News

Xero says the number of users of its cloud-based accounting software in North America hit 18,000 when its fiscal year ended on March 31. That's up from 6,000 at the end of fiscal 2013. Meanwhile, revenue for New Zealand-based company on the continent reached about $2.8 million, an increase of 154 percent over the prior year.

Paychex says it is getting lots of interest in the low-cost accounting package it is marketing. But comments during the recent earnings webcast suggested the payroll services company still has not ironed out the details of how to get small businesses to sign up for the Kashoo-based cloud product in great numbers.

The market for Internet-based payroll and HR services is drawing a crowd as three organizations have gone to the public market for funds. Those are the TriNet Group, Paycom Software and Paylocity with TriNet having raised $240 million in an IPO that was priced a week ago. Paylocity went public on March 18 while Paycom filed a registration statement for its proposed IPO on March 10.

BDO Seidman has sold its Synergistic Software Solutions operations and the manufacturing software that unit has marketed to a private equity investment group. Anania & Associates of Windham, Maine, has purchased Synergistic and the JobOps application that is marketed to users of Sage 100 ERP accounting software.