Sage Software Launches Simply Accounting by Sage 2007

RICHMOND, BC--(CCNMatthews - October 16, 2006) - Sage Software today announced the availability of the Simply Accounting by Sage 2007 product line, Canada's number one selling(1) small business accounting software, which includes Simply Accounting Entrepreneur, Simply Accounting Basic, Simply Accounting Pro, Simply Accounting Premium with Support and Payroll Services and Simply Accounting - Accountants' Edition. With over 50 new features and enhancements across the product line, Simply Accounting 2007 provides experienced and new users with easy-to-use tools to manage accounting tasks and conduct business more efficiently. For more than 20 years, Simply Accounting has led the Canadian small business market with easy-to-use comprehensive accounting packages. The new enhancements in Simply Accounting 2007 directly address the real-world needs of small business owners as expressed through focus groups and the feedback of thousands of customers. For this latest release, the products were designed with a focus on time-saving processes, simplified payroll management, more business analysis, and usability enhancements to enable new users to get started even more quickly. "Simply Accounting has been developed in Canada for more than 20 years and it's the perennial market leader because its easy-to-use, rich feature set continuously meets the needs of the Canadian small business community," said Laurie Schultz, general manager for both Simply Accounting and the Sage Software Accountants' Network. Small businesses will benefit from the more than 50 enhancements and new features around both usability and workflow, which include: /T/ -- Learning centre, this centre provides easy centralized access to all the available help resources, including four new 10-minute tutorials for quick start-up. -- Streamlined new company setup, re-designed navigation enables quick access to the company set up areas that can be completed at the convenience of the administrator. -- Report centre, a centralized area within the product to navigate through reports and display report descriptions and sample views. -- Automated backup, easily set Simply Accounting to automatically back up data at scheduled times as well as verify the backed up data to ensure its integrity. -- Improved Microsoft Office integration, Custom Microsoft Word or Excel(R) documents can be opened within Simply Accounting, and reports created within Simply Accounting can be opened directly in Microsoft Excel. -- Improved inventory management, new features like FIFO inventory costing, and the ability to create categories within existing inventory items will enable Simply Accounting users to quickly find and report on the information they need. /T/ Additionally, Sage Software is introducing the SimplyCARE Plans at retail which provide small businesses with complete product bundles that include product upgrades, payroll tax updates and unlimited(2) access to technical support. Simply Accounting is the number one selling accounting software package amongst Canadian small businesses, and it is recommended by more accountants than any other program on the market.(3) "Through our research, we have found that the second largest group of new purchasers of Simply Accounting is small businesses moving from competing products," said Schultz. "We offer an extra $100 off to eligible businesses who make the switch to qualified Simply Accounting products." Pricing and Availability Simply Accounting by Sage 2007 is currently shipping from Sage Software and will be available at Canadian retailers nationwide. Simply Accounting Entrepreneur retails for $69.99; Simply Accounting Basic is $149, Simply Accounting Pro, two user license is $199 after rebates, six user $599 after rebates; Simply Accounting Premium two user license is $399 after rebates, six user $899 after rebates. For more information on Simply Accounting by Sage 2007, SimplyCARE Plans and special rebate offers for small businesses switching from a competing accounting package, please visit: www.simplyaccounting.com About Sage Software Sage Software supports the needs, challenges and dreams of more than 2.6 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 to mid-sized businesses. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and the Group now has 5.0 million customers and employs over 10,500 people worldwide. (1) Source: The NPD Group, Inc. Canadian business accounting software sales. 12 months ending August 2006. (2) Support specialists reserve the right to limit the duration of customer support calls and online chats. (3) Based on an independent survey of over 90 accountants who work with small business clients, conducted in Canada in April 2006.

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