Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
August 18, 2009

Local Company to Commercialize Timesheet Software

ACZEN Innovations Inc. is receiving $150,000 from the Provincial Government�s Commercialization Program to market TimeAid � a Windows-based software program that automatically records time spent on computer-based activities. The unique software will be marketed to a variety of sectors including accounting, engineering, legal, software development, and marketing firms as a way to make employee timesheets more efficient and accurate.

�To increase their productivity and overall competitiveness, companies require an efficient and user-friendly technology that best captures the amount of time used on specific projects,� said the Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. �ACZEN Innovations will deliver this software, enabling companies� employees to spend more time on direct, versus administrative, work. The Provincial Government�s investment assists the company in meeting a market niche, increasing its competitiveness both locally and globally.�

TimeAid enables companies to automatically log the work that employees do on their computers and report the data for use in other existing accounting, payroll, and project management systems. This process ensures greater accuracy than the time-consuming task of completing timesheets manually from memory. Companies using TimeAid will track more billable hours, reduce internal costs, boost employee productivity, and streamline project management.

�TimeAid provides activity information for business professionals, and does it automatically with minimal effort by the users,� said Ron Peddle, President of ACZEN Innovations. �Our approach and technology are unique and practical. It sounds like pretty dull stuff, but every fee-for-service professional such as lawyers, engineers and consultants have to do a timesheet. That�s a lot of users and that makes the dull a lot more interesting. We are very pleased at being able to attract this investment. It will play a key role in bringing TimeAid to market.�

Incorporated in 2007, the St. John�s-based company is well-positioned to attract new business opportunities in wide-ranging markets since virtually all professional-services businesses rely on timesheets for billing purposes. Its growth is consistent with the rise of other companies in Newfoundland and Labrador�s information and communications technology sector.

�The Provincial Government�s support of ACZEN�s innovative product expands the reach of our local ICT industry into new markets,� said Bob Ridgley, MHA, St. John�s North. �This worthwhile project will also result in other significant benefits, creating 10 new employment positions with the company by year�s end.�

This initiative was funded through the Commercialization Program, which through Budget 2009: Building on Our Strong Foundation was allocated more than $3 million. Administered by the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, the Commercialization Program bridges an identified funding and investment gap between product research and product marketing. It provides financial assistance to private sector enterprises for activities leading to the development of innovative, market-ready products and services, including support for technology transfer activities.

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2009 08 18                       10:40 a.m.