In 2007, it's clear that payroll processing has become better, cheaper and faster - particularly at the small-business end of the marketplace.Companies like Intuit and Sage are building payroll into their accounting products for all but the very tail end of the market, while Sage, Thomson and Microsoft are beefing up their ERP and human resources offerings for the mid-range and enterprise markets.

SAGE RELEASES TIMESLIPS 2008Sage Software has released the latest version of its billing application, Timeslips by Sage 2008. The new offering allows greater capability for determining when clients should be billed based on billing criteria set up by users.

During the first-ever Women's Forum in May, we had the privilege of speaking to a group of 200 professional women who were smart and fun, and had plenty to say about what is working and not working in our industry. One of the most interesting ideas bantered about was part-time partners as a common concept for the firm of the future. We decided to speak with a few firms that are blazing the trail for others to follow and have currently implemented this practice.The part-time partner position within the firm is relatively new. It usually results when someone making a major life change approaches the firm to ask for a new way to work. This life change could be the joyous occasion of a new baby, or it could be the other most joyous occasion in life - retirement!

MYOB released FirstEdge V.3, the latest version of its entry-level small business management and accounting software application for Mac OS X, with universal Mac support so it’s designed to run on both Intel-based and PowerPC-based Mac machines.

CCH has appointed Gene McGovern as vice president of tax and accounting publishing, replacing Catherine Wolfe, who was named U.K. CEO of the publisher's parent company, Wolters Kluwer, earlier this year.

Business software developer Epicor saw its second-quarter earnings slip from last year, though revenue was up.

BQE Software has added human resources software to its time, billing and project management products.

Remember the old days? Forms shipped off to service bureaus? Is it possible that manual data entry will seem as quaint within a few years?

Attendees at the American Institute of CPAs' recent Tech+ Technology Conference were not here to gamble, but, instead, to learn about the latest trends and learn how to harness technology to improve their bottom lines.The three-day confab's sessions were intended to provide the roughly 500 attendees with a "cookbook" of information, according to conference chairman David Cieslak, a partner at Arxis Technology Inc. in Simi Valley, Calif.

CPA2BIZ DEBUTS REVAMPED SITECPA2Biz, the marketing and services portal of the American Institute of CPAs, has unveiled its next-generation Web site, a revamp that includes enhanced content organization and navigation tools, as well as less clutter and easier search capabilities.

Though paper may be a security blanket for some firms, digital documents present compelling opportunities and challenges. The accounting profession has been one of the last to adopt digital content management systems, and clients are starting to voice opinions about how firms can improve their service offerings and security.Consumer electronics are driving demands for business technology. In the past, advancements in business technology resulted in a great deal of new technology in the home. Today, search capabilities, portals, social networking and videos are exposing your clients to new ways of utilizing technology. Is your firm a leader, late adopter or resister when it comes to technology?

The movie, “Minority Report,” showed what technology could be, someday. No, this is not arresting before they commit crimes. It’s about scenes in which Tom Cruise’s character walks through a mall and animated holograms address him by name. Technology isn’t quite that personal, yet. But there are signs in the emerging generation of computing and telephony devices of yet-another revolution in hardware and software. Two devices have the potential to change our platforms: Microsoft’s Surface computer and Apple’s iPhone. Most of us are not going to be using iPhones to make calls, or using Surface technology to turn our coffee tables into computer devices soon. But the incredible clarity of the display of the iPhone and its wafer-thin profile and it ability to shift its image when the phone is turned, and Surface’s touch-screen technology in Surface, which is beyond what most of us have seen, will force technology companies back to the R&D labs. Surface is harder to grasp. At Microsoft’s World Wide Partner conference, Surface was on displayed to enthralled crowds. One demonstration involved what looked like glass blocks being shuffled across the computer’s surface. Separate, each showed the same picture. When put together, the picture grew to the size of the number of blocks that were contiguous “Like an insect’s eyes,” I remarked. “Exactly,” responded the demonstrator. I said I could see an immediate market—places like Casinos that have money and need “flash.” Indeed, a casino is one of the early buyers. The screen showed a graphical map of the facility, tailored so an individual could find show times and restaurants, make reservations, and accumulate and spend the points awarded valued gamblers. Mobile technology was already in turmoil before the iPhone. Surface is likely to have a less direct impact, and will be incorporated into other devices. This comes at a time when the role of operating systems and applications are likely to change dramatically over the next three years, certainly the next five. Or take the iPod, whose newest version can hold 20,000 songs. Of course, most teenagers won’t spend 99 cents a song: Hopefully, they’ll copy songs like most already do. No, this is about what the new capacity enables us to do that we couldn’t do before, and probably hadn’t thought of.

CCH has integrated its CertiTax software and Sales Tax Load Utilities with Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0.The company's CertiTax Plug-in for Dynamics GP 10.0 provides an interface from CertiTax, CCH's hosted sales tax calculation system, to the Dynamics GP 10.0 sales order process module.

Cougar Mountain Software released Version 2.6 of its Denali line of accounting software, with a new bank reconciliation module.The module lets Denali users cross-reference business transactions against bank statements, and reconcile checks and deposits. It collects information from other Denali modules and creates customizable reports.

The lightning flashed across the western plains sky with boom rolling into Denver . But rain never game. It was all flash, no substance. Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Denver this week has been a lot like the storms—all flash. Oh, there are thousands of people here. But this is a show that has never gained focus.

CCH said it will begin reselling tax exemption certificate management software and services from Imaging Science and Services Inc. on an exclusive basis worldwide.The products automate the organization of sales tax exemption and resale certificates. They include TeamsExpress on Demand, a hosted system for managing a database of tax documents, and LineLinkXL, a Microsoft Excel add-in.

Thomson Tax & Accounting released Version 8.0 of its ePropertyTax software, adding extra edit, query and data entry features to the Web-based system for commercial property taxpayers.The upgrade expands the mass-editing tool to help users copy, paste, import and export data throughout the system. Users can now customize queries in any data field to search for information.

Before the advent of the personal computer, computerizing a business' accounting was a daunting experience, costing thousands of dollars just for the software component. Many companies hired a team of programmers to either customize a "turnkey" system of hardware and software to their specific requirements, or to write their own accounting applications.All that changed when the first PCs hit the market.

INTUIT ROLLS OUT NEW LACERTE TRIAL BALANCE UTILITYIntuit Inc. has introduced a new trial balance utility for Lacerte tax software users.

As firms begin to plan for 2007-2008, they should be wary of relying on previous strategies for technology. Technology will remain an important tool as the accounting profession transforms; but remember, it must be employed with vision, leadership and strategy. Technology can't fix problems associated with poor leadership, management and the inability to attract quality people.The profession has been stuck in "me too" mode in terms of technology. Firms that differentiate themselves have invested significantly in end-user training and digital content management - including the use of client portals. They also have adequate IT support for end users, either from internal or external resources.