Intacct online professional accounting and the Principal Financial Group are jointly announcing the official go-live date of the Intacct/Principal Financial online 401(k) and retirement service today.
“The go-live on this integration represents the first time the Principal Financial Group has integrated with an online accounting and financial management system,” Intacct spokesperson Wendy Bednarz told MacCentral.
Offered on a monthly subscription basis, the Mac compatible Intacct system is an enterprise system made on the Internet for small to medium sized businesses. It’s not a redesigned boxed software product. Though all Intacct software is located on servers, not desktops, the company decided early on to support the Mac, Intacct CEO David Thomas told MacCentral.
The Web based software runs on Internet Explorer and Netscape browsers on the traditional Mac operating system and Carbonized versions of the browsers for Mac OS X, he said. Intacct does in-house testing to ensure “100 percent Mac compatibility,” Thomas said.
The online 401 (k) and retirement service will be available through the Mac compatible Intacct system. The Principal and Intacct announced a business alliance last December to create the integrated solution for CPAs and other financial professionals nationwide.
The new solution allows Intacct’s channel partners, many of which are CPA firms, to expand client service offerings. For Intacct channel partners’ clients, the integration offers secure access to The Principal’s online 401(k) and retirement services directly from the Intacct platform without the need for multiple browser windows or password entries, Thomas said.
With the launch of the new service, users of the Intacct system can now establish, manage, and provide full-service 401(k) and retirement plans from The Principal to their clients with features including: complete online 401(k) plan administration and testing; daily valuation record keeping; investment assistance through licensed financial professionals; online plan design assistance’ and 24/7 access to plan status, along with a dedicated client service consultant.
The system provides users with multiple benefits, such as eliminating manual routing and data entry of payroll contributions from different financial systems to The Principal platform, Thomas said. The Intacct system automatically updates data into The Principal record keeping system, eliminating the need for manual data entry.