Sage Link no object for recruitment agencies with latest SPA

Cost savings and increased efficiency will be just two of the benefits for UK Recruitment agencies with the latest software from Accsoft and Sage. The announcement of the new software comes at a time when the non-permanent employment sector reports continuing growth with one recent survey suggesting a staggering 200% increase in demand for IT contractors in the public sector alone since the first quarter of 2004*.

The latest version of SPA, Accsoftís ëpay & billí software for contract & temporary agencies, now has improved integration with Sage, the UKís most successful accounting program.

SPA already has a reputation for streamlining the processing of contractorís timesheets, automating the payroll payment and the creation of client bills. Now, using the latest release of SPA, vital financial information can be updated in the Sage accounting ledgers.
ìSPA is all about making the administration of contractorís timesheets as easy as possibleî comments Tim Blackler from Accsoft. ìThe new link to Sage means that agencies will be able to get an up to date and accurate financial view of their day to day trading. For financial managers this means the cashflow and credit control impact of paying their temps and collecting outstanding client invoices is viewable immediately.î

This increase in the power of SPA and Sage has been made possible by the innovative Sage Data Objects technology. An ActiveX dynamic link library, Sage Data Objects delivers an object-based interface designed to simplify communications between other software applications and the Sage Line 50 accounting database. Sage Data Objects are available to provide access to data throughout Sage Line 50 including products, suppliers, sales and purchase orders, invoices and nominal ledger transactions.

ìPut simply the use of Sage Data Objects has brought together SPA and the Sage accounts system in such a way that the customer seems to be using one system sharing the same database,î continues Tim Blackler. ìThe timesheet, payroll and billing information created in SPA is quickly and accurately transferred into the Sage Sales Ledger, resulting in much improved financial control.î

One company already benefiting from having SPA linked to their Sage system is Nicoll Curtin, a young and vibrant organisation specialising in Operations and IT recruitment for the City of London.

Marion Luckman, Office Manager at Nicoll Curtin explains how the company coped prior to installing SPA. ìThe process of converting timesheets into invoices was totally manual. We manually keyed-in information to produce the invoices. This was becoming a time consuming task and it also had an effect on the accuracy of information we produced. We then took the decision to bring the payroll processing in-house and purchase a payroll system that would integrate to our Sage Line 50 accounting system.î

ìSince installing SPA we are now saving two days work per month and as we are growing, the system is making the growth easier to manage. The information entered is right first time due to the integration between the payroll and the invoicing so we do not have to spend time re-checking work.î

With Sage being the leading supplier of accounting software to businesses across the UK the enhanced links with SPA are set to make a compelling case to the owners and managers of contractor and temporary recruitment agencies looking to support their growth without increasing their overheads.

ìSPAís timesheets are flexible enough to cater for the most complex payments, including different currencies, agreed rates, and out of date contracts. Using an integrated solution such as SPA and Sage allows growing numbers of complex transactions to be processed automatically without increasing the administration headcount,î concludes Tim Blackler.

*CWJobs/SSL Quarterly IT Skills index ñ www.CWJobs.co.uk