The needs of SMEs, concerned at the move to EMU but limited by small budgets in the extent of their preparation for the big event, may now be addressed through the imminent launch of a new suite of Windows-based software for multi-currency accounting.

Dublin-based accountants Vincent Byrne and Peter Wiley have formed a new firm, Pastel Financial Systems, to market the new software in Ireland. The product is being promoted on its multi-currency versatility - particularly in relation to the euro - and on its cost advantages.

Pastel claims its product is the only one of its kind in Ireland that can be bought for under £500 (admittedly for the basic, entry level version) and, furthermore, it is easy to set up and use. Until now, Wiley and Byrne were known in Irish business circles through their consultancy firm, Vector Business Partnership. It was following on the request from a client for an affordable multi-currency software package that the two trawled the Internet for a suitable solution, finally settling on Pastel, which is produced by a software design house of the same name in Johannesburg.

Wiley says the product so impressed them that he and Byrne successfully applied for the distribution rights in Ireland. He says that because the euro had not figured in Pastel's development plans, Vector was called upon to advise the South Africans on the new currency's introduction, and so had a significant input into the formation of the euro-inclusive 30-currency package that will be shipped to customers before the end of this month.

The Pastel range of software has over 100,000 users worldwide, has won "Best Buy" commendations from Which Computer and Practical PC, and is accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. It runs on Windows 3.1, 95, and 98, and is fully networkable under NT and Novell.

The basic Bookkeeper version costs £425 plus VAT and is essentially geared towards accountancy practices. The more sophisticated accounting and manufacturing versions cost £800 and £1,000 respectively and include a more sophisticated array of functions, such as order processing and stock control.

A particularly valuable feature from an SME point of view is that the system can accurately handle stock and inventory control for small volume, sporadic, or bespoke production. Obviously, the cost rises with the number of users, and a five-user option, for instance, will add £400 to the basic price. Pastel will spend an average of three days with customers to acquaint them fully with the system, with phone support thereafter.

Pastel will also allow users to selectively convert for each customer or supplier as they convert to euro invoicing, but, for the moment at least, is confined to the grouping of gains and losses.

In other words, currency conversions are effected at a chosen data (usually end month) which may conceal currency gains and losses. A supplier ostensibly cleared on the second of the month may show up as an Irish pound deficit on the 30th because of currency shifts in the interim.

This effective concealing of currency movements is recognised, but it was decided that euro compatibility was the overriding priority for the system in its current development phase. This will be rectified in the early months of 1999 when Pastel will go to "real time" currency conversion, and anyone purchasing the earlier version of the software will be provided with a free upgrade, says Wiley.

Wiley and Byrne are optimistic on the future potential of their product. There are no hard and fast indicators on market size, although the 5,000 and more sales notched up by TASBooks in Ireland is taken as a highly positive indicator.

Pastel is now seeking re-sellers to deepen and expand its presence in this country. It is surprising, says Wiley, that accountants generally have not taken up the opportunities this type of business confers, instead of leaving the field open to the IT specialists.

Supplying this kind of product not only generates additional income in the short term, but also serves the longer term needs of the practice by giving the accountant an in-depth understanding of their clients' accounting systems and deepening existing accountant/client relations, he says.