PlanteMoran has agreed to provide implementation and consulting services for Epicor. The Southfield, Mich.-based accounting firm, which will not resell the software, has set up a team of ERP systems advisors and implementation specialists and will extend service to Epicor customers. It has hired John Lumpkin to lead the practice. Lumpkin was previously a senior management consultant at the Pragmatek Consulting Group from February 2011 until moving to the CPA firm. His LinkedIn page says he led a “complex $2.2 million, 1.5-year multi-site Epicor 9 implementation project”.

SAP is paying resellers of its cloud products within five days, instead of having them receive payments over the life of a subscription. The new program accompanies a buy-now-pay-later plan SAP has rolled out for small and midsize customers for all products, except cloud applications. "The channel partners get cash in five days. Under the cloud program, the customers pay over 24 months," noted Kevin Gilroy, SVP for global the global SME segment and indirect channels. Gilroy made the comments in New York this week as SAP pushed the news that rolled out of CeBit in Germany this month

Accounting firm BDO Seidman has sold its JobOps manufacturing software to Anania & Associates Investment Co. Anania, located in Windham, Maine, also purchased Synergistic Software Solutions, the unit that markets the software line. In a message to the Synergistic channel, general manager Ryan Rick said Anania focuses on manufacturing and two of its portfolio companies use JobOps. Rick's view was that the sale "means there is a new surge of energy and life to the JobOps product you have worked with for years."

Somewhere in the roar of the Convergence show floor, I remember hearing about some changes at m-Hance. That's the ambitious Dynamics VAR based in the United Kingdom. In any case, a check of the company's web page shows the picture and biographical sketch of founder and CEO Mark Thompson missing from the section about the management team. Well, maybe they are just changing photos and freshening the bio. I sent an email inquiry to the press office several days ago and have not had a response.