The firm, which has been around since 1995, is hoping to cash in on the popularity of outsourced accounting solutions. Like other accounting application service providers, such as NetLedger and eLedger, Virtual Growth is targeting its offering for small and midsize businesses, which are ripe for the types of services and cost-savings the ASP model promises to provide.

The firm said it has already nabbed 30 clients for the ASP offering. The idea behind Virtual Accountant is to eliminate the need for smaller companies to keep an in-house accounting department.

Powered by Lawson Software, Virtual Growth's ASP model integrates web-based access to enterprise-class software with comprehensive setup of clients' books and a team of bookkeepers and accountants servicing each account.

The Virtual Accountant team assigned to each account oversees, reviews, processes and enters the client's financial information into the system. The data posts directly into the client's general ledger, providing financial reporting capabilities based on data that is updated daily, enabling users to review and analyze management reports and transaction details from a Web-based browser.

Other features of the system include: an easy-to-use interface, XML-based reporting with drill down capabilities, integrated online bill payment, customer invoicing, and billing, online timesheets and expense reports, and automatic document imaging and retrieval.

"Expanding companies often don't have the time or resources to keep pace with their own growth. We help by getting our clients up and running with an accurate accounting system that offers a sophisticated array of browser-based reports 24/7, in an extremely cost effective manner," said Stephen King, Virtual Growth founder and chief executive.

Virtual Accountant's clients include Soliloquy Inc., a New York-based company that develops online shopping interfaces; USMoving, an ASP-delivered ERP system for the moving services industry; and Mibrary, a company that facilitates the customer service aspect of the distribution of digital content.

The firm has teamed with companies such as Administaff, Buyerzone.com, Works.com, eSource.com, and Realitivity Ventures to provide other back-office functions including: purchasing, payroll, human resources, banking services.

-- SmartPros News Staff

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