Business / Companies
Pastel, Utande introduce a joint cloud accounting package
06 Mar 2013 at 11:01hrs | Views
Two of Zimbabwe's leading technology companies have entered into a partnership to bring online cloud-based accounting for small businesses to Zimbabwean entrepreneurs.
Pastel Software Zimbabwe, the country's leading provider of accounting packages for small to medium-sized businesses, and leading internet service provider Utande have come together to make Sage Pastel My Business Online, which makes use of cloud technology, available in Zimbabwe.
Cloud computing has caught on swiftly in many countries but is new to Zimbabwe, which makes this partnership between Pastel Software Zimbabwe and Utande particularly exciting and significant.
The simple Sage Pastel My Business Online programme, which enables users to store their accounting information in a 'cloud', giving them access to it anywhere in the world, has already proved popular in South Africa, where it was launched in 2009, and Cyprus, where it was launched a few weeks ago.
My Business Online is due to be launched in Zimbabwe on Tuesday next week, although a free trial, which can be accessed at www.sagemybusiness.co.zw, is already available for those who would like to try it out.
The programme makes it possible to easily keep track of sales, purchases, inventory, customers, suppliers and cash movements. Accounting language has been simplified or replaced with terms that can easily be understood by those with little or no accounting knowledge.
Customer invoices, receipts, supplier invoices, returns and payments, as well as items purchased, sold and returned, can all be easily managed with My Business Online from anywhere where there is internet access. Reports can be viewed and customer statements be sent quickly and easily.
Pastel Software Zimbabwe is providing the Sage Pastel My Business accounting programme, while Utande is hosting the online version of the accounting programme and providing the data centre for it. It is supporting Pastel with the 'cloud' infrastructure.
"Everything about My Business Online is handy, current and mobile, since it has an iPhone application for those with iPhones," said Pastel Software Zimbabwe managing director Rob Watson.
"Traditional accounting jargon has been replaced with simple, easily understood terminology making it easy to use even for someone without any accounting background.
"Shopping, banking and everything else is now being done online so it is only logical that accounting is also done online.
"You can watch your business grow from anywhere in the world," Mr Watson.said.
My Business Online has a drill down dashboard that allows users to view customers' sales histories and contact details. An accountant can also log onto the system without travelling to the customer's premises to check accounts.
Being "in the cloud" there are no installation hassles, no investing in infrastructure, no need for upgrades and no security hassles Accessibility is easy.
My Business Online comes with free feature updates and unlimited transactions. There are no set up costs. All the data exists on the web rather than in one's computer.
On the same day that is being launched, Pastel Software Zimbabwe will also launch, again in partnership with Utande, My Money, which is an online personal finance management tool that makes it possible for one to take control of personal finances anytime via the internet.
My Money gives an overview of spending habits, bank account balances and what one has left at the end of each month.
It also allows one to capture income, expenses and bank transfers or use the easy bank import option to import bank and credit card statements, all at the click of a button.
With My Money it is easy to create budgets either from scratch or basing it on historical spending. It is also possible to track spending against budget each month.
"My Money helps you understand where your money is going each month by allowing access to comprehensive reporting and graphs. It is ideal for home budgeting," Mr Watson said.
At next week's launch there will be representatives for Sage Pastel in South Africa to explain he My Business Online and My Money programmes and a representative of Utande to explain how cloud computing works.
Pastel Software Zimbabwe, the country's leading provider of accounting packages for small to medium-sized businesses, and leading internet service provider Utande have come together to make Sage Pastel My Business Online, which makes use of cloud technology, available in Zimbabwe.
Cloud computing has caught on swiftly in many countries but is new to Zimbabwe, which makes this partnership between Pastel Software Zimbabwe and Utande particularly exciting and significant.
The simple Sage Pastel My Business Online programme, which enables users to store their accounting information in a 'cloud', giving them access to it anywhere in the world, has already proved popular in South Africa, where it was launched in 2009, and Cyprus, where it was launched a few weeks ago.
My Business Online is due to be launched in Zimbabwe on Tuesday next week, although a free trial, which can be accessed at www.sagemybusiness.co.zw, is already available for those who would like to try it out.
The programme makes it possible to easily keep track of sales, purchases, inventory, customers, suppliers and cash movements. Accounting language has been simplified or replaced with terms that can easily be understood by those with little or no accounting knowledge.
Customer invoices, receipts, supplier invoices, returns and payments, as well as items purchased, sold and returned, can all be easily managed with My Business Online from anywhere where there is internet access. Reports can be viewed and customer statements be sent quickly and easily.
Pastel Software Zimbabwe is providing the Sage Pastel My Business accounting programme, while Utande is hosting the online version of the accounting programme and providing the data centre for it. It is supporting Pastel with the 'cloud' infrastructure.
"Everything about My Business Online is handy, current and mobile, since it has an iPhone application for those with iPhones," said Pastel Software Zimbabwe managing director Rob Watson.
"Traditional accounting jargon has been replaced with simple, easily understood terminology making it easy to use even for someone without any accounting background.
"Shopping, banking and everything else is now being done online so it is only logical that accounting is also done online.
"You can watch your business grow from anywhere in the world," Mr Watson.said.
My Business Online has a drill down dashboard that allows users to view customers' sales histories and contact details. An accountant can also log onto the system without travelling to the customer's premises to check accounts.
Being "in the cloud" there are no installation hassles, no investing in infrastructure, no need for upgrades and no security hassles Accessibility is easy.
My Business Online comes with free feature updates and unlimited transactions. There are no set up costs. All the data exists on the web rather than in one's computer.
On the same day that is being launched, Pastel Software Zimbabwe will also launch, again in partnership with Utande, My Money, which is an online personal finance management tool that makes it possible for one to take control of personal finances anytime via the internet.
My Money gives an overview of spending habits, bank account balances and what one has left at the end of each month.
It also allows one to capture income, expenses and bank transfers or use the easy bank import option to import bank and credit card statements, all at the click of a button.
With My Money it is easy to create budgets either from scratch or basing it on historical spending. It is also possible to track spending against budget each month.
"My Money helps you understand where your money is going each month by allowing access to comprehensive reporting and graphs. It is ideal for home budgeting," Mr Watson said.
At next week's launch there will be representatives for Sage Pastel in South Africa to explain he My Business Online and My Money programmes and a representative of Utande to explain how cloud computing works.
Source - MHPR Public Relations Consultants
