Unit4 has hired Stephen Sieber as CEO, immediately replacing José Duarte, who has held the job since 2013. Sieber joined the software company early in 2104 as EVP of strategy and operations and tacked on duties as head of sales in the middle of 2015. In its official announcement, the Utrecht, Netherlands-based company said Duarte will "pursue other business ambitions outside the enterprise software market", for which the English translation must be something like "he's got a stiff non-compete."

Microsoft has previewed its SMB SaaS accounting product, Project Madeira.  I have a software package of my own, Project Thunderbird. You look at your finances and then drink yourself into a stupor until the results look like something that will make you happy. ... Last week, I was working at my computer and a friend dropped by. Every time I hit a key, an insult would spew out. "You haven't got a clue what you're doing. I've known hard drives that are smarter than you."

Avalara has certified a connection to Rockton Connect, an accounting application built on Dynamics CRM. Built by Rockton Software, Connect is designed for the QuickBooks-level financial software user. The certification from sales-and-use tax vendor Avalara means those who use the Rockton product can utilize Avalara's cloud-based software engine to perform sales tax calculations.