SAGE UPGRADES ABRA HR; CREATES ADVISORY BOARDSage Software has unveiled its latest versions (7.6 and 8.3) of Sage Abra HRMS, the company's human resource management system for small and midsized businesses and organizations in North America, featuring Employer Information Report EEO-1 and compatibility with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.
Sage Abra has been updated in an effort to allow customers to collect and report on necessary job categories and employee ethnicity to comply with the 2007 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission category changes, which were effective Sept. 30.
Sage Abra is Sage Software's flagship HR/payroll offering from its portfolio of complementary front- and back-office systems, including accounting, fixed asset management, customer relationship management and software for specific vertical industries.
In addition, Sage Abra integrates with Sage's MAS 90 ERP, MAS 200 ERP, MAS 500 ERP, MIP Fund Accounting, Accpac ERP and Timberline Office, plus its Sage Payroll Services and Sage Compliance Services offerings, as well as third-party solutions for midsized businesses.
Separately, Sage named an Accountants' Advisory Board for its Accountants' Network to provide the company with advice and feedback on its products. The board includes 30 CPAs who are members of the Accountants' Network. Members of the network already give Sage feedback about its products and services, but the 30 board members will now set the agenda for the network. The network also provides accountants with product discounts, automatic upgrades and updates, and a member locator service that allows end users to find an accountant in their area.
PAYCYCLE OFFERS FREE PAYROLL
Online payroll processor PayCycle has introduced a free payroll service for accountants.
The company is offering a 12-month free trial of its service, which it normally sells for $14.99 per client for the first five employees and $0.25 per month for each additional employee. The system handles direct deposits, tax payments and electronic filing. It integrates with accounting software packages such as QuickBooks.
PayCycle has also added several new features to the service, including account permissions. Accounting professionals can assign different levels of payroll access to their clients, who can then share the workload and assist with entering data into the online payroll system. Clients can be assigned full access, set-up and payroll access, or payroll-only access.
PayCycle has also added electronic tax support for Nevada and North Carolina to he system, as well as a new batch-printing feature that allows accountants to print five additional client reports at once from within Microsoft Excel.
