MICROSOFT TARGETS SMBS WITH CLOUD PRODUCT
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft has unveiled its long-awaited Office 365 productivity suite, offering a cloud-based system targeted at small and midsized businesses that will include Office staples such as Excel, Word and PowerPoint, as well as SharePoint, Exchange and Lync.
It will also offer online collaboration tools and offline capabilities on a per-user subscription basis. Companies can opt for either Office 365 for professionals and small businesses, or Office 365 for midsized businesses and enterprises.
The Office 365 for professionals and small businesses (Plan P) is available for $6 per user per month. There are also two versions of Office 365 for kiosk workers, one at $4 per user per month.
INTUIT PHASING OUT COMPLETE PAYROLL BY YEAR-END
Mountain View, Calif. - Intuit confirmed that the phase-out of its Complete Payroll product would conclude at the end of this year, a process the company said has been ongoing for several years. As of December 31, users will no longer be able to process payroll with the Complete Payroll service, though Intuit has assured users that they can continue to process payroll without disruption through the rest of 2011. Intuit said that it would also process and file all 2011 year-end payroll tax forms.
The company has also designed an Intuit Complete Payroll Service Discontinuation FAQ page, which recommended Intuit QuickBooks Assisted Payroll and Intuit Full Service Payroll as two options to consider.
OPEN SYSTEMS INKS PARTNERSHIP WITH AVALARA
Shakopee, Minn. - Open-source accounting software developer Open Systems Inc. has entered a strategic partnership with Web-based sales and use tax compliance product developer Avalara for the creation of AvaTax for OpenSystems. The new Web-based service will deliver automated rate calculation and address validation, as well as jurisdiction, rate, boundary and rule research.
