While most companies pay bills manually, Bill.com of Palo Alto, CA (formerly CashView DEMOfall 07) Monday at an accounting conference is trying to get them to break that pattern by announcing its strategic alliance with CPA2Biz, a majority-owned subsidiary of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), to exclusively provide accountants and their clients Bill.com's Web service that reviews and pays companies' bills.This five-year contract is Bill.com's first deal.

Bill.com is a software as a service (SaaS) to make basic accounting services like accounts payable and accounts receivable cheaper and more efficient for businesses with 500 or fewer employes, and more profitable for CPAs, accountants, and bookkeepers, according to the announcement.

Bill.com targets the half a million professional accountants in the U.S., of which 350,000 are members of the AICPA, who work with six million small businesses.

CPA2Biz estimates that more than 50% of U.S. CPA firms provide some combination of basic accounting services, including bill management or bookkeeping. According to Aberdeen's 2006 Benchmark Report on IR&P, 97% of invoices are currently processed manually. However, the same report estimates that electronic invoicing can reduce invoicing costs by approximately 41%.

"With Bill.com the process becomes simplified and more accurate,"said Erik Asgeirsson, president and chief executive officer of CPA2Biz,Inc. "That translates into greater profitability for our constituency."

CPA2Biz and Bill.com will also collaborate to develop the Accountant Dashboard, an online console that will allow accountants to access the Web-based bill management system for all clients with a single log-in.The Dashboard will have a customizable branding option for CPA firms.

As part of the newly formed alliance, CPA2Biz is launching an accountant's program, a free enrollment plan that makes it easier for accountants and CPAs to use the Bill.com platform. CPAs and bookkeepers who enroll in the accountant's program will receive free training, online support, and use of Bill.com for in-house cash management, online business record keeping, and bookkeeping needs. Additionally,each client they sign up to manage through Bill.com will receive a 10%discount on monthly service fees.

Long-time entrepreneur René Lacerte, founder and CEO of Bill.com, said, "As one of the founders of PayCycle, I learned first hand of the inefficiencies inherent in a paper-based office. Bill.com streamlines filing, bill entry, bill approval, and bill payment while enabling real-time collaboration between accountants and their clients."

Bill.com user account David Johnson, chief executive officer of TempCFO Solutions, said in a statement that "There is no other system that pulls together payables, document management, bill payment and cash management into one easy-to-use interface."

» posted by abennett

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