Hardly surprising in these days of portals, but Avalara is planning a customer portal. The  information comes in a job posting for a  core platform engineer for its cloud connect team by the company's channel chief Patrick Falle. "This role brings together the core products of the Avalara business, and helps provide a coherent experience to our users," Falle wrote. "You will manage the engineering process and deliver value to the customer through development of a streamlined user interface (Customer Portal) and a platform for new content that will launch Avalara in to new markets."

Aktion Associates, a software reseller based in Maumee, Ohio, has begun carrying Acumatica. The parties have not issued an announcement, but Aktion is featuring the product, which has both on-premise and cloud version, on its website. Headed by Scott Irwin, Aktion is already in the cloud with Intacct, and it says, with hosted versions of Sage's construction and real estate applications through its Cloud Services. It also offers Deltek and notes that product, along with Sage and Intacct applications, serves project-based businesses.

The board of directors Reckon, Intuit's former Australian distributor, has loosened the conditions for vesting of long-term incentives. The board based its decisions on the fact that Reckon cut its ties with Intuit in 2012 and began marketing products in its own name. It also factored in the decline in license sales as Reckon made its move to the cloud with applications such as Reckon One. Incentives for 2011 to 2013 were allowed to vest even though the target levels of total shareholder return were not reached.

Newly formed Sovos Compliance has acquired Boulder-based ShipCompliant, a compliance and tax software publisher for the alcohol beverage market. Sovos was formed in February when its owner, Vista Equity Partners, welded together TaxWare, Convey Compliance Systems and VAT Resource. We've been talking about the impact of private equity and this shows one battlefield in indirect tax; acquisition of specialized vendors. Sovos and ShipCompliant will integrate their compliance products.