Earl W. Morrow CPA PC, a Roswell, Ga.-based CPA firm, has been using an automated time and billing system for decades without any major complaints."We have been using an automated system since the first time we opened our doors, some 24 years ago," said Patti Morrow, administrator at the firm. "It has done, for the most part, what I wanted it to do."

The Sage Group will enter the credit card and check payment-processing field with the $323 million acquisition of Verus Financial Management Inc. from Financial Technology Ventures.Located in Nashville, Tenn., Verus specializes in payment processing for small and midsized businesses, with a customer base of 100,000-plus merchants in the United States. The all-cash deal will be completed within the next month, subject to regulatory approvals.

The major news in business plans and planning software in 2006 is that the plans are intended more for management than money.As most business planning software came into being, in the boom economies of the 1990s, the focus was on how best to launch new enterprises, secure initial funding or lure venture capitalists. While there is still extensive use of the software for these purposes, there is also a stronger emphasis on managing the company by implementing the plan.

With the scarcity of qualified and experienced staff, the importance of technology continues to grow in today's accounting firm.Firms simply must do more with fewer people, while raising production to offset increasing labor costs. In order to do so, they must either terminate less desirable clients or focus on improving their processes and technology. Perhaps your firm needs to do both?

In an effort to spin Microsoft resellers into NetSuite solution providers, NetSuite, an on-demand business applications provider, is offering discounts, free training, and higher margins for qualified Microsoft resellers to sell NetSuite products.

There's a strange little building in a shopping center in Parsippany, N.J., in which there is a telephone directory from June 1990 in plain view and a list of prices for vanished photograph formats on the inside wall.

This is a tale of two retailers, a cautionary tale of good customer service--and the other kind.

LogicalApps, a compliance software provider, unveiled new embedded governance software for high-end enterprise resource planning systems called Active Governance.

Sage Software announced that Simply Accounting Basic for Microsoft Office Users is now available in the United States.

Oracle, a provider of business software based in Redwood Shores, Calif., has validated the integration between compliance software Taxware Enterprise Version 4.3 and Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Version 8.9.

PAISLEY CONSULTING UNVEILS NEW RISK ASSESSMENT FUNCTION: Paisley Consulting, a business accountability software provider, has upgraded the risk assessment functionality in its J2EE-based Risk Navigator, a software application helping companies comply with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and establish long-term governance.The upgraded Risk Navigator will offer enhanced SOX compliance and risk management functionality by allowing different business units to more effectively target and document specific controls and processes necessary to comply with SOX Sections 302 and 404.

Two distinct camps in the CPA community are feuding over payroll services, as adamant in their positions and loyalties as Shakespeare's rival Montagues and Capulets.And while the subject of payroll may appear inherently less passionate than Romeo and Juliet, the warring factions each express their position with equal fervor.

When beginning our client relationships, most of us take great care to understand the client's initial needs, choose the right products and services to meet their needs and place the right people on their engagements to ensure their success. We then work hard to deliver our promised solutions on time and on budget.Unfortunately, many of us still struggle to take these initial client engagements deeper or extend our reach into our clients' organizations. Why? There are many reasons, but the one I see most often, regardless of the size of CPA or IT firm, is this: Most of us don't take the time to really know our clients or be in a real relationship with them. This lack of intimacy and understanding leads to a breakdown in communication and can create an inability for our client to see us as able to address any issues beyond the first "issue" for which we were engaged.

It's no secret that mergers and acquisitions are an active part of the accounting profession today.As owners reach retirement age, they are looking for someone to buy them out and allow them to move on to a well-earned retirement. At the same time, growing firms are looking for merger candidates to gain clients, gain access to needed staff skills, or to establish a presence in a desired market location. With a marketplace like this of buyers and sellers, it's no wonder there is plenty of activity!

QuickBooks, an accounting software provider, unveiled QuickBooks Online Payroll. The online payroll service is designed for the 60,000 users of QuickBooks Online Edition, an online version of Intuit's popular accounting software application.

In an announcement at the International Builder's Show, Intuit Construction Business Solutions unveiled QuickBooks Easy Estimate, an entry-level application for contractors looking to create professional-looking estimates.

Sometimes it doesn't seem worth it. Greek, I mean--messing with a language that's not only different, but uses a different alphabet.

ADP Tax & Financial Services announced the availability of a new automated accounts payable management solution. The offering, delivered through an alliance with Harbor Payments, marks the company's entry into the accounts payable market.

In a move that Microsoft Corp. said is about drawing more attention to the product, and not about weak sales, the company announced a huge price cut on its Small Business Accounting software.

Walk into an audio store and try shopping when there's no sign of a sales person. The chances are that you won't make a purchase.