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Microsoft Announces Integrated Services With Industry Leaders and New Features for the Next Version of Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting

SB Informer
Wednesday, May 24, 2006; 01:24 AM

REDMOND, Wash. - As part of its long-term commitment to helping small businesses reach their full potential, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) today announced that it is working with industry leaders eBay Inc., Equifax and PayPal to offer customers online integrated services for Microsoft® Office Small Business Accounting 2007. These strategic relationships add to Microsoft's existing relationships with Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP), Chase Merchant Services and Deluxe Corp. Microsoft also announced key new features to provide small-business customers with enhanced sales integration with Microsoft Office Outlook® with 2007 Business Contact Manager, multicurrency capabilities, and customizable forms and security roles. In addition, Microsoft announced specific features for accountants including an accountant navigator, payroll center for accountants, accountant transfer wizard, and enhanced journal entry worksheet along with additions to the Microsoft Professional Accountants Network (MPAN).

"We have talked to small businesses, and, not surprisingly, the No. 1 concern they have is the amount of time they spend on financial management," said Rajat Taneja, general manager of small business product development and marketing at Microsoft. "The new features in Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2007, and the new relationships we've developed in support of the release, were created to help small businesses save time and money and -- at the same time -- increase productivity."

Microsoft worked closely with eBay through the eBay Developers Program to enable Office Small Business Accounting 2007 users to list and sell items on eBay from within their accounting software. "Office Small Business Accounting 2007 is a great example of how Microsoft is delivering value to small businesses that want to list on eBay," said Chris Tsakalakis, vice president of advanced solutions at eBay. "The eBay listing feature included in Microsoft's new accounting software will empower small businesses to explore new revenue channels, while offering current eBay sellers a complete small-business accounting solution to help them grow their businesses."

Microsoft Works With Industry Leaders to Enhance Accounting Solutions for Small Business

Working with industry leaders will contribute significantly to Office Small Business Accounting 2007, providing small businesses with a complete end-to-end solution and several new capabilities:

-- eBay. Office Small Business Accounting 2007 will enable small  businesses to easily sell their products to millions of buyers on eBay, made possible through eBay's Web Services API. The upcoming product provides businesses with the ability to select products from their  inventory, list items for sale on eBay, view status of listings, and  download transactions and fees - all from within the accounting  software.
-- Equifax. Microsoft and Equifax are collaborating to offer businesses  that use Office Small Business Accounting 2007 a set of integrated,  easy-to-use commercial credit-reporting services. Businesses will be  able to cost-effectively monitor the credit-worthiness of their  customers, their vendors and their own business on an ongoing basis  directly from within the accounting software.
-- PayPal. Working with PayPal, Microsoft will provide two new payment services: Invoice Payment Service and Merchant Processing Service,  both within Office Small Business Accounting 2007. These services will  enable small businesses to accept payment transactions with PayPal,  either through e-mail or through direct credit card payments. These  solutions will save small businesses time and money and result in  greater payment flexibility for their customers.

New Features for Small Businesses

Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2007 will include features that are important to today's small businesses. Some of these features include the following:

-- Enhanced Integration with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager. This enhanced integration will allow small businesses to share and update a single list of customers across the organization. It will also enable salespeople to access key Small Business Accounting reports and launch marketing campaigns from within Outlook® 2007 with Business Contact Manager.
-- Multicurrency support. Small businesses that work with customers or vendors outside the U.S. will benefit from multicurrency support. Small businesses will be able to add or change information about the foreign currencies and easily update exchange rates.
-- Forms and security. The fully customizable forms and security roles will enable small businesses to tailor the application to their specific business needs.

New Features for Accountants

Key features in Office Small Business Accounting 2007 developed for accountants include these:

-- Accountant Navigator will enable accountants to more efficiently work with and manage books from multiple clients.
-- Payroll Center for Accountants will allow accountants to run payrolls and manage payroll processing from a single dashboard.
-- Accountant Transfer Wizard will simplify sharing and updating data files from their clients without any business interruption.

-- Journal Entry work sheet will enable accountants to quickly enter multiple transactions and closing entries.

Enhancements to the Microsoft Professional Accountants Network Announced

Microsoft also announced today two enhancements to MPAN: a certification program and an Accountant Finder tool. MPAN members contributed to the development of a comprehensive curriculum, which teaches best practices in Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2007 setup, payroll, reporting and other day-to-day functions.

This certification designation defines areas of specialization, making it easier for MPAN members to position skills to customers. Once MPAN members pass the certification, they will receive priority listing in the new Office Small Business Accounting 2007 Accountant Finder tool. This tool will enable Microsoft's small-business customers to quickly find a local, trained accounting professional.

More information about Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting is available online at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011956881033.aspx.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

NOTE: Microsoft and Outlook are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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