Microsoft has been surprising us lately.

We’re not talking about the announcement in mid-November that Microsoft has launched a new era of openness and inclusivity across platforms they normally rejected, forging new partnerships that consumers will benefit from.

We’re not even talking about their announcement that they’re bringing Visual Studio to Mac. (People are still talking about this one as if it’s a sign of the end of times.)

Payday makes employees happy. All employees, perhaps, except for the accounting manager. Payroll is one of the more complicated of accounting functions, and there is absolutely zero margins for error with employees – or the taxman, for that matter. 

To-the-penny accounting became a lot less stressful with the latest and greatest versions of cloud-based payroll accounting software on the market today. SaaS (software as a service) vendors have worked hard to improve their products so your tax filings stay accurate, helping your business avoid those pesky fines and penalties that stem from any errors.

To cloud – or not to cloud? That may be the real question businesses of all sizes have been pondering lately. The convenience and flexibility that comes with cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology is unquestionably terrific; but naysayers continue to worry about the vulnerabilities inherent in the Internet of Things (IoT). On-premise ERP platforms offer a higher ability to customize specific features, but you’re going to pay more upfront for a less flexible platform.

Today, Microsoft Dynamics GP is widely considered to be one of the best small business accounting software platforms in existence. Not to be content with just accounting, Microsoft Dynamics GP continues to expand to embrace enterprise resource planning applications. The basic functions of GP include:

In today’s competitive business landscape, it is imperative that you handle your customers properly. Customer engagement is everything. If you don’t take care of your clients and potential customers, there will always be a competitor waiting to snatch them up. That’s why a CRM (customer relationship management) tool is so valuable to your business. You can improve business prospecting, increase and organize marketing, and track and manage existing customer relationships with CRM software.

Are you reaping the full benefits of the Microsoft Dynamics ERP platform? Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions were designed specifically to streamline accounting, logistics, supply chain, CRM, and other business functions typically handled by multiple legacy systems. IES clients work across two crucial ERP modules:

In 2011, the HubSpot-Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration was big news. Prior to the announcement, HubSpot’s API allowed integration with third-party systems. But the new integration was an ideal partnership; HubSpot was the leader in inbound marketing techniques, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM was the most efficient way to capture and manage customer data. Together, HubSpot Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration allowed increased marketing automation, improving the organization of customer contacts and data from pre-sale to up-sale.

Are you still running your business out of a box? If you’re part of a start-up, you actually may be. Hopefully by now you’ve transitioned to a software platform that can help with file organization. If this is the case, you may have already discovered – all accounting platforms are not created equal.

Move over, Intuit QuickBooks Online. There’s another accounting software competitor that is snagging – and retaining -- your customers. The beauty of this other online software platform is that is goes beyond the basic business functions of finance and billing and allows a true upgrade to a business intelligence package that can do everything from integrate with your customer database, create customized income and expenditure reporting, and can be accessed from any digital device through the cloud.

In July Oracle announced it was buying NetSuite. IT pundits suggested that would be a positive outcome for a NetSuite platform that struggles to keep up with its main competitor in the cloud: Microsoft Dynamics.

NetSuite’s biggest claim to fame was that they had the foresight to jump in the cloud before the IoT began to rule the world.

But NetSuite has struggled to gain and retain market share, primarily, many would say, due to serious shortcomings.