalities.

Intuit and Microsoft announced today they will be partnering to create web applications that will automate tasks for small businesses. The main progression is for Intuit, which will now be able to reach out to the Microsoft .NET and Azure developer network.

The companies will be integrating the respective capabilities of their cloud platforms—Microsoft Windows Azure and the Intuit Partner Platform—with an aim to allow developers and channel partners to deliver products to enterprise users of Intuit’s QuickBooks. Developers can currently access the beta version of Intuit SDK for Azure, and toward the end of 2010, they’ll have access to Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), which includes SharePoint, Exchange, and Communications Server.

Intuit execs said the partnership will help them build a best of breed suite of applications for small businesses, which will eventually provide them collaboration abilities both internally and with business partners. Some tech pundits, like Dennis Howlett, see Intuit’s larger goal as this: using Platfrom-as-a-Services as a way for delivering lots of aaS functionality, expanding their reach, and developing deep domain expertise to encourage growth.

We’ll likely have to wait till later in the year to see what comes of it.

Salesfore.com announced its collaboration with Unit 4 Agresso—FinancialForce.com—not too long ago, and at this week’s Dreamforce there was a panel to discuss the SaaS product. There has been talk for a while now that back-office applications are only crippling themselves by not moving into the cloud space (ERP vendors, especially, are receiving heat for balking at the idea of SaaS solutions), and FinancialForce.com has the potential to nudge accounting into the future.

Built on Salesforce’s Force.com platform, FinancialForce.com puts accounting data in the cloud, and panel members spoke to their happiness with the product. Included below is a video filmed by Dennis Howlett, in which Quattro Innovation’s Director of Operations, David Tan, explains why FinancialForce has been a good fit. Howlett also notes that these companies perhaps cannot fully attest to SaaS accounting because they haven’t had a full year with the product. Fair enough.

Many handling back offices are wary of putting certain data in the cloud, and this fear has left companies like SAP, Oracle, Sage, and others at the forefront of the financial software market. But the cloud more users flocking to the cloud, security concerns are decreasing, and a surge in SaaS accounting is a very real possibility. And it is all the more possible with newer companies demanding faster implementation times—one of the things Tan details at length in the video.

The reign of on-premise accounting software isn’t at its end, but FinancialForce.com, and the other similar platforms that will undoubtedly arise, will lead to its decline.

As the economy continues to spiral downward, businesses are looking for ways to cut back on costs. With the current credit crunch and insolvency plaguing businesses, companies are looking for ways to scale back on their spending. This makes investing in traditional business software applications a bad choice due to the high up front costs that are necessary to get a system up and running.

To get by this crisis, companies are increasingly turning towards internet based accounting products such as Xero to get the job done. The low costs of deploying SaaS Software make them an attractive option for companies with cashflow problems. Information is also readily accessible through the internet based accounting software, making it easy to track and monitor critical accounting processes.

For more information regarding this software, you can read the full article found here.

As more and more companies turn towards business technology software to help solve many of their business needs, software providers are continuing to expand and grow to meet the demand. Xero Software is an example of a company that continues to grow as it provides online accounting software for a number of companies.

Xero’s customer base has continued to grow rapidly, with its number of customers doubling in only a 6 month span. Xero’s growth is unusually strong for the time period as accounting software traditionally quiet during that time of year. Xero has also announced other positive news as it released its IPO last year allowing them to raise much needed money to allow further expansion of their company.

For more information on Xero Accounting Software and their continued growth, you can read the article found here.