Accounting and business services ASP Intacct Corporation Thursday (Feb 15) announced an online bill payment solution through an alliance with Payformance.
Customers who want to use the new Intacct bill payment service can easily access it from within the Intacct system. Behind the scenes, information is shared between Intacct and Payformance through the eXtensible Markup Language (XML), the standard for web-based sharing of business data.
Bill payment information is securely forwarded over the Web to Payformance, which prints checks bearing the customer’s logo, puts them in envelopes, then stamps and mails them the same day. Users can also elect to extend the electronic bill-paying circuit by taking advantage of wire transfer payments that eliminate the need to mail paper checks. Wire transfers deliver payment to creditors in one business day.
The cost of the printed check payment service is $.85 per check, including postage. By outsourcing the labor needed to print, fold, stuff, and mail each check, businesses can realize a significant savings.
“Businesses adopt integrated web services precisely to eliminate expensive, labor-intensive operations such as paying bills,” said David Thomas, CEO of Intacct Corporation. “With this partnership, Intacct customers can perform this job at lower cost and with no effort. It is a dramatic example of the benefits of web-based services.”
The Payformance alliance is the latest of several strategic alliances that integrate key services into Intacct’s core accounting offering. The alliances enable Intacct subscribers to take advantage of the benefits of the Web for such tasks as online auditing, professional billing and expense reporting, payroll, and human resource services.
Intacct’s integration with Payformance and other web-based services is facilitated through XML. Deeper levels of integration are possible through co-development ventures, such as Intacct’s agreement with Deloitte & Touche to offer a web-based auditing tool.
Intacct was founded in June 1999 by accounting software pioneer David C. Thomas, developer of one of the first PC-based accounting systems. Intacct is funded by venture capital firms Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, JK&B Capital, and Caltos Capital LLC, as well as by Goldman, Sachs & Co, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.
