The web-based Dashboard quickly turns raw real-time data into customisable visual charts and graphs, helping businesses cut through complex information. It allows trends to be easily identified via a simple traffic light system and comparisons to be made between information based on different databases beyond the finance system such as Oracle, Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL Server and flat files like Excel. This information can be pulled together in single charts to allow comparisons, for example, between CRM and sales data.

Ket Chauhan, director for Access, commented, "This organisation-wide solution provides instant access to critical business information with the ability to drill down to the level of detail that's meaningful to the individual. Because it's web-enabled, it also means information can be accessed on the move, which is vital in today's business environment where every second counts."

He continued, "KPIs can be allocated to individuals and teams across the organisation and progress tracked and monitored in real time. This allows more time to be spent analysing data and trends or addressing any issues, rather than data-gathering and administration. This can only be good for the business."

Alongside the new Dashboard solution, Access will be demonstrating its latest service management portfolio. This integrated solution helps businesses to automate processes and manage complex schedules, track outstanding jobs, raise quotations, match engineers to the most appropriate jobs, provide call support, and ensure chargeable work is accurately billed for - all from one system. It also offers a customer self-service facility over the web, saving hours of manual processing by speeding up the availability and analysis of information.

Ket concluded, "The solution allows businesses to be much more time efficient and take a more coordinated approach from ensuring there's greater control over daily tasks to making sure KPIs and performance measures are being achieved. Efficiency is also paramount to help maintain and improve customer experience and service levels. This wouldn't be possible, given the growing complexities faced by mid-market organisations, without the right systems in place."

For more information on Access, its consultancy and software solutions visit Hall 10, stand 720 at the exhibition. Alternatively, contact Gareth Evans on 01582 465100, email info@theaccessgroup.com or visit www.theaccessgroup.com.  

About Access

• Access is a business-led consultancy and software developer, serving the mid-market.
• Consulting services are backed by 65 accredited consultants, providing business software expertise. They operate nationally out of nine offices in the UK and Ireland.
• The software portfolio provides solutions to meet the needs of the whole organisation, helping to reduce complexity and increase efficiencies at every level. In addition to accounting and finance, Access also offers manufacturing and distribution, professional services automation, carbon emissions measurement, reporting, payroll, document management, service management and CRM solutions.
• Accreditations and memberships:

• Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
  • Business Application Software Developers Association (BASDA)
  • HM Revenue & Customs: Payroll Standards Scheme
• Awards 2008:
  • Accountancy Age Award for the best 'Mid-tier Software Package'
  • SIFT Media Software Satisfaction Award, for the second year running, in the category of best 'Mid-Range Software'

The Accountancy Age Awards mark outstanding work in business, practice and technology with a judging panel that includes some of the most respected people in the accountancy profession. Past panels have included Sir Digby Jones, Sir Mike Rake, chairman of BT, Sam DiPiazza, outgoing CEO of PwC International and Ian Dyson, FD at Marks & Spencer.  Access hopes to repeat its 2008 winning status when the results are announced on 18th November at Battersea Park Arena in London.

The company will find out on 8th October whether it has once again been voted the customer's choice at the Software Satisfaction Awards. As current holder of two consecutive award wins, these accolades celebrate excellence across the business software industry. Now in its fourth year, more than 8,100 end-users and purchasers of business software applications voted in this year's survey, making it the largest yet. Shortlisted companies were rated for ease of use, functionality, reliability and value for money.

The winner of the BASDA-sponsored Green Software Provider of the Year Award will also be announced at the Software Satisfaction Awards. It will be presented to the company judged to have developed and launched innovative green software solutions, enabling customers to meet environmental challenges and responsibilities. The focus of Access' award entry is its Accounting for Carbon Emissions solution. Launched in 2008, this was the first practical software tool to incorporate carbon emissions in the finance function.

Access' nomination for two categories in this year's Construction Computing Awards could mean success for the fourth year running. Customer voting is now underway and finishes on November 10th, with the awards being held on November 19th at the Tower Hotel London.

Alistair O'Reilly, group managing director for Access, commented, "It's very satisfying to have been shortlisted for five prestigious awards in what is a tough time for both our customers and the industry in general - I believe this is testament to the success of our new consulting, software and solutions business model.  It's also heartening to see respected industry bodies such as BASDA get fully behind the green agenda and for us to be recognised as playing a part in its development. And of course, we're delighted to once again receive such great support from our customers for Access Dimensions and FocalPoint. We've worked closely with them over the years to develop solutions to help them achieve business success. Our continued investment in our portfolio is extending its reach into every area of the business, providing industry-leading solutions that address real business challenges."

Recent innovations introduced by Access include stock forecasting, cash flow, dashboard and process automation in areas such as HR. Alistair continued: "Being shortlisted in these awards is also thanks to our product development teams. They continue to work hard to come up with new and innovative solutions for the growing number of industries where we have specialist expertise such as professional services, manufacturing and the not-for-profit sectors."

For more information on Access, its consultancy and software solutions contact Gareth Evans on 01582 465 100 or visit www.theaccessgroup.com

About Access

• Access is a business-led consultancy and software developer, serving the mid-market.
• Consulting services are backed by 65 accredited consultants, providing business software expertise. They operate nationally out of nine offices in the UK and Ireland.
• The software portfolio provides solutions to meet the needs of the whole organisation, helping to reduce complexity and increase efficiencies at every level. In addition to accounting and finance, Access also offers manufacturing and distribution, professional services automation, carbon emissions measurement, reporting, payroll, document management, service management and CRM solutions.

• Accreditations and memberships:
  • Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
  • Business Application Software Developers Association (BASDA)
  • HM Revenue & Customs: Payroll Standards Scheme
• Awards 2008:
  • Accountancy Age Award for the best 'Mid-tier Software Package'
  • SIFT Media Software Satisfaction Award, for the second year running, in the category of best 'Mid-Range Software'

Alistair O'Reilly, group managing director for Access, commented: "This final phase sees the culmination of two years' hard work, leveraging the strengths of the individual companies as one much larger mid-market organisation. The website is an extremely important vehicle, ensuring our visitors recognise the full scope of the services we provide."

"The new design is much crisper and easier for visitors to navigate their way around the site, whilst still providing an appropriate level of information. Our aim is to help organisations cut through the complexity of choosing their business software, providing real clarity in how we can help up their organisation."
For more information on Access please contact 0845 345 3300 or visit www.theaccessgroup.com.

Colchester, Essex - 29th June 2009 - Five companies, best known for the award-winning accounting software Access Dimensions, have undergone a customer-focused brand elevation to better reflect their combined consulting expertise and software solutions. The move will position the subsidiaries as one major mid-market player, a consulting company taking on the Goliaths of the industry. It will also position them as a key provider of organisation-wide software solutions, when they commence operating under the new Access brand from 1st July 2009.

Alistair O'Reilly, founder and group managing director for Access, commented: "We're well known for our accounting software but we also have a very strong consulting capability due to the acquisitions we've made, and this is backed by a broad-based business software portfolio.

"We've considerable expertise in helping mid-sized organisations reduce complexity and increase efficiencies across their whole business. We now have 65 accredited consultants operating across the UK and Ireland and we've more than doubled our customer support team. We also provide solutions that extend far beyond the accounts function, into manufacturing, distribution, professional services, carbon emissions measurement, document management and CRM.

"As a business-led consultancy and software developer, we've combined the strengths of five companies to fully leverage their expertise and best practice. Customers will now be able to benefit across all industries including our key sectors: professional services, not for profit, manufacturing and distribution. Customers want integrated business systems that provide full visibility of their operations in a clear and straightforward manner; we can help them achieve this through the advice we provide and the software solutions we deliver."

Russell Muldoon, group finance director for Europa, one of the UK's largest independently owned providers of property and infrastructure support services, has been through a similar exercise as a result of strong growth and acquisition. He commented, "Europa has been an Access customer for quite some time and its technologies play a vital role in the day-to-day running of our organisation. As our business has grown, Access' software has adapted to meet our needs, helping us increase our turnover from £12m to £70m over the past four years. Access' ability to elevate its brand in this way is testament to the strength of the organisation and the success of its software portfolio. We look forward to seeing the consultancy move forward with its complete solution to become a major player within this industry."

With a 10-year plan to reach £100m turnover by 2017, the rebrand forms part of Access' business strategy to drive growth towards achieving this target. The brand will be rolled out over the next few weeks, culminating with the new website, www.theaccessgroup.com, going live on August 3rd 2009. To hear more from Alistair on the Access brand view his videoblog at http://blog.access-accounts.com.

The Payroll Giving Quality Mark aims to provide sustainable income sources for UK charities by increasing participation in Payroll Giving. By setting up a scheme, employers enable their employees to give to any UK charity straight from their gross salary and to get immediate tax relief of up to 40% on each donation.

John Beech, managing director for Access Accounting, commented, "As a company we actively encourage community and charity involvement and our staff were very keen to participate in the Payroll Giving scheme. This forms part of our wider initiatives including our Charity of the Year, for which staff have raised more than 37,600 since 2000. The success of payroll giving at Access Accounting is testament to the ongoing generosity of our staff and their commitment to helping good causes."

Payroll Giving has minimal administrative requirements or costs and is an ideal way for organisations to generate a regular, reliable income stream for good causes. The Payroll Giving Quality Mark is funded by HM Government, managed by the Institute of Fundraising and administered by the Payroll Giving Centre.

Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive of the Institute of Fundraising, said: 'Payroll Giving is a vital source of income for charities, last year raising £109 million for many different good causes. It also brings benefits to businesses as well, boosting staff morale, recruitment and retention. In turn, staff working at companies with a Payroll Giving scheme in place can claim tax relief on donations to their favourite charities out of their gross pay."

For more information on Access Accounting please telephone 0845 3453300 or visit www.access-accounts.com. For more information on payroll giving visit www.payrollgivingcentre.org.uk

Richard visited the business software house to see first-hand how the company had developed what was the first practical tool for organisations to easily account for carbon emissions. Since its launch last year, ACE has been incorporated into FocalPoint, the company's web-enabled professional services automation solution, taking CO2 measurement beyond the finance function. Staff across the business can now easily input details of their carbon emissions - whenever and wherever they are based.

Richard Howitt commented, "It was very interesting to see just how easily this solution cuts through the complexity of measuring carbon emissions. ACE offers organisations the tools to easily and quickly measure and report on carbon emissions. Not only does it provide businesses with visibility of their impact on the environment, it also demonstrates to stakeholders that they are committed to building a sustainable business.

"Such innovation should be readily encouraged as technology providers are perfectly positioned to provide the necessary tools for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint. I hope other vendors continue to follow Access Accounting's innovative lead."

Kevin Misselbrook, customer services director for Access Accounting, commented, "ACE has been developed within the heart of our accounts package, Access Dimensions, allowing carbon emissions to be tracked as part of the finance function's normal day-to-day activity. It makes the figures as easy to access as financial reporting.

"We extended the tools to our professional services solution to help businesses further increase efficiencies across their organisations and support the finance function in the collection of data. Measurement is the starting point and the process needs to be as simple as possible - after all, you can't manage what you can't measure."

In the latter part of 2008, Access Accounting won recognition for ACE in the Accountancy Age Award for the best 'Mid-tier Software Package'. The judging panel that included Jan Babiak, global climate change and sustainability leader for Ernst & Young, described it as "a clever product&superbly timed". This accolade closely followed the Green Business Awards where Access Accounting received recognition as one of the highest placed IT companies in the awards, taking highly commended in the 'Best New Product' category.

Access Accounting is also a member of the Prince of Wales May Day Network, led by Business in the Community, the UK's largest group of businesses committed to taking action on climate change.

For more information on Accounting for Carbon Emissions telephone 0845 3453300.

Optima Products Ltd part of the Optima Group, has more than 15 years experience as a leading partitioning specialist.  The company has installed projects for a long list of high profile clients including EMI, American Express, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), David Beckham Academy, Deloittes and BBC.

"Access Supply Chain was superior to the other ERP solutions' providers that we reviewed in terms of integration capabilities, depth of functionality and ease of navigation. The solution has provided increased control over our manufacturing operations, which will help us to improve delivery times to our customers" explained Nigel Westray, MD for Optima Products Ltd'.

"Our activities are spread over a five-acre site and tracking jobs with our previous solution was a time consuming process. Complex manufacturing operations meant projects would sometimes be held up due to stock shortages on key items. Now nothing can be made unless all constituent parts are available."

From an IT perspective, the ERP solution has helped the Optima Products Ltd move to a virtualised business environment with thin client architecture. This has resulted in improved disaster recovery and reduced hardware and power consumption. In addition, it has streamlined existing support skills within the company.

Craig Such, MD for Access Supply Chain, commented, "The Access Supply Chain solution is a thin client, multi tier solution with Microsoft SQL Server at the heart. This was a central element of Optima's IT strategy as it needed the flexibility to integrate with a number of existing and planned systems across the Group moving forward."

About The Optima Group
The Optima Group is the first choice for providing commercial workspace through innovative design, superior installations and the best customer service in the industry. The Group consists of two organisations - OAG and Optima Systems.

OAG is a specialist glazing contractor, with a desirable reputation for quality, service and commitment. With over 15 years experience in the design, management and installation of architectural glass, it brings the highest level of expertise, passion and reliability to the world of architectural glass. OAG is a specialist in the installation of balustrades, stairs, roofs, facades, lifts, fire screens, shop fronts and bespoke solutions.

Optima Systems is the UK's leading partitioning specialist. It prides itself in offering quality service and innovative design that allows clients to create flexible workspaces. Optima Systems has extensive experience in the design, development and installation of silicone and dry jointed glass partitioning, demountable system partitions and advanced system drywall.

John Beech, managing director for Access Accounting, commented, "We will be offering service and support to all existing customers of Rugged Logic, many of whom have already integrated with the award-winning Access Dimensions and FocalPoint solutions. This extension to the Access Accounting range is particularly relevant at a time when businesses - large and small - are shining the spotlight on cash flow and forecasting in general. It complements perfectly the enhanced Credit Control module which we launched last year."

The Rugged Logic solution is the only ICAEW approved cash flow forecasting package in the UK and was shortlisted in the Accountancy Age Awards for Mid-tier Software Package of the Year. This new generation of cash flow forecasting software combines historic data, business drivers, and forward assumptions about the business, providing a detailed and accurate picture for future planning.

"What If" scenarios can be modelled instantly and compared on screen, invaluable at board level where decisions can be made in real-time based on guaranteed data integrity, no matter how complex the business model. Instant roll-forward and roll-back features allow seamless updating of forecasting models, saving days each month. Company-specific business drivers can be incorporated into the model which provides projected Profit & Loss and Balance Sheets, making this a forecasting system which extends well beyond cash flow.

For more information on Access Accounting or its software portfolio telephone 0845 3453300 or visit www.access-accounts.com

The legislative changes will mean businesses providing or purchasing services from the EU will be required to adopt a tax point based on either the time of supply of services, or the time of payment, whichever is earlier - the convention of using the invoice date will no longer apply.

Kevin Misselbrook, customer services director for Access Accounting, commented, "With these new rules, businesses will have to track the dates of delivery that the services were provided, and account for VAT accordingly. Things get really complicated with invoices that cover multiple deliveries of services, or those occasions where the service dates change. Additionally there is a whole raft of rules and exceptions covering, for example, contract services, transport, entertaining services and education. This could lead to all kinds of confusion with so many different tax treatments being applied depending upon the trading scenario.

"This will place an even greater burden on business at a time when what they really need is help and support as they steer their way through the current recession. Indeed many organisations may not currently be aware that the new VAT rules will be coming into force, which is why we're keen to see that this issue is not buried within the Budget.

The new tax point rules will come into effect on 1st January 2010. To read more from Kevin on this, visit http://blog.access-accounts.com.

For more information on Access Accounting or its software portfolio telephone 0845 3453300 or visit www.access-accounts.com

Access Accounting has previously been shortlisted for, and has won, the title of 'Financial Software Provider of the Year' in these awards. In the new category, voters were asked which technology company's products and services had the most positive impact on business performance - including cost savings, increased productivity and efficiencies.

John Beech, managing director for Access Accounting, commented: "I'm delighted we've been shortlisted, especially under this broader category which is open to all technology companies. This is a great encouragement to our dedicated team who work tirelessly to help simplify business processes for customers each and every day."

Last year Access Accounting swept the board in the 2008 awards season, winning four prestigious accolades in just four weeks. These included the Accountancy Age Award for the best 'Mid-tier Software Package' and the SIFT Media Software Satisfaction Award, for the second year running, in the category of best 'Mid-Range Software'. Access Accounting was also highly commended in the Green Business Awards for 'Best New Product' and saw its third consecutive year of achievement in the Construction Computing Awards.

The winners of the FDs' Excellence Awards will be announced on Wednesday 13th May 2009 at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square.

For more information on Access Accounting or its software portfolio, contact 0845 3453300 or visit www.access-accounts.com