Sage North America plans to launch Sage Connect, a portal for accountants and their clients that is designed to enable them to collaborate via the Internet, along with providing other functionality such as some document management capabilities.
A description of the plan was offered today the Sage Insights conference by
Connie Certusi, the VP who leads the company's low-end software efforts. Sage made a flurry of announcements as part of its effort to re-engage with accounting firms.
"It [Sage Connect] can be branded by the accountant or by the client, Certusi noted. Sage Connect will offer secure file transfer along with document storage. There will also be the capability for accountants to send messages to accountants, such as requesting information missing from a tax return.
The portal can be used by anyone, according to product manager Jared Smith. "It's product agnostic," he said. He noted that it will be offered for free to members of the Sage Accountants Network. No plans have yet been made for selling it outside of that network.
Accountants will be able to setup notices to clients for recurring events, such as information needed for quarterly filings. They will also be able to set up types of files that they are requests from clients.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind