Microsoft Prices New Accounting App

Microsoft is paving the way for its September release of a new small-business accounting application by putting together a host of networking and support services targeted at accountants, including the new Microsoft Professional Accountants Network that it will launch within the next three months. Microsoft is also developing a presence at accounting-industry events, starting with the New Jersey Accounting, Business, and Technology Show taking place this week in Secaucus, New Jersey. Microsoft plans to preview its upcoming Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 software, now in beta, at the conference.

The new product will take Microsoft into a market currently dominated by Intuit's QuickBooks accounting software. Research firm IDC ranks Intuit as the second-largest vendor of accounting and financial management software, behind SAP. But while SAP's forte is large enterprise resource planning systems, QuickBooks targets the low-end market of businesses with up to a few dozen employees--the segment Microsoft would like to penetrate with Office Small Business Accounting.

Microsoft revealed on Monday its intended $200 retail price tag for the software's stand-alone edition. Office Small Business Accounting will also be available as part of the Microsoft Office Small Business Management Edition 2006 bundle, which will include Microsoft's Business Contact Manager Update as well as its 2003 editions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Access. Pricing for the bundle has not yet been announced.

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