Steven Cohen, MD of Softline Pastel, says the main business benefits for customers are increased automation of accounting tasks and the ability to analyse information in a far more detailed manner.
 
It is our in-depth knowledge and experience which has enabled us to understand our customers and their needs. This has facilitated the development of long term partnerships with our customers, which assists us in enhancing our software to meet their growing needs as their businesses evolve, he says.
 
Pastels established user base aims to enable Pastel to leverage its infrastructure and expertise to provide powerful accounting software at an affordable price, while taking into consideration the cash flow challenges faced by SMEs, Cohen adds.
 
The biggest addition in the 2007 range is the Explorer, which is designed to allow customers to access all areas of their software from one screen. Previously customers had to jump across menus to access different information, but the Explorer aims to allow customers to simply right click on a client and select a task from the pop-up menu, making it simple and easy for the user.
 
Another addition to the range is the 'View open batches' screen, which aims to enable customers to jump straight to a users specific batch. Customers are now also able to print the Open Batches list, Cohen says. Customers also have the ability to drill down to source documents that make up a balance, to see exactly where an error is occurring and make the necessary corrections, Cohen adds.