No one had to tell this year's Technology Pacesetters that 2009 was tough.

FASB BEEFS UP XBRL FEATURES IN CODIFICATION

No one enjoys paying taxes. That's especially true when the tax structure is complex and convoluted. Payroll taxes often fall into this category, but perhaps the most convoluted taxes that some of your clients will have to track, compute and remit are sales and use taxes.

Anoowa Inc. has released its billFLO seller application programming interface for electronic invoicing for accounting system vendors, allowing invoices to automatically be imported into accounting systems.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has released a state apportionment planning tool on its Checkpoint online research service.

San Mateo-based cloud computing vendor NetSuite and sales automation service provider InsideView have announced what they are describing as the first social intelligence application for both customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning software.

Sabrix has released the fall 2009 version of its outsourced sales tax system.

Intuit has selected Siegel & Associates as its only reseller in New England offering IBM’s Smart Cube, an integrated hardware-software solution designed to run all core business applications.

The Sleeter Group, a network of small-business technology consultants, has announced the annual winners of its 2010 “Awesome Add-ons for QuickBooks” at the group’s Next Generation Accounting Solutions Conference, which showcases management tools and technologies.

At Sage Summit, Sage’s annual customer conference, it’s all about, well, the customer.

Women will be taking over the world.

Software-as-a-Service provider SmartVault has announced software that allows other developers of QuickBooks add-on applications to integrate SmartVault's document management system with their applications.

Thomson Reuters has unveiled what it has billed as its next-generation software and services, the Accounting CS payroll system and Virtual Client Office, along with new enhancements to its Source Document Processing offering.

Intuit has named eight new members to its 17-person Accountant and Advisor Customer Council.

Productivity software provider RedPrairie plans to offer pre-integrated application modules on software developer NetSuite’s cloud computing platform.

Software developer and IT consulting services provider Pagos will this month formally release SpreadsheetLIVE, an online real-time spreadsheet service, after a year of beta testing.

Microsoft has announced it will stop distributing its Office Accounting as of Nov. 16 but will continue to offer product support for the software for five years.

Sage North America has honored Blytheco of Laguna Hills, Calif., as its business partner of the year and announced its Chairman’s Club and President’s Circle for 2009.

AICPA SETS LAUNCH DATE FOR REVAMPED CPA EXAM

Trial balance and engagement workpaper software solutions are two completely different kinds of applications that must be treated differently. Yet they are increasingly brought together, either as a matched pair of critical applications or within the same software suite, so it only makes sense to consider them together.