Peachtree by Sage Premium Accounting for Construction 2009 Now Available

Construction-Specific Functionality Combines With Powerful Accounting and Analysis Tools for Small Firms and Specialty Contractors


ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - May 22, 2008) - Sage Software announced today the availability of the Peachtree by Sage 2009 product line, which includes the new version of Peachtree by Sage Premium Accounting for Construction. The Peachtree 2009 line offers new features and improvements aimed at assisting small businesses in the long-term management of their businesses through enhanced reporting and payroll management, real-time alerts, and time and expense tracking.

"Peachtree Premium Accounting for Construction addresses major pain points for small construction firms by including more of the tools they need to help them accurately forecast and plan ahead for the highs and lows of doing business," said Connie Certusi, general manager of small business accounting solutions, Sage Software. "The customer-designed advancements we've brought with Peachtree 2009 combine more intuitive and easy to use features with industry specific functionality and trusted double-entry accounting to ensure accuracy and to help our construction companies keep a handle on their business, particularly in an unpredictable economy."

In developing this release, Sage Software worked closely with small businesses through its Customer-Connected Design Center to enhance functionality and introduce new features that bring them:

--  Better Cash Flow Management -- Richer analysis capabilities enable
    construction firms to better project cash flow needs.  They can also run
    "What If" scenarios to see the impact of certain activities on the business
    such as equipment purchases, additional employees or subcontractors, and
    other investments, without running actual transactions, and can customize
    cash flow projections based on historical transactions or other activity.
    All of these scenarios can be exported to Microsoft® Excel® for further
    analysis.
    
--  More Historical Data -- Now companies can report on data outside of
    two open years, allowing them to easily compare budgets and financial
    results using more comprehensive historical trends.  This offers improved
    trending analysis and enables better research producing more accurate
    forecasts based on prior years' activity.(1)
    
--  Real Time Error Alerts -- Day-to-day transaction management is
    improved through warnings when a company uses a non-standard A/P or A/R
    account on Purchase and Sales Invoices, as well as when they use non-Cash
    accounts on Receipts and Payments.  The new alerts extend the existing
    Internal Accounting Review feature by warning small businesses as problems
    occur so there's less likelihood of mistakes continuing and causing
    problems in the long term.
    
--  Improved Time and Expense Tracking -- The ability to set the first day
    of the work week for weekly timesheets for those who don't work a
    traditional Monday-Friday week.  To save time, they can also copy
    timesheets from the previous week, as well as see new Time and Expense
    Ticket List Views, for better analysis.
    
--  Improved payroll management -- A new Vacation and Sick Time tab on the
    employee record allows easy variance of time-off options per employee, with
    a new Vacation and Sick Time Report to easily display that information.  As
    an added precaution, all Peachtree reports now display only the last four
    digits of Social Security numbers, to help prevent identity theft and
    comply with state laws.
    

Using Peachtree Premium Accounting for Construction, construction-based small businesses can track progress billing, calculate labor burden, monitor insurance expiration dates, and companies using an accrual based accounting method can also manage retainage payables and receivables. Additionally, Peachtree Premium Accounting for Construction 2009 comes with Crystal Reports® 2008(2) to provide even greater operational and financial analysis with customized reports.

With Peachtree Premium Accounting for Construction, start up is simplified with the Set up Wizard and sample charts of accounts. Strong security features, reporting options, Business Status Center and greater integration with Microsoft Office applications offer small construction companies an accounting package that will help them streamline operations and better manage business cycles to generate positive results.

Growing companies recognize Peachtree as a powerful tool to help them manage current and future growth, and Sage Software offers the assistance they need to manage that growth. Also available in the product line is Peachtree by Sage - Quantum 2009. Introduced in 2006, Peachtree Quantum is the most comprehensive application in the product line, offering all of the new features and enhancements along with more user and transaction volume support. With 2009, Peachtree Quantum now supports up to 30 licensed, named users(3) and provides significant performance improvements in multi-user environments using new Smart Posting technology. This technology provides significant performance improvements in multi-user environments.(4) And, repeated tests have proven Peachtree Quantum 2009 significantly outperforms products such as QuickBooks® Enterprise 2008 with up to 4 times faster transaction processing in a 20 user environment.(5)

Included with Peachtree Quantum is Peachtree Quantum Business Care, an extensive service plan that includes all the product updates and upgrades that become available within 12 months of the product purchase date, access to online training and one year of unlimited access to Customer Support.(6)

As small construction related companies grow and require additional scalability, there is also a clear migration path available for them up to the company's Sage Timberline Office and Sage Master Builder products.

Pricing and Availability

Peachtree by Sage Premium Accounting for Construction 2008 and the industry-specific solutions for accountants, distribution, nonprofits and manufacturing are now available direct from Sage Software, selected resellers, and hundreds of Peachtree Certified Consultants nationwide. The manufacturer's suggested retail price for Peachtree by Sage Premium Accounting for Construction 2008 single user is $599.99 and for multi-user (5 seat license) is $1299.99. 10, 15, 20 and 30 seat licenses are available for Peachtree Quantum, which starts at $3950.00 for new customers, $3575.00 for upgrading customers. High value competitive rebates are available from Sage Software for customers on other small business accounting packages. Call 800-228-0068 for more details.

About Sage Software

Sage Software supports the needs, challenges and dreams of nearly 2.9 million small and mid-sized business customers in North America through easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software and services. Our products support accounting, operations, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking, merchant services and the specialized needs of the construction, distribution, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. Sage Software is a subsidiary of The Sage Group plc, a leading international supplier of accounting and business management software solutions and related products and services for small and mid-sized businesses. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and the Group now has 5.7 million customers and employs over 14,800 people worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/moreinfo or call (866) 308-2378.

1 Upon upgrading to Peachtree 2009, 3 years of converted Peachtree Financial Statement data and account balance data on General Ledger reports will be readily accessible, as well as any future closed years will be available.

2 Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Windows Server 2000 not supported

3 Multi User licenses available in packs of 10, 15, 20 or 30. A maximum of 30 licensed, named users is allowed. Only the first 30 named users selected in the user maintenance screen are considered licensed, named users.

4 Performance results are based on recommended system requirements for Peachtree Premium Accounting 2009. Results may vary based on configuration, size and content of data file, system and network traffic. For information on testing environment refer to www.peachtreequantum.com/test09.

5 Performance results are based on recommended system requirements for Peachtree Quantum Accounting 2009, which satisfies the system requirements for QuickBooks Enterprise 2008. Results may vary based on configuration, size and content of data file, system and network traffic. For information on testing environment refer to www.peachtreequantum.com/qbetest09.

6 The Peachtree Business Care Plan (which includes product upgrades, updates, and customer support) will be renewed automatically each year on the anniversary date of your purchase unless you terminate your agreement prior to that date. Renewal is not required to continued access to product updates for supported versions.

©2008, Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. The Sage Software logo, Peachtree, and the Peachtree logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc. or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Marchell Gillis 770-724-4256 marchell.gillis@sage.com Aimee Ertley 770-724-4556 aimee.ertley@sage.com