Simply Accounting by Sage Premium 2008 Prepares Students for Real World Accounting

RICHMOND, BC--(Marketwire - February 4, 2008) - Sage Software announced today the availability of Simply Accounting by Sage Premium 2008 - Education Version, which introduces real accounting to students at high schools and post-secondary educational institutions throughout Canada, and lays the foundation for preparing them for careers as accountants or bookkeepers. Released annually to more than 3,000 schools across Canada through the Simply Accounting Educational Partner Program, this year's Education Version marks the first time that Sage Software will make available Simply Accounting by Sage Premium, one of the most comprehensive versions in the product line.

"In 2007, we registered an additional 500 schools into our Simply Accounting Educational Partner Program bringing the number of schools in the program to more than 3000 across Canada, and reaching more than 300,000 students -- that's phenomenal growth," said Jennifer Warawa, director, Sage Software Accountants Network and Educational Programs for Canada. "Our Education Version assists students with learning basic accounting principles, as well as prepares them for pursuing future careers as accountants or bookkeepers. Just as we are committed to providing small businesses with the best accounting software package on the market, we want to ensure students have access to and can take advantage of learning how to use the leading small business accounting solution in Canada. Our free education outreach program helps to create a win-win solution for the entire community through strengthening the job pool with prospective employees or entrepreneurs who have experience using Simply Accounting."

An extension of the Simply Accounting product line, Simply Accounting Premium - Education Version offers multi-currency and bilingual features as standard functionality, along with all the new features in the most recent product line release for 2008, including:

--  A new home window design that offers improved navigation within the
    product, along with easier access to information, including balances and
    reports using customizable shortcuts which can be placed on the desktop to
    streamline tasks, and;
--  Reporting improvements such as dynamic onscreen sorting, report layout
    enhancements, and print to PDF capability.
    

In Canada, Sage Software offers a solid network that encompasses the largest small business accounting customer base, the largest and strongest accountant and partner programs, and a strong educational outreach program for training the next generation of accounting professionals. Simply Accounting is the #1 recommended accounting software in Canada.(1) Sage is the leading vendor in the Canadian small and medium-sized customer (SMB) segment.(2)

The Simply Accounting Educational Partner Program is a free program available to schools across Canada that register to become members. In addition, the program makes available a free downloadable version of Simply Accounting by Sage Premium - Student Version to students of member schools for home study. For schools interested in joining the Simply Accounting Educational Partner Program, please visit http://www.simplyaccounting.com/partners/educationalpartners/educators/

About Sage Software

Sage Software supports the needs, challenges and dreams of nearly 2.8 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 global 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 5.4 million customers and employs over 13,000 people worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/moreinfo or call (866) 308-2378.

©2008 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved.

(1) Information based on an online survey of 574 accountants who work with small business clients, conducted in Canada in August 2007.

(2) Source IDC Canada 2008 Report - Canadian Enterprise Applications 2006 Vendor Shares, (IDC Doc #CA9EA7)

Contact Information: Contacts: Marchell Gillis 770-724-4256 marchell.Gillis@sage.com Mark Priscaro 925-931-7048 mark.priscaro@sage.com