SageSpark, a program that is designed to move Sage down market, is going to provide common human resource forms for its small business members under a new program called HR Advice. Templates and instructions will be available for commonly used forms such as employee evaluation forms, offer letters and employee appraisals.

"We are going to be doing a pilot of this in Canada at the end of this month," notes Chuck LeDuc, the senior director of development for the Spark program.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Charles Schwab has set up a Web site for independent investment advisors called the Schwab Advisor Center that is designed to help them more efficient manage client clients. The site is located at www.schwabadvisorcenter.com,and integrates with Schwab Data Delivery, the company's data files delivery and data management application.

The new platform enables advisors to do the following:

KANSAS CITY, MO. - H&R Block said it is continuing its negotiations with McGladrey & Pullen in an effort to convince the accounting firm to maintain a 10-year old agreement under which M&P and Block's RSM McGladrey jointly service clients, but noted it is talking to other audit and attest firms as possible replacements.

Legal arbitration is also continuing over certain provisions of the operating agreements that regulate the relationship.
M&P notified RSM McGladrey on July 21 that it intended to end the relationship. Block CEO Russ Smyth said that "We have been quite clear in our communications that we believe the firms are better off together and that this course set in motion by the ten member board of M&P is risky from both a business and a financial perspective and is not in the best interest of our partners, employees and clients."

PARSPPANY, N.J. - Wal-Mart's decision to remodel its smaller stores put a crimp in the plans for tax chain Jackson Hewitt's expansion because the new design can't accommodate the tax business facilities in several Wal-Mart locations during the next filing season, while its revenue could also be impacted by its banking partners considering lowering interest rates on refund anticipation loans.

Meanwhile, the company said it also plans to launch its first online tax preparation program, although it gave no details about when the program would be introduced. These statements came as Jackson Hewitt reported results for the first quarter ended July 31. According to its SEC filings, the tax chain will operate in 1,500 to 1,750 Wal-Mart stores, but did not detal how many locations will be affected by the new design.. The company also stated it had learned of "potential structural changes under consideration with respect to the offering of RAL and Assisted Refund products by certain of our bank partners, including lowering the APR in the RAL program." The agreements, under which the banks pay Jackson Hewitt a fixed fee for offering and administering bank products, expire on Oct. 31, 2010.