A new browser-based Web-centric accounting package aimed at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) includes a document authentication facility that developers say could pave the way to achieving a paperless office.
"We believe Web-based accounting has huge potential locally and will rapidly gain momentum in the same way that Internet banking did," says Malcolm Granville, MD of Web Accounting Solutions and architect of the Accknowledge accounting software package.
"However, the legal requirement for original documentation could be a stumbling block to the ease of adoption and future use of Web-based financial software," admits Granville.
In an attempt to work around this requirement, developers at Cape Town-based Intrepid Solutions implemented a document authentication capability as part of the Accknowledge solution.
"The Accknowledge document authentication feature works by generating an authentication code based on the content of the original document. If the client`s version of the document is altered in any way, its content will no longer be matched to the unique authentication code stored in Accknowledge, exposing document tampering," explains Granville.
"We hope that by demonstrating the practicality of our authentication code solution, eventually it will be adopted as a standard technique for satisfying legal requirements for original documents and make the proposition of a paperless office practical for the first time."
Accknowledge was created around the Cach'e post-relational database from InterSystems, using the Portico Web application development tool from Intrepid Solutions. Granville says Cach'e was chosen for its speed, scalability, data integrity and `live` backup capability.
Being Web-based, Accknowledge is designed to reside on a company`s server behind an appropriate firewall, accessible from outside the company via the Internet from anywhere in the world by business owners, accountants or auditors, using nothing but a Web browser, explains Granville.
"The price of Accknowledge is close to similar SME accounting solutions, but also includes the database, Web accessibility and other features usually found only in more expensive enterprise-class applications," says Granville.
Related story:
Online accounting hits SA
Share