There's still a shortage of new buyers for accounting software. One of the best indicators comes from the payroll business because its check volume directly correlates to employment. And this week Paychex, which ended its second quarter on November 30, said checks per client were down 3.7 percent over the prior year, but that beat the 5 percent decline for its first quarter. Nothing to write home about (and my mother wouldn't be terribly interested if I wrote her about Paychex anyway). Sheldon Kralstein, CEO of Clients First Business Solutions said prospects want to talk and he believes that those that held off are coming back with smaller budgets to see what they can get for less. Talks over the last two months have produced a general view that things started getting better after Labor Day.