In the ever-evolving landscape of financial technology, blockchain stands out as a transformative force, promising enhanced security, transparency, and efficiency. At Acuity24, we embarked on an ambitious R&D project to explore how blockchain can be integrated with Sage applications, specifically Sage Intacct and Sage X3, to revolutionise the way businesses handle invoices and payments.
Understanding dApps: A New Paradigm in Application Development
Decentralised applications, or dApps, represent a transformative approach to software development by leveraging blockchain technology. Unlike traditional cloud applications that rely on centralised servers, dApps operate on a distributed network of computers, ensuring greater security and resilience. Here are some key differences between dApps and traditional cloud apps:
- Decentralisation: Traditional cloud apps are hosted on centralised servers managed by a single entity, whereas dApps run on a blockchain network, distributing data across multiple nodes. This decentralisation eliminates single points of failure and enhances security.
- Transparency: Transactions and operations in dApps are recorded on the blockchain, making them transparent and verifiable by anyone. This contrasts with traditional cloud apps, where data is typically controlled and accessed by the service provider.
- Immutability: Once data is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted. This immutability ensures the integrity of transactions and data in dApps, whereas traditional cloud apps may be susceptible to data tampering.
- Smart Contracts: dApps utilise smart contracts—self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code. These contracts automate processes and reduce the need for intermediaries, unlike traditional cloud apps that often require manual intervention.
By leveraging these advantages, dApps offer a robust and innovative solution for various applications, including financial transactions, supply chain management, and more.
The Vision: Seamless Digital Payments on the Blockchain
Our project aimed to leverage the Solana Network to create a decentralised application (dApp) that tracks invoices and payments. The core idea was to enable companies to select invoices for digital payment on the blockchain. Clients could then pay these transactions using stable coins through their digital wallets. This innovative approach not only streamlines the payment process but also offers significant advantages in terms of speed, cost, and security.
Why Blockchain?
Blockchain technology offers several compelling benefits:
- Immutable and Transparent: Transactions recorded on the blockchain are secure, transparent, and tamper-proof, enhancing trust and accountability.
- Decentralisation: By enabling direct peer-to-peer transactions, blockchain eliminates the need for intermediaries.
- Enhanced Security: Cryptographic techniques ensure data security, making blockchain a robust solution for financial transactions.
The Solana Advantage
We chose the Solana framework for its high performance and scalability. Solana’s unique combination of Proof of History (PoH) and Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms allows it to handle thousands of transactions per second with low costs, making it ideal for decentralised finance (DeFi) applications. Additionally, Solana offers vast documentation and a rich marketplace of applications, which provided us with a substantial kickstart in terms of know-how and resources.
Integrating Blockchain with Sage Applications
Our dApp integrates seamlessly with Sage Intacct and Sage X3, enabling a new level of functionality:
- Invoice and Payment Tracking: Companies can raise invoices in Sage Intacct, make them available on the Solana blockchain, and receive payments from clients using Sage X3.
- Stable Coin Payments: Clients can pay invoices using stable coins, which are then managed by the finance team to convert into fiat currency as needed.
- Intercompany Transactions: This system is particularly useful for managing intercompany transactions, where one entity uses Sage Intacct and the other uses Sage X3.
Beyond Payments: The Power of Blockchain Contracts
Blockchain programs, commonly known as smart contracts, can store any type of information, not just data related to digital payments. This flexibility allows businesses to leverage blockchain for a variety of purposes beyond financial transactions. One significant advantage of storing non-transactional data on the blockchain is the enhanced transparency it provides. This is particularly beneficial for charities and organisations involved in social actions, where accountability and trust are paramount.
By recording activities, donations, and other critical information on the blockchain, these organisations can ensure that their operations are transparent and verifiable by anyone. This level of openness can help build trust with donors, stakeholders, and the public, ultimately supporting the organisation’s mission and goals.
Technical Insights from Our R&D
Our R&D project aimed to develop an application that facilitates crypto payments using the Solana blockchain. The main goal was to create a website that would enable communication between Power Automate, Solana, and Sage X3 or Intacct to receive and process transactions. This involved several technical challenges and advancements:
- Integration with Solana: We had to learn how to effectively use Solana’s web3.js and wallet-adapter-react-ui libraries to interact with the blockchain. This required a deep understanding of Solana’s API and transaction structures.
- Frontend Development: We adopted Vite as a build tool, replacing Create React App used in previous projects. This required learning the nuances of Vite to configure and deploy the blockchain application effectively.
- Custom Data Structures: Incorporating custom data structures within the Solana contract was crucial for enabling lookups with external applications like Sage. This involved designing a mechanism to store and retrieve external data references.
- Transaction Processing: The integration with Power Automate allowed for seamless transaction processing. A finance user can load available transactions from Sage, generate a payment request, and the client can authenticate using their wallet to process the crypto payment. The system then validates and collects the payment on the blockchain, mapping it to the corresponding transaction in Sage.
Embracing the Challenge
We undertook this project because we recognised that the requirement was quite challenging. The technology and deployment methods used in blockchain tend to vary significantly from traditional systems. By engaging in this exercise, we have equipped ourselves with the knowledge and expertise to suggest blockchain solutions to our clients when we see a clear benefit. This proactive approach ensures that we are prepared to offer innovative and effective solutions as the market for blockchain technology continues to grow.
A Practical Example
Consider a scenario where Company A uses Sage Intacct and raises a sales invoice to Company Z, which uses Sage X3. To avoid high bank fees and delays associated with international transactions, Company Z opts to pay via blockchain. The invoice is made available on the Solana blockchain, and Company Z pays using their blockchain wallet. This payment is recorded and managed seamlessly, ensuring both parties benefit from reduced costs and increased transaction speed.
The Future of Financial Transactions
Our R&D project demonstrates the potential of blockchain to enhance traditional financial systems. By integrating blockchain with Sage Intacct and Sage X3, we have created a solution that not only improves efficiency and security but also opens up new possibilities for managing intercompany transactions.
At Acuity24, we are excited about the future of blockchain in financial technology and are committed to exploring innovative solutions that drive progress and deliver tangible benefits to businesses.
If you have any questions or feedback you’d like to share, please feel free to get in touch with us: