IRVINE, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 11/20/06 -- Sage Software today announced Sage BusinessWorks 7 Accounting, the new version of the company's popular business management solution featuring "Payroll Your Way." Sage BusinessWorks 7 integrates with Sage Payroll Services, an outsourced, online U.S. payroll solution for small and midsized businesses (SMBs). Sage Payroll Services gives users a completely automated, outsourced payroll solution for customers looking to take advantage of hosted services. Sage BusinessWorks 7 also features a robust on-premise solution for in-house payroll processing with newly added e-Filing capabilities and Print-n-Sign Tax Form creation powered by Aatrix. These "Payroll Your Way" options give Sage BusinessWorks 7 users expanded freedom of choice for handling payroll and associated tax compliance issues safely and securely.

"Payroll processing consumes a lot of time and resources, both of which are particularly scarce for small to midsized business owners," said Lorelei Walker, president of Lorelei Walker, CPA, 2006 Business Partner of the Year recipient for Sage BusinessWorks. "By automating more in-house tasks, plus giving people the option of outsourcing the entire process, Sage BusinessWorks 7 and "Payroll Your Way" are delivering exactly what my clients need."

Built on a true Web-native architecture, Sage Payroll Services handles even complex payroll and tax compliance needs with 24/7 access and real-time reporting on demand. Sage Payroll Services automates the exchange of payroll data with the Sage BusinessWorks 7 General Ledger and Cash Management modules, eliminating the time-consuming task of manual data entry and improving overall accuracy. Requiring only an Internet connection to access, Sage Payroll Services ensures accurate, timely processing with a meticulous system of checks and balances and comes with a penalty-free guarantee.* Comprehensive outsourcing services include direct deposits for multiple employee accounts; federal, state and local tax table updates; filings and reporting; outsourced or on-demand check printing from the desktop; plus optional year-end W-2 filing and printing.

e-Filing capabilities added to Sage BusinessWorks 7 enable small business owners to maintain the control of processing their payroll in BusinessWorks 7, while enjoying the speed of filing payroll tax returns and even making payments via the Internet. Plus, W-2 and 1099 processing services are now available to print, stuff, and mail vendor/employee copies of W-2s and 1099s; eFile the state and federal copies; and provide plain paper copies to business owners.

Print-n-Sign Tax Form creation greatly simplifies payroll tasks for Sage BusinessWorks 7 users who choose to keep the entire process in-house. Print-n-Sign Tax Forms enable users to automatically complete and print on plain paper more that 250 forms for all 50 states and the federal government, including 941, 940, 4-up W-2s, W-3, all 1099s, new hire reports, state tax reports and much more. These signature-ready forms minimize the need for preprinted forms, streamline the tax filing process and greatly reduce the amount of time needed to produce returns and payment coupons. Forms are updated quarterly so Sage BusinessWorks 7 users are always in compliance, and every report is saved in its own history file for easy retrieval.

"'Payroll Your Way' in the new Sage BusinessWorks 7 directly supports the crux of what Sage Software delivers to all our customers, and that's an outstanding selection of high-performance solutions that enable small and midsized business owners to run their businesses their way," said Jim Portner, Sage Software vice president and general manager of Sage BusinessWorks.

More than 30 Other Enhancements

Current and new users of Sage BusinessWorks 7 will enjoy more than 30 enhancements, updates and additions designed to simplify business processes, speed workflow and increase profitability. Top among other feature enhancements in version 7 include:

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Tracking -- The process of completing an electronic funds transfer (EFT) has been streamlined to simplify recording and tracking electronic payments. When users make Accounts Payable payments and Payroll Tax Deposits by EFT, the payment can be logged in the system and the corresponding confirmation number can be recorded improving the ease of reconciling accounts and resolving payment disputes.

Enhanced Drop Ship Capabilities -- For distribution and warehouse operations, selection of a customer or vendor's ship-to address has been automated within the Purchase Order entry system. After selecting the vendor or customer ID, users simply select a saved ship-to address, edit an existing ship-to address, create a one-time address or copy the address from a source document, such as a sales order or invoice. Sage BusinessWorks 7 automatically populates appropriate fields within the system to expedite the shipping process.

Copy Parts -- The new Copy Parts function helps expedite the process of setting up new parts, components or subassemblies by allowing users to copy the following fields from an existing item:

-- Part Description (all lines) -- Product Line
-- Ship Weight                  -- Primary Warehouse
-- Comments                     -- Inventory Item
-- Discount                     -- Back Orders OK
-- Fractional Cost/Price        -- UPS® Shippable
-- Category Information         -- Sales Promotion (Promo)
-- Pricing Matrix               -- Vendors
-- Warehouses                   -- Components
-- Unit of Measure              -- Bin Location
-- Taxable                      -- Fractional Quantity
-- Track Serial Numbers         -- Pricing Method

Sage BusinessWorks

Sage BusinessWorks is a feature-rich, modular-based accounting solution that helps small- to medium-sized businesses increase operating efficiencies through process automation. The solution includes general financial management modules for General Ledger, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, along with cash management, inventory, order entry, payroll, job costing and utility functions. Sage BusinessWorks also offers more than 200 built-in reports with graphical reporting capabilities, plus seamlessly integrates with other Sage Software applications to create an integrated front-office and back-office business solution that increases productivity and profitability.

Sage Payroll Services

Sage Payroll Services provides full-service online payroll services and payroll tax compliance processing that is secure, is available 24/7 and comes with a penalty-free guarantee*. Built on a true Web-native architecture, Sage Payroll Service works with any accounting system and offers the added advantage of instant integration with Sage Abra HRMS, Sage Accpac ERP, Peachtree by Sage, Sage MAS 90 ERP and MAS 200 ERP and now Sage BusinessWorks. Sage Payroll Services costs approximately 20 percent less than similar outsourced payroll service offerings from most vendors; requires only an Internet connection to access; offers direct deposit for multiple employee accounts; and provides outsourced or on-demand check printing from the desktop.

Pricing and Availability

Sage BusinessWorks 7 is available now through your local Sage BusinessWorks partner. For pricing and additional information, visit a local Sage BusinessWorks partner, contact the Sage Software Sales Department at 800-477-5700 or visit www.sagebusinessworks.com.

About Aatrix Software, Inc.

Located in Grand Forks, ND, Aatrix Software has been developing innovative accounting software solutions since 1987. Originally founded to develop Macintosh accounting and payroll applications, Aatrix's Electronic Forms Division has established itself as a leader in payroll tax forms for Windows®. Aatrix provides Electronic Payroll Reports and eFiling for Windows® accounting software. Aatrix's finance software has received numerous awards, including Software Digest's highest overall rating and Home Office Computing Editor's Pick.

About Sage Software

Sage Software supports the needs, challenges, and dreams of more than 2.6 million small and midsized 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 midsized 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. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/moreinfo or call (866) 308-2378.

*Sage Software, Inc. guarantees accurate, timely deposits and filings with federal, state, and local agencies or the company will pay the resulting payroll tax penalties incurred. Sage Software backs this promise as long as the information provided is on time, complete, and accurate and accounts are properly funded.

© 2006 Sage Software. All rights reserved. The Sage Software logo and the Sage Software product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software or its affiliated entities.

Media Contact:

Stephen Moore
Sage Software
(949) 790-2040
stephen.moore@sage.com