Aqilla mashes Google with accounting

Following a low profile beta test period, London UK based Aqilla has come out of beta with an on-demand accounting application but with several twists. First up, its dashboard has a similar look and feel to iGoogle. This is no coincidence as the application includes some Google widgets for news items, currency converson and calendar.

What sets Aqilla apart is its approach, which is essentially event driven. The system can tell the user about an action they need to take, if they need to change any figures or can trigger additional events such as approvals. The dashboard presents essential information to the user so they can immediately concentrate on dealing with important issues. The dashboard also provides a simple summary of essential KPIs.

Aqilla is fully multi-currency enabled and while its sales tax handling is currently geared to the UK market, it should not take a lot of development to add in free form tax codes that cater for the US market.

I was particularly impressed with its reporting capability that allows an export to Excels XLS file format but which can also perform complex, field filtered queries.

Initially priced at £50 ($100/month) per user for a standard templated offering, Aqilla seems a shade over the current market rate fro this style of application. However, its relative functional completeness compared with process based offerings of the kind coming from CODA and Workday may allow it to position itself as a best in class pure play offering for the lower end of the mid market.