Intacct Web-based Accounting Service Offers Integrated Online Bill Payment

Business Wire, Feb 15, 2001

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 15, 2001

Leading provider of online accounting service partners with Payformance Corporation; integrated bill payment service automatically

updates general ledger

Intacct Corporation, the leading provider of professional-strength, web-based accounting and related online business services, today announced an online bill payment solution to the costly and time-consuming task of paying bills. The service is offered through a strategic alliance between Intacct and Payformance, a provider of payment services to more than 3,000 corporations, including over 100 Fortune 500 organizations.

Intacct customers now have online access to a bill payment system that, at the push of a button, arranges for the immediate payment of dozens or even hundreds of bills. In addition, because the bill payment service is fully integrated into the Intacct system, customers are able to browse through bills in their accounts payable systems, select bills for payment based on early payment discounts or other criteria, while their general ledger accounts update automatically.

Customers who want to use the new Intacct bill payment service can easily access it from within the Intacct system. Behind the scenes, information is shared between Intacct and Payformance through the eXtensible Markup Language (XML), the standard for web-based sharing of business data.

Bill payment information is securely forwarded over the Web to Payformance, which prints checks bearing the customer's logo, puts them in envelopes, then stamps and mails them the same day. Users can also elect to extend the electronic bill-paying circuit by taking advantage of wire transfer payments that eliminate the need to mail paper checks. Wire transfers deliver payment to creditors in one business day. The cost of the printed check payment service is $.85 per check, including postage. By outsourcing the labor needed to print, fold, stuff, and mail each check, businesses can realize a significant savings.

"Businesses adopt integrated web services precisely to eliminate expensive, labor-intensive operations such as paying bills," said David Thomas, CEO of Intacct Corporation. "With this partnership, Intacct customers can perform this job at lower cost and with no effort. It is a dramatic example of the benefits of web-based services."

Intacct's alliance strategy

The Payformance alliance is the latest of several strategic alliances that integrate key services into Intacct's core accounting offering. The alliances enable Intacct subscribers to take advantage of the benefits of the Web for such tasks as online auditing, professional billing and expense reporting, payroll, and human resource services.

Because Intacct is entirely web-based, integration with Payformance and other web-based services is facilitated through XML. Deeper levels of integration are possible through co-development ventures, such as Intacct's agreement with Deloitte & Touche to offer the industry's first web-based auditing tool. (See separate release, "Intacct Taps Deloitte & Touche in Offering CPAs The First Web-Based Auditing Tool," December 19, 2000.) About Payformance Corporation www.payformance.com

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, with real-time redundant production facilities in Atlanta, Georgia, Payformance Corporation is a leading developer of business-to-business payment automation systems for a variety of industries, including financial services, insurance banking, state and local government, and manufacturing. The company was the first to combine hardware and software for a true turnkey solution to securely print MICR-encoded payments. Serving more than 3,000 customers globally, Payformance Corporation enables organizations to easily adopt new payment technology that fits their existing accounting system.

About Intacct Corporation www.intacct.com

Intacct Corporation is the first company to provide professional-strength, web-based accounting and related online business services. Intacct is designed for companies that need more than an entry-level PC-based accounting package but want an alternative to complex, IT-intensive client/server solutions. Offered on a monthly subscription basis, the Intacct service can be accessed via any browser.

Intacct was founded in June 1999 by accounting software pioneer David C. Thomas, developer of one of the first PC-based accounting systems. Intacct is funded by venture capital firms Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Caltos Capital LLC, as well as by Deloitte & Touche LLP and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.

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