Although the Sage Group has a wide portfolio of software packages that executives say needs pruning, the company will not simply give end-of-life dates for these. In recent comments, Steven Kelly, CEO of the parent of Sage North America, said the company will not force users to migrate to its preferred applications.

An online cash management product introduced recently by Sage in the United Kingdom will go global next year. Nick Goode, commercial director for the SageOne line, says SageOne CashBook will be rolled out to other countries, including the United States, beginning next year.

Balanced Labs, a start-up company, is developing a cloud-based tax application. Founded by two former Xero executives, Balanced Labs also plans to develop collaboration and workflow tools for accountants, according to a bare-bones website established by the company, which is based in San Francisco, Calif., and Sydney, Australia.