PRESS RELEASE: 27th October 2000

BASDA AWARDS DATAFLOW

dataflow~32 accounting software gains eBIS-XML certification

BASDA (The Business & Accounting Software Developers’ Association) has awarded Dataflow’s flagship product dataflow~32 with eBIS-XML certification for its purchase order and sales order processing. The eBIS-XML initiative that is rapidly becoming an industry standard, enables the direct exchange of purchase orders, invoices and other business documents between different software packages, via e-mail and the Internet. This removes the need for costly and cumbersome EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) middleware or Value Added Networks.

“BASDA congratulates Dataflow on its commitment to providing a working eBIS-XML solution and the diligence shown during the testing phase,” said Stephen Griffiths, eBIS-XML Product Manager at BASDA. “In fact, Dataflow helped bring together a number of outstanding issues and ambiguities, most of which have come up before but have still yet to be clearly resolved - and even unearthed a few new ones.”

“dataflow-32 is one of only a handful of accountancy software products on the market that has achieved this important BASDA accreditation,” said Paul Gibson, Sales Director at Dataflow. “Even if customers are not implementing e-business immediately, they are increasingly looking to eBIS-XML certification to ensure that the product they purchase will support future plans. Because dataflow~32 is a true Windows-32 system it provides an ideal platform to support e-business integration.”

The latest version of dataflow~32 for Windows 95/98/00 and NT environments - supports today's preferred platforms such as Microsoft SQL Server 7 and is scaleable from 1 to over 200 users. dataflow~32 also goes far beyond just Euro support and not only allows sales and purchases to be posted in any currency but also enables accounting in any number of base currencies.

Other features of this functionally rich product include powerful multi-lingual and customisation facilities, seamless integration with other databases, office products such as Excel and Word, and tight integration with vertical applications such as manufacturing, asset management, membership, contact management, job costing, transport and logistics and payroll. In addition, dataflow~32 provides powerful multi-company consolidation, and comprehensive drill down cost centre analysis, sort and search along with drag and drop and point and click facilities throughout the system.

About BASDA

BASDA is the international standards body, based in the UK, representing 320 of the world's leading developers and suppliers of business and accounting software. eBIS-XML was designed as a simple, easy to use, many to many interface which will work with any accounting package, based on a series of international standard business document schemas for electronic business. These use the latest XML technology, giving the user the ability to transmit the message over the Internet to another application as well as viewing it, as a document, through a web browser. The technology developed by BASDA for eBIS-XML is also being used by Government to automate business and citizen to Government communications. BASDA headed the Working Party, which developed the schemas for the Inland Revenue Self Assessment forms and is currently working on similar developments for PAYE reports and Corporation Tax. It is also working with HMC&E.

About Dataflow

Dataflow’s history spans two decades and its early success was founded on the popular dBFLEX accounting system. Today, Dataflow systems are installed in over a thousand sites worldwide and continues to grow rapidly as more and more businesses appreciate the power and value of dataflow~32. Major clients include Chamber of Shipping, De La Rue, Transoft, Advanced Digital, Thomas International, Institute of Chemical Engineers, British Heart Foundation, Society of Insolvency Practitioners, Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Society.