Tech News: Patriot Software launches 1099 portal

Patriot Software launches 1099 portal

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Accounting solutions provider Patriot Software opened a 1099 portal for contractors. The 1099 contractor portal is a secure self-service platform for 1099 contract workers, granting them access to view and edit their personal and direct deposit information, and their payment history from clients. The contractor portal is a free feature for Patriot's accounting software and payroll software customers who pay 1099 independent contractors. Clients can invite their 1099 workers to the contractor portal. Once invited, they set up user names and passwords. The contractor portal employs the same multifactor authentication as the employee portal for protecting the security of personal and banking information. The contractor portal will later be enhanced with the ability for clients to post 1099s in time for next year's tax-filing season.

Expensify launches Expensify Travel

Spend management solutions provider Expensify announced the upcoming launch of Expensify Travel, developed in partnership with "travel-as-a-service" company Spotnana. Expensify Travel will be rolling out in phases. The initial release will include booking and management capabilities in the Expensify web and mobile apps, with 24/7 support. Longer term, the offering will integrate Spotnana's cloud-based infrastructure directly into New Expensify, Expensify's new chat-based super app. Customers will then be able to book and manage trips, manage travel expenses, chat with colleagues and more. Customers will able to use Spotnana's self-service capabilities for managing flight changes, cancellations and unused ticket credits.

Sage launches two new integrated suites in U.K. and Canada

Sage has introduced two new suites in Canada and the U.K. One is Sage for Accountants, which includes features for client engagement and proposals, client management, data automation and processing, as well as bookkeeping and payroll capabilities. The other offering is Sage for Small Business. Users can automate receipt capture, set up recurring invoices, automatically import transactions from your bank accounts, and pay people with direct deposit. Both suites will come integrated with the new Sage Copilot AI solution, which automates routine administrative tasks and offers real-time business insights.

TranscendAP breaks from Optima to form new company

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TranscendAP, formerly a business unit of Optima Global Solutions, has launched as an entirely new independent company with its own proprietary platform. The company's invoice-to-pay platform can manage all aspects of accounts payable operations. It now includes AI-driven document capture, automated two-, three- and four-way purchase order matching, exception handling and escalation, real-time ERP integration, and a self-service supplier portal. Prior to launching TranscendAP, CEO Jeff Weinstein was president and CEO of RightAnswers, president at Calamu, and chief growth officer at Traliant.

AuditBoard announces new infosec capacities

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Audit and risk management solutions provider AuditBoard added new enhancements to its InfoSec Solutions to help organizations meet their IT compliance, cyber risk and vendor risk management needs. Users could already build trusted views of their risks and exposures to help align their programs, drive actions and improve collaboration. New enhancements include AI automation, real-time visibility across InfoSec and third-party risk programs through shared data connections and enhanced reporting capabilities; customizable automation workflows; over 200 integrations with business systems including Qualys, Tenable and Okta; increased third-party risk visibility; streamlined risk assessments; and faster identification and remediation.

FloQast launches features for diverse compliance frameworks

The Muse

Finance and accounting platform provider FloQast introduced new features in its FloQast Compliance Management solution. They include compliance management capacities like the use of heat maps to scale risk management, as well as the ability to manage assignees and due dates; custom fields for tailored solutions for multi-framework compliance programs; streamlined risk assessment, prepared-for-client procedures, and testing with a comprehensive workflow and visual aids like risk heat maps that capture evidence at the source and use integrated certification and remediation management to resolve exceptions; automation of the PBC process during audits and real-time visibility and documentation for auditors. Controls that don't fit an existing workflow can be set up directly in Compliance Management, automating PBC capture of all controls in FloQast. Synchronized compliance controls are available across process narratives, flowcharts and risk-control matrices, and the system has the ability to capture real-time control execution and facilitate demonstrable collaboration to auditors, moving away from paper-based sign-offs.

New funding

Accounting practice management solutions provider Canopy raised $35 million in an oversubscribed funding round. The round was led by Ten Coves Capital and Ankona Capital, with participation from Pelion Venture Partners, Tenaya Capital and NewView Capital. The $35 million investment will go toward Canopy's vision for leveraging AI to make firms more efficient. The last round of growth financing for the company came in 2021 and was also led by Ten Coves Capital. Canopy CEO Davis Bell said the fresh funding is testament to the company's rapid growth as well as a vote of confidence in its AI vision. ... Cash flow solutions company Panax formally announced the launch of its company with a $15 million cash investment from Team8 and TLV Partners. The money will be used to scale its sales and support teams, expand its U.S. presence with a New York City office, and increase its product development resources. While the company has been around since 2022, it has only now officially announced its launch. The company offers a cashflow solution which contains AI. It allows users to connect all their financial institutions on one platform; view all of a company's cash, investments, and credit account in a single dashboard; gain a holistic view of the company's cash by entity financial institution, currency, and account; create custom cash subcategories; use an AI engine to identify transaction patterns and suggest categories automatically; connect to ERP systems and map general ledger to cash; automatically categorize inflows and outflows; "slice and dice" cash flows for better visibility and insight; view and compare trends; access customized, auto-generated reports in minutes; manage forecasts and compare them to actuals; identify patterns and generate cash forecasts that are specifically tailored for the business; access daily and monthly cash reports; get proactive alerts ensure immediate response time; and set up smart account buffers.

M&A and partnerships and integrations

M&A activity

RKL Solutions, an ERP provider, acquired Techware, a Minnesota-based Sage business partner. The acquisition will expand RKL eSolutions' construction and real estate development practice. The expertise gained in the acquisition will further serve the firm's existing CRE client base, while expanding into new regional markets. As a result of the acquisition, Steve Pierce, former CEO of TechWare, and his team will join RKL eSolutions. … Government accounting solutions provider Black Mountain Software acquired Kentucky-based local government payroll and accounting software provider Fiscalsoft. The acquisition will expand Black Mountain Software's portfolio of local government ERP solutions and mark its entry into a state where Fiscalsoft has established a strong market presence. … B2B commerce solutions provider Corecentric will provide Managed Accounts Receivable services to CTS Systems, a data management company in the travel management field. By integrating Corcentric's Managed AR offering into its existing platform, CTS Systems will offer its corporate travel agent and hotel customers a single-source solution for commissions and payments with secure invoice processing.

Awards and honors

Sidetrade, a provider of AI-powered order-to-cash applications, announces that for the third year in a row, it has been recognized as a Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Invoice-to-Cash Applications and included in Critical Capabilities for Invoice-to-Cash Applications. … Tax compliance solutions provider Avalara has been named BigCommerce 2023 Americas Tech Partner of the Year for its work solving tax compliance challenges for ecommerce merchants. The BigCommerce Global Partner Awards recognize the top-performing partners among BigCommerce's global network of thousands of agency and technology partners. The Tech Partner of the Year award is for technology partners whose integration features a superior user experience demonstrated by a high volume of installation and successful co-marketing activity over the last year.