Small businesses across the region are set to receive a financial shot in the arm with the news that local value-added reseller, Applisys, is ramping up its focus on Sage software solutions that streamline and simplify accounting and payroll procedures.
Applisys will work with business management solution (BMS) provider, Sage - itself part of the greater FTSE-listed Sage Group - to bring the benefits of Sage Instant Accounting to start-up and established small, medium and micro enterprises alike.
The move comes following increased demand in the SMME space and it therefore takes both companies into what Frank Christoph, a director at Applisys, believes is a massive potential market.
"There are literally hundreds of thousands of potential SMME customers in the southern African region that, until now, have only had one or two accounting solution providers to choose from," he says.
"It's not just about bringing Sage Instant to an individual or a small company market though. We're leveraging off Sage's extensive international experience from enterprise-class BMS deployments [and its significant R&D spend] and working that into the projects where we engage SMMEs.
"In effect, the best practices developed in Sage's high-end deployments are applied to companies with an installation of less than five users - that certainly starts a company out on the right track to good financial governance."
Sage Instant Accounting is a Web-enabled Windows-based software solution designed to make small business bookkeeping straightforward. Based on industry-standard accounting ledgers it allows companies to record, control and examine finances quickly and easily. Keeping track of trading is also simplified as graphs, tables and reports show the real-time status of a company's finances.
"The myriad one- or two-person operations out there are in dire need of choice when it comes to stable accounting packages that offer rich functionality," says Christoph.
"There's also a trend in this market for accounting firms to require SMME customers to submit financial data for their year-end in one, professionally-compiled package. This almost forces the SMME to install a robust and reputable accounting solution.
"The Sage solutions are solid - they can be easily expanded, bugs inherent to other software packages are not found in Sage [Instant] and great support is offered through a highly-accredited channel."
While Sage Instant Accounting is a self-sustaining package that ably meets the needs of start-up businesses, Ashley Ellington, the division director for Africa at Sage, points out that there's far more in the solution portfolio should a company experience significant growth.
"The first step up from Sage Instant would be Sage Line 50 - a BMS best suited to small organisations with up to five users. Companies can then continue up the ladder all the way to the [Windows-, Linux- or Unix-based] Line 500 BMS as they grow," he explains.
"All the solutions feature the same look, feel and operation, so the growth path is clear - there's little for users to adapt to when they begin working on one of the higher-level Sage solutions ... except, of course, significantly-enhanced functionality."
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