Business optimization provider b-pack Corp. has released the newest Software-as-a-Service version of its purchase-to-pay and e-procurement lifecycle management software suite for businesses in North America and Europe.

Cloud-based enterprise resource planning software maker Acumatica has released Acumatica 1.4, which includes dozens of new features designed to help midsized businesses with complex requirements automate their business processes.

Intuit has teamed up with a nonprofit group on Earth Day to promote a free online forum where employees can share and re-use unneeded items, such as office furniture and computer screens, instead of dumping them in the trash.

Accounting and customer relationship management application integration provider DBSync LLC is expanding its support for cloud computing by offering integration with QuickBooks Online Edition, and by extending its support of QuickBooks Desktop adapters.

While companies are increasingly making use of cloud computing for their accounting software and other applications, they’re not completely ditching their enterprise resource planning software either.

Microsoft said it plans to officially release Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 on May 1, adding enhanced business intelligence functions to the latest version of one of its top enterprise resource planning systems.

Net@Work, a major New York-based Sage reseller and document management service provider, has acquired Boston-based MAS 90 and MAS 200 reseller Fitzgerald Group, giving the firm a much larger Northeast presence and over 700 new customers.

Technology is the accelerator for improving performance and meeting client requirements in today's economy. You can do more with less, but reducing investments in training and technology (as some have done this past year) only results in making your business less competitive.

Ben Franklin is credited with saying that the only sure things in life are death and taxes, so there's probably not going to be a way to make the payroll application pleasant. But the right software or service provider can make a big difference in both your clients' experience and your practice. There's no big secret - it's just a matter of helping your clients match their needs with the cost and capabilities of the available solutions.

NETSUITE OFFERS CHANNEL PROMOTION FOR ERP VARS

With the availability of lower-cost offerings, and a userbase more educated about what business intelligence is and can do for them, BIis becoming an understandable, usable and affordable initiative for small tomidsized businesses and CPA firms.

NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson tried to dispel some of the common myths about Software as a Service technology during his keynote address at the company’s partner conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

BNA Tax & Accounting has introduced its first iPhone application, BNA Quick Tax Reference, an electronic version of the company’s Quick Tax Reference Guide.

Major CPA firm and Microsoft reseller Sikich LLP is hosting an event for the launch of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 which will feature, among other things, a private screening of the upcoming movie Iron Man 2.

IBM has introduced software to help governments around the world collect delinquent tax debt.

Sage North America is now offering a Software-as-a-Service application to help nonprofit organizations use the Internet to increase giving, participation and overall support through online donations and registrations.

Nearly three-quarters of the CFOs at midsized companies say they are under pressure to reduce costs and make faster decisions, according to a new study.

FinancialForce.com has introduced Chatterbox, a business collaboration application for users of the company’s Web-based accounting software.

Web-based time clock software provider TimeRack Inc. has entered into a reselling agreement with biometric time clock developer Schlage Biometrics, a division of Ingersoll Rand.

NetSuite Inc. has added graphical workflow management software to its set of offerings that allows users to develop, automate, and streamline complex business processes.