Australian software vendor, MYOB has invested in Acumatica. Acumatica CEO Jon Roskill said today that MYOB, which is owned by Bain Capital, has made a “significant investment” and has taken a seat on the board. MYOB is also testing a cloud-based product, MYOB Advanced, which it built on the Acumatica platform. “We see a huge opportunity, said Gary Katzeff, national manager of MYOB’s Australian Enterprise Division. The announcement was made today at Acumatica’s Partner Summit in the Denver suburbs. It's an important move. In the cloud race, being able to show a solid financial base is important in raising a company's profile with everyone--the resellers, the ISVs, the customers and prospects. 

In a major surprise to the channel, Microsoft has dropped strict requirements for Gold resellers that carry Dynamics GP, NAL and SL. The changes do not affect requirements for selling AX and CRM. The development, which reverses years of hiking qualifications to sell the products, makes it easier for smaller dealers to carry the three financial packages because they will no longer have to employ a required number of personnel in a variety of categories, which had increased the staff size VARs needed to play the Dynamics game. I'll ask Microsoft for a comment, but I'm not sure its PR people work Saturday nights.

Intuit is transitioning its company by incorporating the move to the cloud into its accounting. The company is now recognizing desktop revenue over time, instead of recognizing license revenue at the time of sale, CEO Brad Smith said during this week’s earnings webcast for the year ended July 31. “This will push about $400 million from 2015 to future revenue,” he noted. One of the larger areas affected will be the desktop professional tax products, Lacerte and ProSeries, whose revenue will now be recognized more like subscription products.

VersAccounts has hired former Sage executive Liam Mullaney to lead its expansion into Europe. Based in Portland, Ore., VersAccounts says its products bridge the gap between low-end offerings like Xero and midmarket products offered by companies such as Sage. Mullaney, once CEO of Sage Ireland and now CEO of VersAccounts Europe, notes the company operates only via the channel and customers get access to all core modules: the required base system, Financial, Purchase to Pay, Order to Cash, Inventory, Logistics, Fixed Assets and Projects.