KINTERA NAMES SCHENCK TO ACCELERATE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: Kintera Inc., the company that bought Fundware from Intuit, has named Jim Schenck as vice president of accounting and membership to direct the development of the company's accounting solutions. His duties will include the architectural design and development of Kintera's accounting solutions, including the support and enhancement of Kintera FundWare for the nonprofit and government sectors. The San Diego-based company bought the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based nonprofit division, formerly known as American Fundware, from Intuit in an $11 million cash deal in December 2004. Intuit, which acquired the unit in 2002, put it on the block in August 2004, citing lack of sales growth as the main reason for the decision.
Kintera has said that it plans to integrate FundWare into its Kintera Sphere platform, with the initial release due out during the first quarter 2005, and that it will continue to enhance and support FundWare 7.30 for individual installations, as well as for Kintera's software as a service application. Kintera Sphere will continue to integrate with other accounting programs.
Jeane Chen, executive vice president of engineering at Kintera, said that the company is making "a significant investment to accelerate the integration of Kintera Sphere and FundWare."
Schenck began his career by co-founding an accounting software firm that was purchased by Computer Associates, where he became senior vice president of banking and accounting software. His background includes stints as an executive vice president at a national application software provider of payroll services, and executive vice president and chief technology officer at a provider of Internet-enabled financial software.
OPEN SYSTEMS PARTNERS WITH NELCO: Open Systems Inc., a mid-market provider of accounting, customer relationship management, e-business and distribution software, has partnered with Nelco to provide its OSAS and Traverse users with Nelco's business and tax forms, including direct deposit vouchers, envelopes, purchase-order forms, checks and W-2/1099 forms. Terms were not disclosed.
"OSAS and Traverse users will now receive the benefits of Nelco's quality products at exclusive customer discounts," said Paul Lundquist, Open Systems' vice president of sales.
ACCPAC CRM VERSION 5.7 NOW AVAILABLE: Best Software has launched Accpac CRM 5.7, an upgraded version that includes a number of integration and flexibility enhancements. Version 5.7's new features include a new Web Services interface, which allows the creation of integrations with both Web-deployed and LAN-based business management applications; a global document library, which allows users to share corporate documents with all system users; stand-alone product, quote and order entry capabilities; and improved integration with Microsoft Outlook.
Accpac CRM 5.7 is available now through authorized North American resellers, with prices starting at $1,590.
ACCOUNTECH NAMES FIELDING AS SALES DIRECTOR: AccounTech Inc., a leading Best Software reseller, appointed Mike Fielding as director of sales for the Indianapolis-based company. In that role, Fielding will be responsible for AccounTech's regional and national sales efforts in target markets, such as small to midsized businesses of up to $100 million in annual revenue.
Prior to joining AccounTech, Fielding served as controller with Suros Surgical Systems Inc., and also has worked with various CPA firms, providing accounting systems consulting.
VALOGIX, SAP TEAM IN PLANNING SOLUTIONS PACT: Valogix, a provider of inventory planning and forecasting products, has teamed with SAP America Inc. in a pact in which Valogix will provide advanced inventory planning for SAP Business One, SAP's proprietary business management application for small and midsized businesses. Terms were not disclosed.
"Valogix solutions give us a strategic advantage that is applicable across multiple industries," said SAP global solution partner manager Joe Carroll. "Our customers will gain from a seamless interface to effective inventory management and an exceptional value from this partnership."
SAP America Inc. is the North American subsidiary of European parent SAP AG.
