NetLedger Releases Version 3.0, New Set of XML Standards

Today, NetLedger announced the release of NetLedger 3.0, adding new accounting and business management functionality, further marketing the idea that NetLedger is more than an online accounting solution.

“We were the first online general ledger,” Bill Mirbach, president and chief executive officer, told ASP-News. “Our goal is to be the way you run your business totally online. With the release of 3.0, we are about three more laps ahead of the competition.”

NetLedger users can now accept highly secure credit card payments from customers and record them in real time directly into their online accounting records.

“Customers can pay their bills online and now the owner of NetLedger doesn’t have to do anything to accept payment,” explained Steven Wolfe, director of product management.

NetLedger also selected Innovative Merchant Solutions as a partner to provide full service bankcard processing within NetLedger accounting. “Innovative Merchant Solutions understands the needs of the small business,” Mirbach said.

In addition, the new expense reporting function allows employees to enter expense reports from any computer directly into NetLedger for a department’s review and approval.

Another new feature in NetLedger 3.0 is custom forms. Forms such as invoices, estimates, sales receipts, credit memos and purchase orders can be customized and catered to add or remove fields, columns, change the name of an existing field and change the title and order of existing columns.

“The forms have also been redesigned into HTML Format,” Wolfe explained. “Now the forms don’t have to be downloaded on a computer to be viewed or printed.”

NetLedger also announced the development of SMBXML, the first XML standard for the small business ASP market today, allowing users to link with any application using the XML standard. This integrates their products to deliver enhanced business solutions.

“The development of this standard allows somebody to export data out of NetLedger if we don’t do a good job,” Mirbach said confidently.

For the end user, the SMBXML standard means complete, integrated solutions and the elimination of double-data entry, saving time and money for the business.

The company plans to stream these XML over HTTP with their partners and users. Users will be provided with an upload or download screen to send an unlimited number of rows of transactions in a single transmission. NetLedger is the only general accounting provider with open XML interfaces.

Because the SMBXML standard is open, NetLedger claims it will significantly advance and strengthen the small-business ASP market as a whole by delivering more complete e-commerce solutions through strategic technology and business partnerships.

When asked to simplify the terms, Wolfe said, “XML is like an alphabet and SMBXML is a guidebook with standards you can adhere to.” XML will enable people to bypass the business exchange environment. XMBSML will allow for direct communication between B2B. “There are no restrictions on who gets to see what the standard is,” he said.