Sage Software (News - Alert) has announced the new ACT! by Sage for Real Estate 2008 (10.0) and ACT! by Sage Premium for Real Estate 2008 (10.0) contact and customer management products during its Sage Summit customer conference in Chicago.

ACT! for Real Estate products are billed as helping residential real estate agents and brokers "organize their buyer, seller, and property information in one place, communicate through custom flyers and letter templates, and manage property showing, closing, and reporting activities.”

The National Association of Realtors' 2007 Realtor Technology Survey found that 80 percent of sales agents and associate brokers rated the value of technology supplied by their broker as being "extremely valuable" or "somewhat valuable," and 65 percent responded "yes" when asked if they wanted their broker to expand the amount of technology offered.

The new product centralizes an agent's, broker's, or team's information, and users access contact information using an interface designed specifically for real estate, keep detailed notes and information on listed properties, track appointments and to-dos, and can attach critical documents like inspection reports, house photos, and MLS listings.

Its dashboards provide a graphical view of information including activities, property listings, and sales opportunities, and allow users to drill down into the information. There are options to display team information to help managers set company sales targets and gauge individual and group performance status.

The product is available for $299.99 per user. ACT! Premium for Real Estate, recommended for organizations with five or more users, is available for $469.99 per user.

In past weeks Sage Software announced the general availability of Sage BusinessWorks 50 Accounting version 8, the latest version of the company's business management product. Enhancements include drill down screens designed to streamline processing and save time and support for the new Microsoft (News - Alert) Vista operating system.

There's also a Cash Account Register Report, described as a "reconciliation tool that displays details of all transactions that impact a cash account, and the ability for users to submit suggestions for future product improvements to Sage Software directly via Sage BusinessWorks."

Sam Hunter, Sage Software senior vice president and general manager of the Value Business Unit, said the product's Submit Enhancement Suggestions link "makes it easier for Sage BusinessWorks customers to collaborate with product."

Company officials also highlighted the new alternating color scheme as improving readability and helping users "more easily review information contained within a single row." They said the Easier Accounts Payable by Credit Card Processing feature lets users "record an invoice using standard invoice terms and later make a full or partial payment to the invoice using a credit card as the payment option. This allows for more accurate tracking and aging of accounts payable invoices."

Recently Sage Software also announced the availability of Sage Accpac Insight 5.4, a new version of the company’s analysis and business intelligence tool for small and mid-sized businesses.

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David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.