Sage 50 Accounting 2013--Canadian Edition: A New Name for Simply Accounting, The Next Era of Small Business Management and Accounting, Still Uniquely Canadian

RICHMOND, BC--(Marketwire - Oct 2, 2012) - Sage North America, a leading provider of business management software and services to more than 6 million small and midsized businesses worldwide, announced today the release of Sage 50 Accounting 2013--Canadian Edition. Formerly Sage Simply Accounting, Sage 50 marks a new identity for the product as part of the Sage portfolio that also includes Sage 100 ERP (formerly Sage ERP MAS 90) and Sage 300 ERP (formerly Sage ERP Accpac), Sage CRM, Sage HRMS and others.

"Sage 50 is the new name of Sage Simply Accounting, the trusted brand and #1 choice of Canadian small businesses and accountants,"¹ said Nancy Harris, vice president and general manager of Sage 50 Accounting--Canadian Edition. "The new name will help businesses identify Sage 50 clearly as a key part of the portfolio from Sage, a one-stop business management solutions provider and a trusted partner for their business needs."

With the launch of Sage 50 Accounting 2013, Sage remains as committed to Canadian small businesses as ever before. For more than 25 years, Sage 50 has been a Canadian-made business management and accounting solution and will remain so.

"Customer and partner feedback plays a significant role in shaping Sage 50 and this year is no different," said Harris. "Sage 50 Accounting 2013 continues to focus on helping Canadian businesses manage their business and financial information easier and glean relevant trends to make insightful decisions to grow their businesses."

New features in Sage 50 Accounting 2013 enable small businesses to not only quickly maintain efficiency and control, but also gain a deeper insight into their operations by:

Getting more accurate and compliant with payroll
Customers with Sage Business Care Gold or Platinum plans will have access to payroll features and improvements in Sage 50 Accounting 2013. These make it easier for Canadian employers to track information and comply with government regulations regarding payroll and save time in the process. The need to re-enter information on the record of employment (ROE) forms that the Canadian government requires is eliminated; Sage 50 automatically records, tracks and enters the total insurable vacation hours directly onto the ROE form that is created within the solution for each individual employee. New to Sage 50 is a Look Up tool that allows users to conveniently find and make corrections to paycheques made in the current and previous years in the payroll journal, drill down their payroll reports through to pull up individual paycheques and post paycheques into future years.

Increasing convenience and usability with electronic payments and improved vendor relationships
Customers now have an option to automatically send an email to vendors, notifying them when an electronic payment has been made. Other improvements will not only allow SMBs to better accommodate their customers' needs, but also record their transactions more accurately and in a more streamlined manner. For those SMBs that do business or have customers who prefer to be billed in U.S. dollars, users now have the capability to record, process and track credit card payments in U.S. dollars. In addition, those customers who integrate Sage 50 with Sage Payment Solutions will be able to switch between multiple Sage Payment Solutions accounts and choose to process foreign credit card payments in either a Canadian or U.S. dollar merchant account.

Gaining better insight and access to real-time business information
Improvements to Sage 50 Business Intelligence (formerly Sage Simply Accounting Intelligence) - an integrated reporting solution that leverages the power of Microsoft^® Excel^® - include the introduction of a new Report Designer. The new tool expands on the existing functionality of the Report Manager, making it easier for customers to customize financial reports to their own unique reporting requirements so they can more easily see the details they need.

A new feature specific for Sage 50 Quantum Accounting (formerly Sage Simply Accounting Enterprise) is the Trends Forecast dashboard, which will further enhance a small business' ability to gain better insight by illustrating projected performances in a set of four graphs. The dashboard maps out trends it finds in an easy-to-understand manner, which allows users to adjust their plans quickly to changes or make more informed, timely and strategic decisions.

Pricing and Availability
The Sage 50 Accounting 2013 product line is now available direct from Sage and at Canadian retailers nationwide. The suggest retail price for Sage 50 Accounting 2013 starts at $99.99. Sage 50 Quantum Accounting is available for 5-40 users and ranges from $2,999 to $14,999. Call 1-800-665-8805 for more details.

For additional detailed information check out: http://www.sage50accounting.ca

About Sage
Sage is a leading global supplier of business management software and services for small and midsized businesses. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs more than 12,600 people and supports more than 6 million customers worldwide. For more information about Sage in North America, please visit the company website at NA.Sage.com. Follow Sage North America on Facebook, Facebook.com/SageNorthAmerica, and Twitter, Twitter.com/SageNAmerica.

©2012 Sage Software Canada, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, the Sage logos, and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc. or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

¹ Based on independent surveys of 275 Canadian small businesses conducted February 2011 and 401 accountants who work with small business clients conducted June 2011.