Xero has more than 200,000 paying customers in Australia, the New Zealand-based cloud company said recently. That is up from 109,000 a year ago. Australia is Xero's largest market and this item came to mind because that was announced the same week Australia accounting software company, MYOB, announced an IPO to return to being publicly held after several years as a private company. In September, MYOB said it had 100,000 subscribers for its AccountRight cloud product. Unlike Xero, whose applications are all Internet-based, MYOB has on-premise products.

DSD Business Systems has acquired Sage 100 enhancements from Accounting Systems Inc., which is based in Columbia, S.C. San Diego, Calif.-based DSD said this week it acquired seven products, which will remain on the market. Jon Reiter, DSD's chief software engineer, said the applications work with Sage 100 ERP versions 4.50, 2013, 2014 and 2015 The enhancements include Service Center, which the parties described as the only Sage 100 product designed for service centers and depot repair shops.

Intacct CEO Robert Reid has taken a stand publicly opposing religious freedom laws adopted in some states. Reid made his statements recently in the Intacct Blog "View from the Cloud". He noted "One aspect of being a CEO that I appreciate is being able to occasionally use that platform to take a stance on important issues." In this case, it is a strong stand on an issue that is generating a lot of controversy and it is taking a stand in an area a lot of companies might avoid.