During March and April, we will be visiting capital cities and major regional centres throughout Australia to showcase the latest Attaché releases, including many software enhancements and our new business intelligence applications. With so much to see, this year we’re holding two sessions — one for Accounts and another for Payroll.

Session 1 — Accounts: new features and business intelligence applications including ClearView dashboards, CRM, Remote Access and more.
Session 2 — Payroll: new features and legislative changes including superannuation and salary sacrifice reporting, Fair Work Australia and End-of-Year 2009/10.

To register or find out more visit the Update 2010 website

Attaché Software has announced a three-year sponsorship contract with Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) of New Zealand. EMA Northern is New Zealand’s largest business association serving more than 8,000 members with over 300,000 employees. The organisation promotes the success of business by seeking to create the most desirable environment for business and adding value through representation, knowledge and support.

Mike Rich, Managing Director of Attaché Software, said, “We are delighted to support the EMA in its position as an educator and supporter of the New Zealand SME (small to medium sized enterprises)... We look forward to the positive impact that our sponsored briefings will have on the New Zealand SME sector.”

Read more about Attaché sponsoring EMA Northern.

The government has introduced the new National Employment Standards which take effect from 1 January 2010 and by now you should have received information direct from Fair Work Australia. You can also visit the website at www.fairwork.gov.au where you will find a Fair Work Information Statement and other details.

Attaché Payroll complies with the changed requirements under Fair Work and allows you to record all the necessary information and show the required details on each emplyee's pay slip. If you have any issues related to setting up the new Fair Work requirements in Attaché Payroll, contact your Attaché consultant.

Attaché Software's Managing Director, Michael Rich, addressed the 12th Annual Credit Management & Debt Recovery Conference presented in Auckland, New Zealand, by the Employers and Manufactures Association (Northern) Inc. The address followed a practical ‘case study’ approach that demonstrated how productivity, revenue, debtors, stock control, expenses, customer loyalty and reporting can all be improved, to help businesses use the downturn to build a better business.

Throughout November Attaché is running an Australia wide series of user events to introduce Attaché Accounts and bring users up to date with our all-in-one business intelligence solution. Aimed at business owners and decision makers, these seminars highlight the latest offerings from Attaché including business intelligence (BI) dashboards, customer relationship management (CRM), financial management tools and customisable reports. Invitations will start arriving via email and fax from October 21.

• For more information visit the Attaché Accounts All-In-One seminars website.

Semester 2 training courses at our North Sydney Training Centre are now underway. Courses are available for novice as well as experienced Attaché users in Payroll, Accounts and specialist subjects such as Attaché ODBC, GST and General Ledger. This semester also sees the introduction of a new Superannuation with Attaché Payroll course.

• Courses and course descriptions
• Semester 2 timetable and registration form

Attaché Software's Debtors Reduction Strategies report was recently featured in a news article in the dynamicbusiness.com website. The online article discussed how the report can help businesses reduce the impact of outstanding debts and increase working capital.

• Read the article at dynamicbusiness
• Get the Debtors Reduction Strategies report

A new Attaché 7 upgrade, with over 30 new features, is now available. Attaché 7 version 7.01.200 includes updates to Attaché Payroll resulting from legislative changes (such as the new reporting requirements for payment summaries and Reportable employer super contributions as well as a new payment schedules feature for employee allowances, deductions and contributions. In Accounts, new features include date-driven balances in masterfile enquiry, foreign currency invoicing, multiple supplier delivery addresses and enhanced security for general ledger account codes. There's also a new Customer Risk Analysis tool to help you better manage your debtors.

• The new release is available to download from the CBP Members website.

Attaché Software participated in the Australian Government’s Standard Business Reporting (SBR) conference, held in Sydney on May 26-27. The two-day conference brought together national and international experts to discuss global financial reporting trends, including open standards such as XBRL, and consider what SBR means to business, accountants and software developers.

Due for release in 2010, SBR is a multiagency initiative that will simplify business-to-government reporting. According to the Australian government, SBR is expected to save Australian businesses $800 million per year on an ongoing basis, freeing up resources for more profitable activities.

From 1st July 2009 new tax scales will be required for Australian payroll users. The new scales will include updates to various thresholds for tax, Medicare, HELP and SFSS. The new tax scales will be made available free of charge to licensed Attaché software users. Email subscribers will be notified of their availability through our email news bulletins. Until then, you should continue to use the 2008/09 tax scales.

• Subscribe to email news bulletins at the CBP Members website.

Our popular end-of-financial-year seminars will be held throughout Australia during May and June. Each seminar includes sessions on Accounts and Payroll where you’ll learn how to confidently process the end of year (EOY), and you’ll receive detailed guides and checklists. This year’s seminars also include a special workshop entitled Using Attaché 7 to Reduce Your Debtors.This workshop will show you how to use your Attaché system to identify and tackle problem customers and minimise declining revenue caused by debt blowout — essential in today’s tough economic climate.

• Register or find out more by visiting the EOY seminars website.

Attaché Software Managing Director, Mike Rich, was recently interviewed on cpe.tv, an online video education service for tax practitioners presented by Macquarie Group Services. Mike discussed the importance of financial software in effectively managing a business and how Attaché's Plain English Guide to Next Generation Software can help business owners determine whether their software needs assessment, based on the type, size and stage of their business.

Click the image below to watch the interview.

The last week of January saw Kick Off '09 touch down in major cities around Australia and New Zealand, as the Attaché team spread the good news about the year ahead to the Attaché Consultant community. Attaché Software managers (Mike Rich, David New, Tony Gorham and Duc Tran) visited cities in both countries to introduce Attaché Consultants to the new range of products, new pricing and exciting bonuses for both new and established users of Attaché accounting and payroll solutions. As part of the process, consultants underwent relationship training and were introduced to the Attaché Debtors Reduction Strategy.

In March and April Attaché Software will be hosting Update '09 — a series of free information seminars that will introduce the exciting new features of our recent and upcoming upgrades to Attaché 7. The current release is full of great new features — many requested by users, for both Attaché 7 Accounts and Payroll, making the seminars a must for all users of Attaché products.  Invitations will be arriving in mailboxes in the next few weeks. Further information is available from the Update ’09 website.

Attaché Software staff proved what a truly international firm this local company is when they celebrated Australia Day with a great Aussie barbie and international food tasting. As well as the traditional steak and sausages, Attaché staff enjoyed tasting plates from the 21 different nationalities represented by staff. Team members enjoyed a truly international feast, with dishes including chorizos from Argentina, boerworst from South Africa, and biriyani from India, to name a few.

Dates and times for the 2009, semester 1 training courses in North Sydney and Perth have been set. Courses range from introductory training in Attaché 7, to payroll and accounts. A new course, Products — Suppliers and Customers will also be available, focussing on inventory management. See the Training area for a full listing of the available courses and detailed descriptions.

• View the Sydney timetable
• Training registration form (PDF)
• North Sydney venue information
• Perth registration form (PDF)