Tech News: Oracle NetSuite announces new procurement solution

Oracle NetSuite announces new procurement solution

Marc Fiorito

Oracle NetSuite launched an indirect procurement solution, NetSuite SuiteProcurement, which enables customers to track and control every purchase from request to payment and streamline the procurement process. Amazon Business and Staples Business Advantage are the first suppliers to support this solution by offering benefits to SuiteProcurement customers. Users can establish trading partner relationships and provide access to preferred pricing on goods and services through the Oracle Business Network; and automatically route purchase order requests for approvals and enable tailored approval workflows based on employee location, department and spending amount. They can transmit purchase orders directly to vendors and automate order confirmation, shipping and vendor bills; and access real-time insights on spending across locations, departments, vendors, projects and accounting codes. The system centralizes all purchase order details including description of items purchased, manufacturer name and manufacturer item number; and leverages pre-defined category mapping to automatically post to the appropriate general ledger accounts. Amazon Business and Staples Business Advantage will provide SuiteProcurement customers with offers. For example, SuiteProcurement customers will be eligible for a 12-month, no-cost Amazon Business Prime Medium membership (valued at $1,299) that provides business-only pricing and savings, and a 50% discount on membership renewals in subsequent years. NetSuite SuiteProcurement is expected to be available in North America within the next 12 months.

Gusto announces "Gus" AI

Payroll solutions provider Gusto announced the availability of Gus, an AI-powered assistant. Gus can provide business owners with quick answers to frequently asked questions — such as their compliance requirements or what they need to do to file their taxes. For example, if business owners ask, "How do I onboard a new employee?" Gus can quickly provide simple step-by-step instructions, and it will link to a relevant Gusto support article in case they want to learn more. It can also give them personalized insights specific to their businesses, based on their information on the Gusto platform. For example, a business owner could ask questions like, "How many employees worked for my company in 2023?" Gus will run a report for them, share the insights they need in simple, natural language, and link to where they can download the full report. And Gus can help execute tasks on business owners' behalf, while giving them final approval on any actions taken. For example, business owners can ask Gus to approve an employee's PTO request, make changes to an employee's salary, change someone's manager, or add accountants to their businesses on their behalf. From there, it will ask them to confirm changes before they are implemented. Gusto plans to improve Gus's functionality over time. Ideally, Gus will be able to look at a problem, break it down into smaller chunks to better understand it, choose from its range of tools and skills to solve it, and then execute on the solution it proposes. For example, once a business hits 50 full-time employees, it could flag their Affordable Care Act compliance requirements, advise on employee eligibility and affordability, recommend the right health care plan, and help employees get set up for open enrolment. Those interested in trying out Gus can sign up to be one of the first to get access.

Boost launches cross-border payment solution

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B2B payments solutions provider Boost Payment Solutions announced Boost 100XB, a cross-border payments solution for U.S.-issued commercial cards. It allows the use of existing U.S.-issued commercial cards to pay suppliers in over 180 countries worldwide, eliminating the need for complex secondary banking relationships in their suppliers' countries, as well as the need for a foreign bank identification number. Further, Boost 100XB transactions are not subject to expensive cross-border card assessment fees; buyers can choose who pays for the transaction fees, or it can be shared between the buyer and supplier. Buyers can set payment terms that best fit the unique preferences of each supplier relationship. All Boost 100XB transactions are processed via Boost Intercept, Boost's straight-through processing platform. Boost 100XB is currently available for corporate cardholders with U.S.-issued commercial cards making payments to suppliers in over 180 countries and regions around the world. Boost plans to continue expanding its global partner network and adding new receiving corridors in the near future.

Prophix One Account Reconciliation now generally available

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Financial performance management solutions provider Prophix announced the general availability of Prophix One Account Reconciliation, a collaborative solution to facilitate financial close management processes. Via a close management command center, users can monitor close progress by period and entity and keep tabs on task completion, overall progress and the status of every key account. Users can deploy workflows to receive real-time updates, comments and visibility into progress. When a reconciled difference nets out and is submitted, an approval request is automatically triggered. A built-in process-monitoring functionality provides a bird's eye view of the progress of a reconciliation. Finally, during audit season, users can choose accounts and the application will compile and export detailed information as an Excel output.

SignatureAPI solution enables e-signature integration into apps and platforms

SignatureAPI rolled out its first solution, which enables the integration of electronic signatures into applications and platforms. SignatureAPI provides an application programming interface and a low- or no-code integration capability. Features in SignatureAPI include embedded signing, which integrates electronic signatures apps and platforms; document templates, which automate workflows and save time; and languages and localization, which involve tailoring the signing interface to match users' preferences with customizable languages, date-time formats, and time zones. SignatureAPI charges customers 10 cents per envelope, versus competitors that tend to charge a dollar. The software's general availability comes on the heels of a successful worldwide public beta that had businesses and nonprofits across four continents integrating electronic signatures into their workflows.

Cognito Forms announces Workflow Task feature

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No-code online form builder Cognito Forms announced Workflow Tasks, a new feature that automates task management directly within the platform. Team members can view and manage their assigned tasks in one central location, with completed assignments disappearing automatically. When a form is submitted, tasks are automatically assigned to multiple people or roles, helping teams stay focused on their tasks. A set of rules and conditions in the form's Workflow section determines the appropriate team member or designated role where the task is assigned.

Zoho Payments slated for U.S. release next year

Zoho headquarters

Zoho recently entered the payments arena with the launch of Zoho Payments. Currently available in India, a spokesperson for the company said, "We anticipate Zoho Payments in the U.S. becoming available before the end of 1H 2025." Designed to allow businesses to accept online payments through multiple modes, Zoho's payment solution offers fraud management and detailed insights on transactions, refunds and payment failures; and allows businesses to handle disputes. Once payments are received, the relevant information will be updated automatically and reconciled with the corresponding invoice. Businesses will have the option to make bulk payments for multiple bills. Zoho Payments tightly integrates with applications from the finance and operations suite, like Zoho Books, Zoho Billing and Zoho Invoice. This means invoices sent through Zoho Books on the BBPS platform will automatically be recorded in the buyer's ERP or accounting app. Similarly, bills sent by the seller will be recorded automatically in Zoho Books. Businesses can also obtain financing for their unpaid invoices from lenders on the TReDS platform through the BBPS network.

Partnerships, integrations, acquisitions

Top 100 CPA firm Wiss and Co. announced a strategic deal with AI-powered accounting platform Basis. The solution will be deployed across the firm to enhance efficiency, reduce risk, and improve the quality of work-life balance for accountants. Basis utilizes generative AI and language models built specifically for extremely high accounting performance to streamline workflows across the firm. Wiss began testing Basis in beta for their Client Accounting Services (CAS) practice in November 2023. The successful results have led to a full deployment across the practice. Internal adoption of Basis has increased rapidly month-over-month, and other practice areas are eager to introduce it to their workflows. As a result, the firm is strategically prioritizing its implementation across departments... Lease management, accounting and reporting platform Visual Lease announced a strategic partnership with integrated reporting platform Workiva. The two companies will join forces to streamline data management and maintain financial and sustainability reporting controls for real estate and equipment-related datasets. … Oracle NetSuite announced a new integration with Salesforce: NetSuite Connector for Salesforce. The integration will automatically share data between NetSuite and Salesforce to reduce data silos, accelerate order-to-cash and revenue recognition processes, and expand business insights. Users can deliver real-time access to NetSuite financial data, such as invoices, payments, credit limits and due amounts, directly within Salesforce. The connector will automate updates between Salesforce and NetSuite customer records; sync inventory, non-inventory and service items, as well as item pricing, between NetSuite and Salesforce; as well as automatically sync sales orders in both NetSuite and Salesforce. NetSuite Connector for Salesforce is expected to be available in North America within the next 12 months. … B2B small business payments platform Melio announced an integration with the Amazon Business Reconciliation API to synchronize Amazon Business invoices in a single payment processing system. After synchronization, new and existing Melio users and those directed from the Amazon Business App Center will be able to automatically import invoices from Amazon Business into Melio. Customers will then be able to pay their invoices using their preferred payment method. … Financial automation solutions provider DocuPhase announced a preferred partnership with Center, a travel and expense management software company. For Center customers, this partnership will enable access to DocuPhase's AP automation and payment solutions. The partnership enables DocuPhase to enhance its service offerings by incorporating Center's expense management solution. … Diligent, a governance, risk, and compliance SaaS company, announced that Diligent Boards for NetSuite has achieved "Built for NetSuite" status. The new SuiteApp, built using the Oracle NetSuite SuiteCloud Platform, integrates with the Diligent One Platform to help organizations showcase financial metrics and key insights across risk, compliance, audit and ESG to leadership and board directors and provides board education and best practice resources to elevate governance. … Financial planning solutions provider Asset-Map announced a strategic relationship with LPL Financial, an investment advisory firm and independent broker-dealer supporting financial advisors. Advisors affiliated with LPL Financial will now have discounted access to Asset-Map's specialized planning tools, including, but not limited to, Asset-Map Reports, Stencils, Signals and Target-Maps. … Sales tax and compliance software provider Avalara, which is a member of Oracle PartnerNetwork, announced that two of its products are now embedded in Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning. Mutual customers can now access Oracle Avalara Global Indirect Tax Cloud Service and the Oracle Avalara North America Tax Returns Cloud Service in Oracle B2B to enable touchless tax processes in Oracle Cloud ERP. … Treasury management software provider GTreasury has acquired cash forecasting solution CashAnalytics. The acquisition brings advanced cash forecasting technology into the GTreasury ecosystem, enhancing its ability to provide specialized and modular tools for treasurers and CFOs. GTreasury invites people to join an introductory webinar, "Introducing CashAnalytics: The World's Most Advanced Cash Forecasting Tool," on Sept. 26 for more information.

New hires and appointments

Sales tax automation and compliance solutions provider Avalara announced Kevin Sellers as its new executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Prior to Avalara, he held CMO roles at Ping Identity and Avnet and spent more than 20 years at Intel in various global marketing and investor relations leadership roles. He will report directly to Kimberly Deobald, Avalara's chief revenue officer. … Financial operations solutions provider Bill announced Mary Kay Bowman has joined as EVP and GM of payments and financial Services. As a member of the executive leadership team, Bowman will oversee the payments and financial services business, reporting directly to CEO and founder, René Lacerte.

Other news

Secureframe, a provider of compliance automation software, launched its free Gap Assessment tool to help service partners including managed service providers, managed security service providers, virtual chief information security officers and IT security consultants identify gaps in security posture or compliance status, offering insights into improvement areas. Secureframe is offering this complimentary Gap Assessment tool exclusively to the service partner community. … NetNow, a modern trade credit automation platform that automates the credit and collections process for wholesalers and distributors, announced $1.8 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Ripple Ventures, with participation from Centre Street Partners, Antler, Motivate Venture Capital and Day One Ventures. NetNow also secured a grant from Intuit for earning The Most Customer Obsessed company award. The funding will be used to accelerate AI product development — to simplify documents, analyze data and generate risk scores and metrics. … Financial planning platform Vena announced a strong half to its fiscal year 2025, marked by significant growth, strategic customer acquisitions and continued innovation. Among other things, the company achieved a significant milestone by surpassing $100 million in annual recurring revenue, earning the prestigious Centaur status.