Pastel launches cloud computing for small businesses in Zimbabwe

Pastel Software Zimbabwe will on March 12 launch Sage Pastel My Business Online, a cloud based accounting programme designed for start-up and small businesses that enables them to do their accounts online from anywhere in the world.

This web-based business software solution can be accessed from anywhere using a computer, ipad, smartphone or even an iphone, as it has an iphone application.

My Business Online has already been launched in South Africa and Cyprus where it has proved successful. In South Africa it was the first online accounting solution to be introduced.

Announcing the imminent launch of My Business Online, Pastel Software Zimbabwe managing director Rob Watson said the introduction of cloud computing in Zimbabwe was an exciting step forward for small businesses, enabling them to keep their accounts up-to-date and do business projections from anywhere at all.  

"Instead of keeping your accounts on your computer and having to transfer them via a flash disk or other device to work on them at home, your accounts are kept 'in the cloud', that is on a web-site, in the same way as information is kept on Facebook and other similar sites.

"That means they are always accessible to you, as long as you have an internet connection. The data is secure, possibly more secure than being kept on the office computer," he said.

My Business Online is an entry-level web-based accounting system that makes it easy to manage customer invoices, receipts, supplier invoices, returns and payments. It also helps manage items purchased, sold and returned, view reports and send customer statements quickly and easily.

No installation is required, nor are any updates needed, as upgrades are done automatically. One simply has to log on and start working.

"With more and more people now banking online, shopping online and doing many other things online it is only logical to do one's accounting online. Imagine the convenience of being able to access your accounts anywhere at any time, with no need to synchronise work on different computers.

"The programme's automatic bank statement feeds allows you to automatically import bank statements. This is just one of the many time saving features of My Business Online.

"It is ideal for the small businessperson, who often does the accounts himself. My Business Online will save him or her a considerable amount of time which can be spent more profitably on promoting the growth of the business," Mr Watson said.

"Apart from being seamless, My Business Online is convenient and user friendly. Traditional accounting jargon has been replaced with simple, easily understood terminology," he added.

My Business Online has a dashboard, which gives a bird's eye view of the business, giving the user an overview of how the business is doing.  It is possible to see at a glance the best customers, outstanding balances and the sales history. The To Do List function manages tasks.

There is drill down functionality that allows for a deeper analysis of the information presented on the screen.

"My Business was designed for business owners who are starting out and have little bookkeeping knowledge or just want a basic system. It is easy to use even without the help of an accountant

"My Business Online was designed to make life even easier for the small business person, making use of cloud computing, which is taking over worldwide and changing the way we do business," Mr Watson said.

"With cloud computing your accounts system lives on the web not the device that you will be working on. You will have the same data whether you are working on your desktop, laptop or ipad," he added.

Speaking on cloud computing when My Business Online was launched in Cyprus earlier this month, Sage Pastel managing director Steven Cohen said: "If businesses do not adapt to this new, and better way of working they run the risk of very quickly becoming prehistoric in their service delivery which is just not a sustainable strategy for success.

"Accounting in the cloud gives accountants and business owners alike the ability to conveniently access records and transact from remote locations with little or no advanced set-up," he said.

He added that, although My Business Online is being officially launched on March 11, a free trial of the programme is already available at www.sagemybusiness.co.zw.