For those who long for a more professional accounting software package for the Mac platform, California-based Intacct Corp. suggests that you check out their professional Web-based accounting system. In fact, Intacct CEO David Thomas is a diehard Mac user who can often be found working off his Titanium PowerBook.
The 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, 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 explained.
“The Mac has been abandoned by a lot of accounting software firms, but with the Intacct system, users can move to a new accounting system and continue to use their Macs,” he added.
Look for Intacct to work with Apple in promoting its professional accounting system to the company’s client base and resellers. What’s more, Intacct has developed, with partner and client Deloitte & Touche, the world’s first Web-based audit feature, something no other Web-based accounting system has accomplished, Thomas said.
“CPA firms can actually audit clients through the Web,” he explained. “This means huge efficiencies for both the CPA and the client. For example, clients don’t have to set aside time for an accountant to come to their locations or make room for them to park. They don’t have to prepare reports for the CPAs. And most CPAs have had to go to PCs because of the lack of Macintosh software. Those that want to use their Macs don’t have to do this any longer. Both they and their clients can be completely indifferent as to each other’s computing platform of choice. This is part of our core strategy for continued support of the Mac platform.”
Intacct is the first to invent and offer consolidation of company ledgers. And it’s the first to offer a CPA console with client management features, according to the company.
Unlike traditional accounting software, you can securely review and interact with the Intacct accounting system from any Internet-connected computer — at the office, at home or on the road — at any time, day or night, Thomas said. He added that the Intacct system gives employees, clients, customers, vendors, bankers, auditors and other designated personnel the level of control they specify, enabling them to enter transactions, review reports and track business processes on their own from wherever they’re located.
He feels one of the strongest features of the Intacct system is its collaborative accounting capabilities. Users can work online with a virtually unlimited cast of business participants in any number of different offices or cities. All parties can simultaneously view and interact with the most current accounting data and reports, Thomas said.
“One of key benefits of a Web system is connectivity,” he continued. “I don’t mean dial-up, but the ability to have multiple people connected at the same time. With our system, a company’s CPA can use the accounting system at the same time that customers are logging on for online billing, while employees are doing expense reports.”
What’s more, Intacct has developed and packaged its XML Developer Kit (XDK), designed to streamline the integration of third-party Web-based business services with Intacct’s online accounting and auditing solutions through the publication of Intacct’s standards-based XML application programming interface.
“The developers kit will, for instance, allow Apple developers to build desktop and Web applications and have them interact with the Intacct accounting system through a Web gateway,” Thomas said. “It’s an opportunity for the developer community to tie vertical solutions into Web solutions.”
Intacct is also working with Intuit and CCH to make their tax preparation software simpatico with the Web-based accounting system. Look for this to happen in late September or early October — in time for tax season.
What’s more, the Intacct system opens the doors for CPA firms to begin taking on the role of “virtual CFO” for clients. Compiling accounting data has made this difficult, if not impossible, before now, Thomas said.
Intacct operates and maintains the entire accounting software infrastructure, allowing customers to spend less time on system integration and more on their core business, Thomas said. Clients pay a simple monthly fee. For example, a CPA firm pays a hosting fee of US$995 annually. But there’s no hardware to buy, no IT networks to build, no accounting software to install or upgrade, Thomas added.
“Customers don’t have to worry about whether they made backups today or be concerned about software updates, hard drives crashes, or a stolen computer,” he said.
You can sign up for a 14-day test drive of the Intacct accounting service online. However, since they’re a private label service, you’ll need to call their Customer Support Staff at 877-704-3700 for pricing and other sign-up details. And if you’re worried about the company dropping Mac support anytime soon, that doesn’t seem likely with Thomas in charge.
“I have about eight Macs at home and an AirPort network,” he said.