Pastel Evolution announces best business partners
Nov 2011The winners of Pastel Evolution’s Outstanding Business Partner competition were announced at an awards dinner held during the Pastel Evolution conference in early November... | more
Businesses can prosper from high Internet usage in Kenya
July 2011Internet usage in Kenya has risen 11,4% to 8.69 million people over the past four months according to the 2010/2011 Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) report which now places Kenya second to Nigeria on the continent. This staggering increase signals... | more
Satisfy domestic market before moving
April 2011Sage Pastel received editorial coverage on 5 April 2011 in the Business Power section of the Daily Monitor in Uganda. This article speaks about Steven Cohen’s message to Uganda’s Top 100 SMEs on how they need to make the most of their financial information when running a business, as well as his thoughts on doing business in Africa. ... | more
SMEs: monthly management makes for an easy Year End
February 2011As we approach the end of the financial year, the calls to our support centre are starting to increase and the atmosphere of mass-panic in trying to close this year’s books can be clearly felt. It’s at this time every year that I wonder why business owners and managers often overlook the day-to-day administrative requirements that result in this major managerial load at the end of February... | more
It may be small but SME owners must keep their house in order - by Steven Cohen
January 2011Without fail, SMEs around the globe have one common plea to their respective governments; they want real resolutions to ease the administrative and financial burden they face... | more
SA small business faced mixed fortunes in 2010 – Pastel SME Survey
January 2011Almost half (49%) of small business owners in South Africa reported an increase in turnover in 2010 while the remaining businesses reported stagnated or decreased revenue. But, despite the seemingly good news, profit margins were squeezed with just more than a third of SMEs (32%) reporting an increase and an almost equal amount (29%) facing a decrease in profitability – the real indicator of a business’s ability to make money... | more
Future of the business must inform buying of software
November 2010Sage Pastel received editorial coverage on 2 November 2010 in the Enterprise section of the Business Daily newspaper in Kenya. This article speaks about how accounting software purchases must be made in the same way as other business decisions; strategically and with the success of the business at the core... | more
Big isn't always better, especially in BI
October 2010Softline Pastel received positive coverage on ITWeb. Steven Cohen shares his thoughts on the importance and power of business intelligence... | more
Small Business with Big Ideas
September 2010The 702 Small Business Awards with Softline Pastel are based on outstanding service and call for listeners to nominate small businesses they have dealt with that go the extra mile. On Tuesday night, 7 September 2010, Molobi Enterprises was named this year's winner in an awards ceremony held at Primedia Place in Sandton, Johannesburg... | more
Sage Pastel signs Sh11m deal for the Top 100 SMEs survey
August 2010Sage Pastel received coverage on the 23 August in the Business Daily for their Sh11 million sponsorship for the Top 100 mid-sized companies competition which... | more
Softline Pastel Scoops 3 Awards at the Contact Centre World Awards
August 2010Softline Pastel received coverage on the East Africa Top 100 website www.eatop100.com in August 2010. The article recognises the awards Softline Pastel scooped at the Contact Centre World Awards. Among the awards... | more
702 Small Business Competition Opens
August 2010Softline Pastel received coverage in the Citizen and Bizcommunity around the launch of the 2010 Small Business Awards with Softline Pastel. Steve Cohen was quoted in Bizcommunity on how he anticipates that we are going to hear a lot of incredible stories about how good ideas, creativity and exceptional service have kept SMEs going... | more
Manage Your Money Online
August 2010Pastel InCheck, Softline Pastel’s free personal finance offering, and Pastel My Business Online, both received positive coverage in the Mail & Guardian Online... | more
Home-grown Pastel Evolution takes on imported ERPs with new version
August 2010Softline Pastel’s latest release of its mid-market Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, Pastel Evolution, includes some major enhancements. Evolution 6.5 is billed as the most significant release since its launch in 2003 and presents a real challenge to its ‘imported’ competitors... | more
The Crux of an ERP System
July 2010Sage Pastel received coverage in the Daily Nation on Tuesday 20 July. Steve Cohen quoted that Businesses should identify their requirements before settling for an enterprise resource planning solution... | more
Pastel call centre scoops international awards
June 2010Softline Pastel, South Africa’s leading developer of accounting and business software has received international recognition by winning three awards at the Contact Centre World Awards run by ContactCentreWorld.com, the online magazine for the global contact centre industry... | more
Pastel Evolution solution leads to clean bill of health
June 2010Pastel Evolution received positive coverage in the June issue of Government Digest. The article is a case study which looks at the successful implementation of Pastel Evolution within the uMgungundlovu District Municipality. In the two years since the implementation of Pastel Evolution the municipality has received two consecutive clean audits... | more
Steven Cohen in SME Today
June 2010Steven Cohen was recently interviewed by SME today, a Kenyan publication for their biz finance feature. Steven explains why My Business is ideal for entrepreneurs and especially start-up as well as small Businesses... | more
Pastel Evolution gives you even more bang for your buck
June 2010Softline Pastel received editorial coverage in the June 2010 issue of Brainstorm magazine. The article speaks about the new version of Pastel Evolution which will be available in the 3rd quarter of 2010... | more
Softline Pastel's latest accounting release is aligned to SARS' requirements for e-documentation
May 2010Softline Pastel received coverage in the May/June issue of Soweto Business Guide around the release of Pastel Accounting Version 11 and how it is aligned to SARS’ requirements for e-documentation... | more
Steven Cohen in Destiny Magazine
April 2010Steven Cohen was recently interviewed by Destiny Man for their Powerhouse feature. Some of the things Steven speaks about are self awareness, personal challenges, leadership style and advice for upcoming executives... | more
International recognition for Pastel call centre
March 2010
Softline Pastel, South Africa’s leading developer of accounting and business software has reached the finals of the Contact Centre World Awards run by ContactCentreWorld.com – the global conference, research and online magazine for the contact centre industry... | more
Pravin Gordhan’s 2010 budget doesn’t offer small businesses much, but it’s better than nothing at all
March 2010
Softline Pastel received positive coverage in the Sunday Times It’s My Business supplement on Sunday 7 March 2010 . The article was around the Budget and how it impacts SMEs... | more
Bright future for online application processing
March 2010
Softline Pastel received coverage in Business Day on 1 March 2010. Steven Cohen was quoted on his thoughts around the future of online accounting... | more
Small firms in need of real tax breaks
February 2010
Softline Pastel received coverage in Business Report on 16 February 2010. Steve Cohen was quoted on his thoughts of how the Budget and Turnover Tax impacts SMEs... | more
SMEs should avoid being intimidated by IT Vendors
December 2009Pastel Accounting received editorial coverage in the December issue of Succeed magazine. In the article, Steve Cohen offers SME’s advice on how to avoid being intimidated by IT vendors and urges SMEs to purchase software that is required rather than what the vendor wants to sell... | more
USN muscles-up with Pastel Evolution
November 2009Pastel Evolution received advertorial coverage in the November 2009 issue of Brainstorm magazine. The case study discusses how Ultimate Sports Nutrition (USN), the South African developer of nutritional supplements, has implemented Pastel Evolution... | more
Softline Pastel recives Fasset accreditation as a Quality Assurance Partner
November 2009
Softline Pastel has obtained Quality Assurance Partner (QAP) accreditation with Fasset, the SETA for Finance, Accounting, Management Consulting and other Financial Services... | more
ERP implementation has never been so quick and easy
October 2009
Pastel Evolution received advertorial coverage in the October 2009 issue of Brainstorm magazine. The article discusses the speed of implementation and cost-effectiveness of Pastel Evolution as an ERP solution... | more
Winner of Pastel Thuthuka Accountancy Olympiad achieves distinction!
September 2009
The winner of the annual Pastel Thuthuka Accountancy Olympiad has achieved the highest score ever recorded in the competition. Teboho Nkabinde from Clubview Secondary School near Harrismith in the Free State achieved a distinction in the competition... | more
Home-grown ERP takes on the big boys
September 2009
Softline Pastel received advertorial coverage in the September 2009 issue of the Brainstorm magazine. The article was written in a Q&A format and positions Pastel Evolution as a home-grown ERP solution suited for larger business. It also looks at Pastel Evolution’s key differentiators, Softline Pastel’s... | more
Balancing the Books: How to choose an effective system Pastel vs Qwill
August 2009
Softline Pastel received coverage in the Sunday Times “It’s My Business” section. The article was a comparison between Pastel My Business Online and Qwill, an FNB product. Steve Cohen was quoted extensively... | more
Drives business performance with ERP
August 2009
Pastel Evolution received positive coverage in the August issue of the Entrepreneur magazine. The article discusses ERP solutions for small, medium and large businesses... | more
Ease of use drives accounting software boom
August 2009
Softline Pastel Accounting received great coverage in the CRN Online magazine. The article discusses the merits of going beyond the realm of accounting when selecting business software by considering other elements such as BIC and CRM. Steven Cohen is quoted extensively and offers useful tips on what... | more
Softline Pastel wins CRN Loyalty Program Awards: Software Category
Interview with Jacqui Bekker, Channel Manager: Partner/Xpress, Softline Pastel
July 2009
Softline Pastel has recently been selected as the runner up in the CRN Partner Excellence Awards - Loyalty Programme Software Category. Find out what Jacqui Bekker, Channel Manager: Partner/Xpress, Softline Pastel attributes this success to... | more
Into the cloud
June 2009
Softline Pastel received extensive coverage in Financial Mail. Duncan McLeod, one of South Africa’s leading IT journalists, wrote about Pastel leading the movement of taking accounting software to the web, with My Business Online... | more
Choosing an accounting system is a crucial decision
June 2009
Succeed Magazine ran an article in their June issue about the importance of choosing the correct accounting system for one’s business. The article focused on the significance of cash flow and ensuring that a company’s billing, collections and payable systems are operating as efficiently as possible, which... | more
Why wait for a downturn to know your customer?
June 2009
Business IT Africa published a story around Customer Relationship Management (CRM), written by Steven Cohen. The article highlights the fact that CRM applications are no more important in this strained economic climate than they are in boom times. Understanding one’s customers and their needs... | moreSmall muncipalities can be as efficient as larger ones, thanks to cost-effective software
June 2009
It’s now easier than ever for small municipalities to stabilise their revenue streams through efficient accounting and billing. According to Mohammed Mosam, divisional director at Softline Pastel, ordinary accounting systems are unsuitable for municipal use and often lead to financial difficulties in smaller... | more
Mass market ERP solution demystifies concept of ERP
By Steven Cohen, Softline Pastel MD
June 2009
I have a general dislike of acronyms like ERP (enterprise resource planning) because, for business people, they create an entirely undeserved mystique around technology. As a consequence, they create confusion and, therefore, additional resistance by business people to technology... | more
Pastel Accounting goes online
May 2009
Softline Pastel has officially launched its first online accounting system. The new program, Pastel My Business Online, is aimed at the SME market.... | more
Pastel innovates by taking personal financial management online
May 2009
In a double innovation, Softline Pastel, leading South African developer of accounting and business software, has launched its first personal finance product, InCheck – and taken it online... | more
Become a Pastel Reseller
April 2009
Most people who start a small business have no guarantee that it will be the right business for them or for the economic climate of the time. But becoming a reseller of Softline Pastel accounting software does look like the right choice right now... | more
Simple ways to prosper in tough times
April 2009
The way to run any business successfully - in good or bad times - is to keep things simple. What people don’t realise, though, is that truly simple things are not necessarily the obvious things... | more
Accounting gets friendly
April 2009
Softline Pastel’s new My Business Online is, as the name suggests, an online accounting system. The difference is that it doesn’t speak Accountantlese. It’s a plain-language online business programme that allows the user to pay bills, receive payments, create invoices and do all the paperwork necessary to... | more
Pastel helps customers find freelance bookkeepers, payroll specialists
March 2009
Pastel People, the recruitment division of Softline Pastel, has created a website facility that helps its customers find freelance bookkeepers, payroll specialists, and administrative staff to cover short-term requirements... | moreSMEs can improve cash flow in tough times
March 2009
Softline Pastel's new Cash Manager module makes it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs) to collect debts - improving cash flow in spite of the tough economic climate... | more
Take the stress out of financial year end
(Publication: Sunday Times, It's My Business 15 Feb 2009)
February 2009
Yes, it’s year end time again and you’re panicking because there’s so much to do between now and February 28. So, let’s make it easier for you... | more
Softline Pastel rounds out offering for start-up SMEs
February 2009
By adding functionality to its My Business product without compromising its quintessential simplicity, Softline Pastel has rounded out its offering for very small and start-up companies – now enabling the production of a full set of formal accounts... | more
Swak Finansiele bestuur kan jou onderneming baie gou kelder
(Publikasie: Sake 24, Beeld, 24 January 2009)
January 2009
In Suid-Afrika misluk sowat 80% van alle KMO’s in hul eerste jaar. Wat kan jy doen om te sorg dat jy nie een van die statistieke word nie?... | more
USN uses Pastel Evolution to ease international expansion
January 2009
Ultimate Sports Nutrition (USN), South African developer of nutritional supplements designed to foster health and fitness among international athletes and corporate achievers, has implemented Evolution, the enterprise resource planning-based accounting solution from Softline Pastel, to facilitate its... | more
Glasfit Franchise uses Pastel to manage 55 sets of accounts
January 2009
Glasfit, South Africa’s fastest growing motor and flat glass fitment franchise and joint venture network, uses a combination of Pastel Partner and Pastel Evolution to administer 77 fitment centres as well as a distribution centre... | more
2008 Pastel Channel Awards
December 2008
At its annual channel partner award evening held at Summer Place, Sandton, on Thursday 26th November 2008, Softline Pastel announced the... | moreProfit made easy
(Publication: Sunday Times, It's My Business 09 Nov 2008)
November 2008
My Business is designed as an easy-to-use computer program aimed at business owners who don’t know accounting, writes Barrie Terblanche... | more
2008 Burial Society of the year uses Pastel Accounting and SMS Solution to modernise service to 25 000 members
November 2008
The Imbalenhle Burial Society, named in May 2008 by the Stokvel Company as the best performing of South Africa’s more than 8 000 stokvels and burial societies, uses an integrated sms and accounting solution from Pastel to drive innovative and cost-saving member management and administrative... | more
Pastel Accounting 2009 makes business more secure, flexible and efficient
September 2008
In response to customer and channel partner feedback, the 2009 upgrade of Pastel Accounting provides enhanced security, flexibility, efficiency, and control. “With the economy as tight as it is – and looking... | more
You really can have an ERP system up and running in a month
September 2008
It’s remarkable how often, when two differently resourced organisations tackle the same problem, the one with fewer resources will deliver a product that is as effective as the other, but is easier to use and also less costly... | more
Softline Pastel launches industry-first remote support
August 2008
Softline Pastel, South Africa’s leading provider of SME accounting and business solutions, is launching GoToAssist, an application that allows support staff to remotely take control of customers’ computers, to resolve any complicated support queries they may have while using the accounting software... | more
702 Small Business Awards with Softline Pastel
August 2008
An exciting new awards initiative from Talk Radio 702 and Softline Pastel, will honour successful small businesses and highlight the vital work being done in the SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) sector... | more
Pastel chooses optimism for South Africa
July 2008
Softline Pastel, developer of South Africa’s most popular SME accounting and business software, is sponsoring two public presentations by political trend analyst, JP Landman, that will demonstrate why South Africans can be positive about the future of the country... | more
Pastel Business Intelligence Centre makes management accounts easier for Dust-A-Side
June 2008
Dust-A-Side, a South African company providing dust control systems to all major mining groups in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, has used the Business Intelligence Centre (BIC) from Softline Pastel to improve the production of management reports at mine, regional, and holding company level... | more
Pastel Accounting contact centre shines amoung other SA winners at International Awards
June 2008
Softline Pastel’s 145-agent contact centre, provider of support services to its accounting software customers, won multiple awards at the 3rd annual ContactCentreWorld.com benchmarking competition... | more
SMEs should avoid being intimidated by IT vendors
June 2008
Small and medium-sized businesses should not allow themselves to be intimidated by information technology (IT) vendors into thinking that if they don’t have what the vendors are offering they will be less productive or profitable... | more
Softline Pastel launches recruitment division
April 2008
Softline Pastel - leading South African supplier of accounting and business solutions to the small and medium enterprise (SME) market - has launched a recruitment division responsible for finding, training, and supplying Pastel skills for its own requirements as well as those of its business partners... | more
Pastel nominated for EMEA Contact Centre World Awards for second year
March 2008
Softline Pastel, developer of South Africa’s leading accounting and business software, is a nominee for the second year in a row in the annual international Contact Centre World Awards run by ContactCentre World.com – the global conference, research, and online magazine provider for the contact centre... | more
Pastel revolutionises Accounting Software with My Business
March 2008
Softline Pastel, developers of South Africa’s leading accounting and business software (with 180 000 customers), has broken entirely new ground with its latest product, My Business – which strips out accounting terminology and thereby enables business people with no knowledge of accounting to use it... | more
Take stress out of financial year end
February 2008
Yes, it’s year end time again and you’re panicking because there’s so much to do between now and 29th February in addition to your already demanding normal daily activities. So, let’s make it easier for you... | more
Engel SA uses ACT! by Pastel to improve communication with customers
January 2008
Engel SA - South African subsidiary of Engel Austria, the global supplier of injection moulding machinery used to make plastic products ranging from cooldrink bottles to cell phone casings - uses ACT!, the customer relationship management (CRM) application from Softline Pastel, to maintain optimum levels... | more
Pastel introduces affordable billing and reporting solution for muncipalities
January 2008
Softline Pastel, a leading South African supplier of accounting and business solutions to the small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) market, in partnership with Eastern Cape Municipal Support Services (ECMSS), has introduced a billing software system designed specifically for use by low... | more