Financial and accounting software publisher Sage Software has released its BusinessWorks 50 Accounting Version 6.0 - an upgrade that features a number of enhancements, including integration with Sage's ACT! Module.New features offered by Version 6.0 include the ability to create purchase orders from a sales order, which streamlines purchasing to hone order accuracy and inventory control; a drop ship feature enabling users to better track drop ship orders; and expanded transaction description fields, providing greater line-item descriptions on purchase orders, quotes, orders and invoices, with a new 1,000-character description field.

In an effort to push decision-making farther down the organization, while at the same time keeping pace with fast-rising competitors such as Google, Microsoft Corp. has implemented a sweeping reorganization by forming three operating groups - down from seven - and naming a trio of senior executives to serve as president of each.Overseeing the Business Division - a meshing of Microsoft Business Solutions and the Information Worker unit - will be Jeff Raikes, the group vice president in charge of Office software.

Activity has never been greater in the merger and acquisition arena than today.Firms of all sizes are faced with the fact that they must grow to maintain quality people and profits. Growth can come organically or through mergers and acquisitions.

iCode Inc., a provider of business application software for small and midsized businesses, announced that it changed its name to Everest Software Inc.

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Sage Software unveiled Sage Timberline Office Suite 2005, the latest version of their financial and operations software for the construction and real estate industry.

Less than a year after the 2004 launch of QuickBooks Simple Start Edition, Intuit Inc. announced that more than 100,000 small businesses are now using the software.

Business software developer Sage Software unveiled the newest versions of its mid-market enterprise resource planning systems, Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200. Both new 4.1 versions offer features to streamline sales order entry, increase distribution workflow productivity and increase ease of use.

The most telling phrase about Intuit's plans for mid-market accounting software is displayed on the Investor Relations portion of the company's Web site.

Sage Software will offer year-end tax printing services through Sage Compliance Services to support year-end W-2 processing needs of small and midsized businesses.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's has rolled out a new call-reporting modernization project based on the use of Extensible Business Reporting Language.

SAGE OFFERS SOFTWARE FOR UNITED WAY CAMPAIGNS: Sage Software released the latest version of Sage Fundraising 100 - Rainbow Edition, offering United Way organizations a suite of fundraising management and development tools.Formerly called MIP Fundraising Rainbow, the new release, Version 4.0, features options for managing United Way workplace campaigns, such as a new Grants Management module, and interface improvements to several additional Sage Software products and expanded endowment features.

Marketing director Maggy MacPherson, of regional CPA firm Beard Miller Co. LLP, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, recognized what few firms like to admit - her firm's Web site needs a lot of work."The site is not very user-friendly right now," said MacPherson, who is leading the redesign of a new site that at press time was scheduled for an October 1 launch. "We'll have a stronger message about the firm, our philosophy, and a new look and feel. It will be graphically interesting, but still simple and easy to use."

Microsoft Business Solutions released its anticipated Small Business Accounting and Office Small Business Management Edition - two MS Office small business accounting software applications - nearly a year after the release of the public beta release of SBA.Microsoft said that the new product, designed for the small business market, will hit retail shelves priced at $179 for a stand-alone copy, but ship with a $30 mail-in rebate.

It's not that Uncle Sam does not want your clients to deduct those big-ticket items that are critical to running almost any business. The less cynical among us would nod and agree with the Internal Revenue Service's position that the cost of big-buck expenditures should be matched with the useful business life of the asset.Then there are those who suspect that the government would simply prefer that you don't apply the full cost of that Learjet that your client picked up this year to offset their current fiscal year's revenue.

Much has been written on outsourcing and its impact on the accounting profession. While everyone has their opinion and beliefs, it's time for all accounting firms to seriously evaluate strategic options that will help transform their service offerings and business model.These strategies should allow firms and partners to take advantage of technology and other resources. Solutions to the issues facing their small and midsized business clients and their owners should be the primary focus. The services and technical skills that most firms have delivered over the past 20 years are either becoming obsolete or commoditized, with shrinking margins. If you don't believe this, take some time and think before you answer the following questions:

U.S. small businesses with one to 99 employees, spent approximately $410 million on purchasing accounting software solutions in the last year, according to consulting firm Access Markets International Partners Inc.

NetSuite Inc., an on-demand business software provider for small- and midsized businesses, unveiled new features for its CRM application, CRM+. The new features are a part of the incentive compensation add-on module, and will allow a user to track multiple quotas, forecasts and commission plans, and apply them against additional metrics.

Nonprofit software publisher Blackbaud Inc. has acquired ScanStore Ltd., a document management and image retrieval company based in Staplehurst, Kent, U.K. Financial terms were not disclosed.

As Intuit's QuickBooks girds for its largest competitive challenge to date --Microsoft's Small Business Accounting -- it has lowered the prices for its QuickBooks Premier and QuickBooks Pro accounting software applications by $100.