July 2013 saw Sage Pastel, the local accounting and business software giant, demonstrate its industry-leading mobility innovations

Johannesburg, South Africa -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/10/2013 -- The new Windows 8 Tablet App for My Business Online was showcased at the company's accountants' focus day and the Mobile App for Sage Evolution caused a stir at the company's Evolution customer day. In typical cutting edge fashion, Steven Cohen, MD of Sage Pastel Accounting, has directed the company's development team towards providing mobility to the Sage Pastel suite of accounting and business software. "I know we're ahead of the development curve but I also know that increasingly, businesses will come to depend on three things: mobility, mobility, mobility," he says.

Cohen's point is that mobility means much more than just arming business executives with mobile devices. "That's just flirting," he says. "What we're doing is improving the ability and readiness of companies to do business. We're developing enterprise apps that allow our customers to transact anywhere at anytime. That's mobility.

Cohen acknowledges that the concept of the cloud and the mobile apps associated with it is a little intimidating for some customers but early adopters are gaining such a competitive advantage that they will drive broader acceptance of super-smart enablement tools.

Sage Pastel My Business Online (http://www.pastelmybusiness.co.za) was launched in 2009, making it SA's first online accounting program. At the time, it was lauded for how it allowed business owners and accountants to change the way they managed day-to-day financial control. Today, the mobility it offers is widely recognised for how it allows business people on-the-go an ideal solution to shift work habits while also enhancing effectiveness and efficiency.

Some of the mobility features of the program include a real time bird's-eye view of the business's financial status, including sales and purchases. Customer information is also available, allowing users to contact them directly through their mobile device and also check related tasks, process quotes and invoices and email them directly.

Of course, accounting in the cloud offers a wide range of benefits to accountants too, most key being the ability to provide more relevant and constructive input into a client's business. The program's bespoke accountant console provides dashboard information of all clients with detailed task information for each one.

About Sage Pastel Accounting
Sage Pastel Accounting is South Africa's leading developer of accounting, payroll and business management software for the small, medium and large enterprise market. Since inception, Sage Pastel has developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the industry, establishing itself as a market leader and the preferred choice of South African business. The numbers speak for themselves as thousands of businesses use Sage Pastel Accounting to run their businesses and trust Sage Pastel to help them achieve their business ambitions.

About Sage
Softline was founded in 1988 by Ivan Epstein, Alan Osrin and Steven Cohen. The company was established during the formative years of the business software industry in South Africa, and soon became the leader in the provision of business software and services to small and medium sized companies. In 2003 Softline was acquired by UK based company The Sage Group plc. Softline officially changed to Sage in February 2013 to align with our parent company Sage Group plc. We continue to provide local expertise backed by the global Sage brand.

About The Sage Group plc
Sage Group plc is a leading global provider of business management software to small and medium sized companies, creating greater freedom for them to succeed. Sage understands how and why each business is unique. We provide products and services that suit varying needs, are a pleasure to use and are secure and efficient. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over 6 million customers and more than 13,380 employees in 24 countries covering the UK & Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia and Brazil. For further information please visit www.sage.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Subscription is here, making it affordable for start-up and SME businesses to automate their payroll

Johannesburg, South Africa -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/10/2013 -- With payroll subscription, users pay a low monthly fee and don't incur the usual initial investment costs they would when normally purchasing an automated desktop payroll solution.

Sage Pastel Payroll & HR general manager, Laurica Kok, says that in a difficult economy this is a lucrative option in the form of a low monthly payment plan.

Regular statutory and legislative changes in the payroll and HR industry make it challenging for businesses to comply with the 6 major Payroll Acts. Companies can simply not afford to process their payroll by making use of a manual system or formulae driven worksheets. Manual and worksheet payroll processing can result in incorrect calculations and deductions, meaning companies can potentially face SARS penalties.

Staying abreast of regular legislative updates can be a daunting task for any business. Subscription payroll enables companies to make use of automated payroll software to confirm that payslip calculations are accurate first time round, every time. One of the benefits of an automated payroll solution is that many vendors offer telephonic and email support services as part of their payroll offering.

With subscription, the payroll desktop solution provides users with the best of both worlds (desktop and online), by making use of frictionless automated update technology. Frictionless updates enable traditional desktop applications to seamlessly update over the internet with minimal intervention from the end-user.

Businesses no longer need to download and install updates from a website or use CD versions to manually update their software. The software now does it all for them, directly from their payroll software - as long as businesses have an active internet connection.

Another component of frictionless updates is RSS Feeds directly to the desktop payroll system. This allows your business to receive information, notifying you of legislative and tax changes as well as new system software releases so that your business can stay on the right side of the law.

Another benefit of opting for an automated software solution is that your business can experience hassle-free SARS submissions. A payroll file can be imported directly into SARS eFiling, for accurate PAYE, UIF and SDL reconciliations. With payroll subscription, businesses can afford to automate their payroll and HR administrative tasks.

About Sage
Softline was founded in 1988 by Ivan Epstein, Alan Osrin and Steven Cohen. The company was established during the formative years of the business software industry in South Africa, and soon became the leader in the provision of business software and services to small and medium sized companies. In 2003, Softline was acquired by UK based company, The Sage Group plc. Softline officially changed to Sage in February 2013, to align with our parent company, Sage Group plc. We continue to provide local expertise backed by the global Sage brand.

About The Sage Group plc
Sage Group plc is a leading global provider of business management software to small and medium sized companies, creating greater freedom for them to succeed. Sage understands how and why each business is unique. We provide products and services that suit varying needs, are a pleasure to use and are secure and efficient. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over 6 million customers and more than 13,380 employees in 24 countries covering the UK & Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia and Brazil. For further information please visit http://www.sage.com/

About Sage Pastel Payroll
Sage Pastel Payroll offer user-friendly Payroll & HR software that caters for those businesses just starting out, as well existing businesses and aims to support the growth of the company and develop partnerships with clients. Sage Pastel Payroll & HR is committed to providing a comprehensive payroll solution, unrivalled support and easy-to-use online payroll tools.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

The Evolution Mobile app harnesses the full power of advanced enterprise resource planning (ERP) and up-to-the-minute handheld technology making it the ultimate sales enablement tool, suitable for every size of organisation.

Johannesburg, GP -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/31/2013 -- Evolution Mobile gives team members customised dashboards to instantly access real time customer data and inventory details on their handheld devices. A quick search will give them item quantities and prices, allowing them to create on-the-spot quotes or take instant orders. Customers can accept terms by physically signing the mobile device, so deals can be negotiated and closed in one meeting.tel.

There's no time wasted in going from customers back to the office, or even in calling the office, so orders are delivered faster, dramatically sharpening the competitive edge. And as the chance of errors is minimised, so costs are contained and efficiency is improved all round. It also allows sales staff to load general info about their customers while they're on site, ensuring that the personal touch is not sacrificed to technology.

Mohammed Mosam, divisional director at Sage Pastel, said that software today had to go beyond just providing or managing information, it had to improve the ability and readiness of companies to do business.

"Evolution Mobile is so much more than just a technical advance in ERP tools. It's technically advanced thinking in action. Organisations that want to move beyond accounting to grow their businesses into strategic, forward-looking leaders use it to work smarter and faster. It really does give new meaning to the sales enablement process."

Studies have shown that employees with mobile devices typically put in 20-plus additional hours per week, working when they would otherwise be kicking back. "Mobile productivity is about more than just letting employees check their work email at home, it is about helping them to work smarter, rather than longer."

Evolution Mobile offers both online and offline modes. This means that even when users are out of 3G range they can still work in the app and anything they do will automatically and seamlessly integrate back into Sage Evolution ERP.

Sage Evolution also offers Quote on Air when more detailed and professional quotes are required for high value product items. It combines desktop software with a cloud-based portal, allowing sales staff who are on the move to create custom quote templates that are automatically uploaded to the Quote on Air web space. All the salesperson has to do is log into the portal and use the templates to produce professional and standardised proposals and quotes which customers can accept online.

Mosam said that both these tools increased the productivity and efficiency of workers who travel more and spend more time out of the office with customers. "We understand that customers now require instant access to real-time data from anywhere at any time. This is why we constantly develop our software to cater to the changing needs of users with tools like this that extend your organisation's borders," he said.

About Sage Pastel Accounting
Sage Pastel Accounting is South Africa's leading developer of accounting, payroll and business management software for the small, medium and large enterprise market. Since inception, Sage Pastel has developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the industry, establishing itself as a market leader and the preferred choice of South African business. The numbers speak for themselves as thousands of businesses use Sage Pastel Accounting to run their businesses and trust Sage Pastel to help them achieve their business ambitions.

About Sage
Softline was founded in 1988 by Ivan Epstein, Alan Osrin and Steven Cohen. The company was established during the formative years of the business software industry in South Africa, and soon became the leader in the provision of business software and services to small and medium sized companies. In 2003 Softline was acquired by UK based company The Sage Group plc. Softline officially changed to Sage in February 2013 to align with our parent company Sage Group plc. We continue to provide local expertise backed by the global Sage brand.

About The Sage Group plc
Sage Group plc is a leading global provider of business management software to small and medium sized companies, creating greater freedom for them to succeed. Sage understands how and why each business is unique. We provide products and services that suit varying needs, are a pleasure to use and are secure and efficient. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over 6 million customers and more than 13,380 employees in 24 countries covering the UK & Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia and Brazil. For further information please visit www.sage.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Sage Pastel, South Africa’s leading developer of accounting and business software, is now officially the EMEA region’s best help desk, with a gold medal recently awarded to the team at the Contact Centre Best Practices Conference & Awards in Vienna and they also won a silver medal for Best Community Spirit

Johannesburg, South Africa -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/15/2013 -- The Global Association for Contact Center Best Practices & Networking saw over 1500 entries from around the world, with the EMEA region receiving over 600 entries from over 28 nations and only the best qualified after vigorous screening by judges based in America, Canada and Asia Pacific. The finalists who presented in Vienna are considered the elite of the industry.

Sage Pastel has been a regular winner at these awards over the years. Steven Cohen, MD of Sage Pastel Accounting, said that taking top honours now was a significant tribute to the company's service ethic, which put consistent customer care at its heart.

"I'm so proud of our team for leading EMEA in the level of customer service they provide. It takes a special kind of person – and a bonded team – to work in a contact centre, especially a technical contact centre like ours where everyone needs to understand the basic principles of accounting and business management as well as software."

Cohen said that winning gold also acknowledged the way that contact centre staff were motivated, retained and developed, as well as the company's reward and recognition programme and the centre's management. The final result of the competition is based on a combination of written entry and judging by industry peers, with judges considering the contact centre's level of customer service, technology and strategies for employee motivation, reward and retention.

Sage Pastel's 165-seat contact centre takes over 850 000 calls per annum and 60 000 email and other contacts per month.

Morne van Deventer, Sage Pastel Accounting's Contact Centre Manager, said that when you have such high volumes of calls you need to be committed to a best practice techniques that combine sourcing – and keeping – talented people and investing in cutting-edge technology. "One of the most useful aspects of attending the conference was being able to benchmark our contact centre against world standards and best practices. We always need to stay on top of areas such as telephony technology, customer service initiatives and other contact centre metrics."

The best community spirit award is given to the contact centre that demonstrates a commitment to the community and is involved in local community activities. "This is particularly important in South Africa today," said Cohen.

The next stop for the Sage Pastel contact centre team is representing the EMEA region at the Best in the World help desk event to be held in Las Vegas in November this year.

About Sage Pastel Accounting
Sage Pastel Accounting is South Africa's leading developer of accounting, payroll and business management software for the small, medium and large enterprise market. Since inception, Sage Pastel has developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the industry, establishing itself as a market leader and the preferred choice of South African business. The numbers speak for themselves as thousands of businesses use Sage Pastel Accounting to run their businesses and trust Sage Pastel to help them achieve their business ambitions.

About Sage
Softline was founded in 1988 by Ivan Epstein, Alan Osrin and Steven Cohen. The company was established during the formative years of the business software industry in South Africa, and soon became the leader in the provision of business software and services to small and medium sized companies. In 2003 Softline was acquired by UK based company The Sage Group plc. Softline officially changed to Sage in February 2013 to align with our parent company Sage Group plc. We continue to provide local expertise backed by the global Sage brand.

About The Sage Group plc
Sage Group plc is a leading global provider of business management software to small and medium sized companies, creating greater freedom for them to succeed. Sage understands how and why each business is unique. We provide products and services that suit varying needs, are a pleasure to use and are secure and efficient. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over 6 million customers and more than 13,380 employees in 24 countries covering the UK & Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia and Brazil. For further information please visit http://www.sage.com/.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm