Direct computer systems company Dell Computer Corporation and application developer BAport Technologies yesterday announced a partnership that brings forth the BAport Accounting service targeted at small businesses.

BAport Accounting service is Web-based and offers Dell's U.S. small business customers a full-featured, hosted accounting DellEWorks solutions.

Fully integrated, BAport Accounting includes check writing, invoicing, inventory, purchasing, general ledger, accounts receivable and payable, check printing and financial reporting.

This service also allows clients to easily add multiple users as their company grows.

"Dell was early to recognize the business benefits of this model, and we are excited about working with them to provide these services through the complete DellEWorks.com business solutions Website," Graham Clark, chairman and chief executive officer, BAport, said.

Clark believes that accounting apps offered as hosted services on the Internet provide small business owners with a more convenient solution.

"Today's small business owner will no longer have to worry about their accounting program becoming obsolete as their business expands," he said. "BAport technology will be responding via the Internet with a real-time solution."

BAport Technologies is also introducing a proprietary XML Web-transaction architecture, fulfilling the need for reasonable application performance even over slow dial-up connections.

By integration of additional small business services, the companies intend to add functionality to the BAport Accounting solution. The integration of these services is facilitated by the BAport XML architecture and uses the proposed W3C SOAP protocol.