Accounting and audit tech update: Sage, Moore Kingston Smith and more
Accountancy Age’s monthly round-up of accounting and audit tech news, including new partnerships, product launches and people moves
On January 13, Manchester-based fintech tech start-up Hydr announced that it had integrated its invoice finance system into Sage and QuickBooks. The development will allow companies to get invoices paid “almost immediately”, Hydr claims, going on to call the move a “product milestone”. The system was also launched on Xero in May 2021.
Sage has acquired retail management platform Brightpearl in a deal valued at £285.4m. Sage originally bought a 17 percent stake in the company at the end of 2020 and has gone on to pay a further £225m to acquire the remaining shares, with the completed deal officially being announced on January 18.
On January 24, the UK government’s ‘Help to Grow: Digital’ scheme opened for applications. Under the scheme, eligible businesses will be entitled to discounts of up to £5,000 off the retail price of approved digital accounting software. They can also now access specialist advice on choosing the right technologies to boost growth and productivity.
On January 24, Intuit QuickBooks announced that it had partnered with advisory firm Moore Kingston Smith to enhance and expand its UK advisory offering. The new strategic partnership will seek to allow Moore Kingston Smith’s client base to leverage QuickBooks’ suite of financial tools to improve service quality, increase efficiency and reduce costs, providing clients with a “clear and focused financial picture in real-time”.