Key Equipment Finance and Cost Management Services introduce 0% financing on the Leading Sage Abra HR and Payroll Solutions

Suddenly, getting nothing from your financial and software partner is a good thing.

Because Key Equipment Finance and Cost Management Services have united to offer qualified businesses a big deal with a very small number. Now you can get 0% financing for 24 months when you purchase the latest Sage Abra HRMS solution. It’s that simple.

But purchasing your software solution is not always easy. It takes a lot of your working capital, and confidence in your providers. With a 24-month financing lease from Key Equipment Finance and your software solution from CMS, you can acquire your Sage Abra HRMS solution at a great rate: 0%.

For more information, please click here to download the 0% Brochure.

Sage Software's Herndon and St. Petersburg Support Teams Earn Second Consecutive Support Center Practices (SCP) Certifications

Prestigious Certifications Recognize Top Quality Customer Support Provided by Sage Abra HRMS, Sage Carpe Diem, Sage FAS Fixed Assets and Sage TimeSheet Teams

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/17/2005 -- Sage Software today announced that customer support teams for its Sage Abra HRMS, Sage Carpe Diem, Sage FAS Fixed Assets, and Sage TimeSheet products have achieved re-certification under the prestigious Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program, after extensive audits of the company's St. Petersburg, Fla., and Herndon, Va., support centers. The Herndon and St. Petersburg support centers first received SCP certification in 2004.

The SCP program is a comprehensive audit of support procedures, practices, service levels to customers, and all internal department processes. In addition, the SCP program reviews how a company treats its customers, its ability to work closely with other departments, such as research and development (R&D), quality assurance (QA), product management (PM), and sales, and its programs to develop and motivate its people.

"The SCP re-certification underscores the investment and commitment we have made to serve our customers and develop employee talent," said Ray Jimison, senior vice president and general manager for Specialized Business Solutions at Sage Software. "Our support professionals continuously receive high marks for customer satisfaction and loyalty, and we are proud of their service accomplishments."

Sage Software's Irvine, Calif. (Sage MAS 90/200, Sage MAS 500 and Sage PFW ERP) and Atlanta (Peachtree by Sage) support centers have held SCP certifications since 1998 and 2001, respectively. Additionally, the company's Sage BusinessWorks Accounting support center (Rocklin, Calif.) has held the certification since 1999, and the Sage Timberline support center (Beaverton, Ore.) since 2001. Sage Software's Atlanta center supporting Timeslips by Sage achieved SCP Certification in 2004.

SCP Certification defines best practices for delivering world-class technology support. The program quantifies the effectiveness of customer support, establishes a foundation to build on existing quality processes, and provides a clear focus on measurable results. SCP Certification requires comprehensive on-site audits to confirm that companies meet the requirements of the over 100 business elements defined in the program. Certified organizations must demonstrate their continued commitment to high performance standards through annual re-certification audits.

"By once again passing the rigorous requirements for SCP Certification, Sage Software makes clear its dedication to world-class customer support," said Kristin Robertson, SCP auditor for the Sage Software customer support teams. "During the SCP Certification audit process, Sage Software demonstrated a clear commitment to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement in their support operations."

In addition to Sage Software, other leading technology companies have achieved the prestigious and sought-after SCP Certification, including Lockheed Martin Corporation, McKesson Corporation, Mentor Graphics Corporation, Network Appliance Incorporated, Quantum Corporation, and Xerox Corporation, among others. Currently more than 200 technology support organizations around the world participate in the SCP program.

About Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification

SCP Certification is an internationally recognized standard created by Service Strategies Corporation and a consortium of leading technology companies around the world. The program quantifies the effectiveness of support, establishes a foundation to build on existing quality processes and provides a clear focus on measurable results. The world's leading service and support providers use SCP Certification as a roadmap for service excellence and a measure of success. For more information, visit www.scpcertification.com, e-mail info@servicestrategies.com, or call (800) 552-3058, toll free in North America.

About Sage Software (formerly Best Software)

Sage Software offers leading business management software and services that support the needs, challenges and dreams of more than 2.4 million small and mid-sized business customers in North America. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports 4.5 million customers worldwide. For more than 25 years, Sage Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software for accounting, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking and the specialized needs of accounting practices and the construction, distribution, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/moreinfo or call (800) 517-9099.

© 2005 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.

Business Objects and Sage Software Expand Relationship With New OEM Agreement

Sage Software to Embed and Resell Crystal Reports as Part of Its Business Management Solutions for Small to Medium-Sized Organizations

Irvine, Calif. - February 7, 2006 - Business Objects (Nasdaq: BOBJ; Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB) and Sage Software (formerly Best Software) today announced they have signed an agreement that extends and expands their relationship. This new agreement enables Sage Software to embed and resell Crystal Reports® as part of its leading business management solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, Sage Software has the option to resell Crystal Reports Server XI as an add-on solution. Crystal Reports Server XI is a packaged reporting solution that includes everything small and medium-sized organizations need to create, deliver, and manage reports over the web.

Sage Software and Business Objects have been OEM partners for nearly 10 years. The new multi-year agreement covers the latest Crystal Reports software and market leading brands from Sage Software including Sage MAS 90 ERP, Sage MAS 200 ERP, Sage MAS 500 ERP, Sage Accpac ERP, Sage PFW ERP, Sage CRM SalesLogix, Sage Timberline Office, Sage Abra HRMS, Sage FAS Fixed Assets, Peachtree by Sage, and Simply Accounting by Sage.

“Business Objects is the gold standard for reporting solutions in the mid-market, and the expanded integration of our industry-leading reporting software with the business management solutions from Sage Software will enable small and medium-sized organizations to more easily optimize their business performance,” said Wyatt Mullin, vice president of worldwide OEM sales at Business Objects. “More companies OEM Crystal Reports than any other business intelligence solution, and this expanded relationship with Sage Software will help extend our reach in the small and medium-sized business market even further.”

Sage Software delivers easy-to-use, scalable, and customizable software for accounting, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking and other business management needs. In addition, Sage Software provides solutions to meet the specialized needs of accounting practices, construction, distribution, manufacturing, nonprofit, and real estate industries. Crystal Reports is well suited for the reporting needs of small and medium-sized organizations, enabling them to harness the information captured in a variety of business systems to improve decision making.

“Our agreement with Business Objects gives us more opportunities to help customers improve their business by using the industry’s leading reporting software,” said Ron Verni, president and CEO of Sage Software. “By bundling Crystal Reports within our solutions, small and medium-sized businesses gain advanced reporting and analysis functionality that is easy to use and improves their decision making abilities.”

About Sage Software (formerly Best Software)

Sage Software offers leading business management software and services that support the needs, challenges and dreams of more than 2.5 million small and mid-sized business customers in North America. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports 4.7 million customers worldwide. For more than 25 years, Sage Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software for accounting, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking and the specialized needs of accounting practices and the construction, distribution, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries.

For more information, please visit the Web site at www.cmshris.com or call (800) 517-9099.

Sage Software's Sage Abra HRMS Positioned in the Leaders Quadrant in 2006 Magic Quadrant for U.S. Midmarket Human Resource Management Systems Evaluation Based on Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- 01/30/2006 -- Sage Software announced today that Sage Abra HRMS, its award-winning, fully-integrated HR, payroll, compliance, employee self-service (ESS), and online benefits enrollment solution, has been positioned in the Leaders quadrant in Gartner, Inc.'s 2006 Magic Quadrant for U.S. Midmarket Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS).

"We believe being named to Gartner's Leaders HRMS quadrant for 2006 confirms what our customers already know," said Ray Jimison, senior vice president and general manager for Specialized Business Solutions at Sage Software. "Sage Abra is valued for its large mid-market HRMS installed base and strong functionality at reasonable price points, which maximize return on investment and minimize total cost of ownership. In addition, Sage Software has diverse product and service offerings outside of HRMS, such as Sage Payroll Services, and a financially strong parent company."

Sage Abra is Sage Software's flagship HR/payroll offering from its portfolio of complementary front- and back-office solutions, including accounting, fixed asset management, and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, among others, as well as solutions especially for specific vertical industries, such as manufacturing, distribution, nonprofit, accountants, construction, and real estate. In addition to its best-of-breed status, Sage Abra integrates with the company's Sage MAS 90 ERP, Sage MAS 200 ERP, Sage MAS 500 ERP, and Sage MIP Fund Accounting products, among other solutions for the mid-market.

*For its U.S. Midmarket HRMS Magic Quadrant, Gartner evaluates vendors across a range of criteria and positions them in the Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries, or Niche Players quadrant based on their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. According to Gartner, U.S. Midmarket HRMS Leaders are "vendors whose performances excel in the U.S. for midmarket HRMS solutions. They are able to deliver breadth and depth of HRMS functionality, as well as demonstrate a strong vision to capitalize on emerging market trends. Leaders successfully articulate a business proposition that resonates with buyers, supported by the viability and operational capability to deliver."

In addition to the Magic Quadrant positioning, Abra Workforce Connections, the self-service component of Sage Abra, recently received a Top HR Product award from the editors of HR Executive magazine.

For more information about Sage Abra HRMS, contact (800) 517-9099 or visit www.cmshris.com.

About the Magic Quadrant

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted January 25, 2006 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Sage Software (formerly Best Software)

Sage Software offers leading business management software and services that support the needs, challenges and dreams of more than 2.5 million small and mid-sized business customers in North America. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (LSE: SGE.L), supports 4.7 million customers worldwide. For more than 25 years, Sage Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software for accounting, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking and the specialized needs of accounting practices and the construction, distribution, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.cmshris.com or call (800) 517-9099.

*Gartner Research "Magic Quadrant for U.S. Midmarket HRMS, 2006" by James Holincheck and Kirsten Recknagel. January 26, 2006

© 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.

Click here for the 2005 Abra Payroll Year End Tax Processing Guide

http://www.cmshris.com/YearEnd2005ProcessingGuide.pdf

This article focused on the ever-increasing crossover between HR and time and attendance appears in the December/January issue of IHRIM.link Magazine. January 11, 2006.

For the 2005 North East Business Technology Conference to be held at the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa on Wednesday, October 26th 2005. Cost Management Services will also be providing additional Abra HR and Payroll Training Classes on October 27th and 28th. September 14, 2005.

SAVE THE DATE!

With some of the most popular tax breaks nearing extinction, Congress delivered a well-timed tax measure extending significant breaks for both businesses and individual taxpayers. Signed into law on Oct. 4, the Working Families Tax Relief Act (WFTRA) will benefit 94 million American taxpayers over the next 10 years at an estimated cost of $146 billion.

Several business credits that expired on Dec. 31, 2003 were in limbo for tax year 2004, but WFTRA renews them retroactively and extends them through 2005. Delivering $14 billion in tax breaks to businesses, WFTRA continues the following opportunities:

• The Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit ­ Extended through 2005, this credit offers incentives for businesses to boost their research, offering a 20 percent tax credit on increases of qualified R&D activities.
• The Welfare-to-Work and Work Opportunity Tax Credits ­ The Welfare-to-Work (WtW) credit provides tax breaks to businesses who hire long-term family assistance recipients; it can be worth as much as $8,500 per qualified employee. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) applies to businesses that hire employees from nine target groups, such as Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI) recipients or residents of designated Empowerment Zones. It can be worth as much as $2,400 per employee. Both credits have been extended through 2005.
• Tax credits for electric and clean fuel vehicles, and for electricity produced from renewable sources ­ The new law allows buyers of electric or clean-fuel cars to claim credits on the purchase of qualified vehicles purchased in 2004 or 2005, and extends the credit for electricity produced from qualified renewable energy facilities placed in service before 2006.
• Archer Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) ­ Through 2005, contributions may be made to Archer MSAs, which are increasingly being replaced by Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
• Expensing of environmental remediation costs ­ Taxpayers may deduct certain environmental remediation expenditures in the year paid or incurred through 2005.
• Enhanced deductions for corporate donations of scientific property and computers ­ These deductions apply to qualified property donations made through 2005.
• Tax incentives for investments in the District of Columbia and the New York City "Liberty Zone" ­ WFTRA extends authority to issue New York Liberty Bonds through 2009, and advance refund bonds through 2005. The D.C. Zone designation and the tax-exempt financing incentives have been extended through 2005, including the 0 percent capital gains rate and the D.C. first-time homebuyer's credit.
  

Personal tax savings:

In addition to extending key business incentives, WFTRA also brings a host of personal tax savings. Extending tax breaks legislated by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA), WFTRA maintains the following opportunities for individual taxpayers and families:

• $1,000 Child Tax Credit through 2010 ­ Parents with dependent children under age 17 are entitled to claim a tax credit of up to $1,000 through 2010, though the credit starts to phase out for filers with adjusted gross income (AGI) of more than $75,000 for singles and $110,000 for married filing jointly. WFTRA extends the $1,000 child tax credit through 2010. The credit had been scheduled to fall back to a maximum of $700 in 2005.
• Marriage penalty relief through 2010 ­ WFTRA extends through 2010 "marriage penalty relief," which looks to alleviate the tax burden on married couples filing jointly who might pay less tax as single filers. These provisions provide married couples with a standard deduction and 15 percent tax bracket that is twice the size of that for single taxpayers.
• Extension of the expanded 10 percent tax bracket through 2010 ­ The income cap for the 10 percent bracket in 2005 is $7,300 for single filers, and $14,600 for joint filers. The caps for this bracket were due to fall back to $6,000 and $12,000 in 2005, but under WFTRA, they will remain at the higher levels, with inflation indexing.
• AMT relief through 2005 ­ The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is sometimes triggered when taxpayers claim substantial deductions. Because the AMT allows fewer deductions than the regular tax system, filers who fall under this alternative system usually end up owing higher amounts to the IRS. The 2003 Tax Act set the AMT exemptions at $58,000 for married couples and $40,250 for single people. These exemptions were due to be reduced to $45,000 and $33,750, respectively, but under WFTRA will remain at the higher levels through 2005.
  

Additional WFTRA provisions affecting families are the acceleration to 2004 of the increase from 10 percent to 15 percent refundability of the child credit for low-income families, and the inclusion of combat pay in earned income for purposes of the child tax credit and earned income tax credit. The new law also provides a uniform definition of "child" for the dependency exemption, child credit, earned income tax credit, dependent care credit, and head of household filing status.

As with most of the tax legislation over the past four years, the most attractive reform for both individuals and businesses is only temporary, which means that further legislation most likely looms on the horizon. You should consult with a professional tax advisor for guidance as to how these regulations impact your situation.

This column appears courtesy of Janet M. Washburn, Associate Financial Planner with the Coastal Wealth Management Group, an office of MetLife Financial Services. Ms. Washburn is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and Financial Planning Association.

Sage Software Celebrates “Sage Day” in Recognition of New Company Name, Strides Made in Furthering Global Presence Previously known as Best Software, the company adopts a common name and branding among its software products for small and mid-sized businesses

IRVINE, Calif. - September 1, 2005 - Sage Software announces that it has proclaimed today “Sage Day” throughout North America, with employees at its 22 campuses across the continent celebrating the day by ‘going green’ in recognition of the company’s recent name change, new Sage Software green logo, and re-branding from its previous name, Best Software. The adoption of the Sage Software name reflects a desire to underscore the company’s ties with its international parent, The Sage Group, plc (London: SGE.L).

In conjunction with the celebration, and to highlight the strong relationships Sage Software maintains in the communities in which it operates, “Sage Day” also features a company-wide charitable giving initiative. The company will make a cash contribution to the United Way Hurricane Katrina Response Fund, up to a total of $50,000, based upon levels of “Sage Day” employee participation in selected ‘go green’ local activities related to the event throughout the day today.

Close to 3,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada are expected to mark the event in their respective Sage Software campus locations. Also, as part of “Sage Day,” selected North American sites will host themed lunches and activities, reflecting the culture of an adopted sister campus from the global company’s international community. The adoption of sister campuses highlights the global reach of The Sage Group plc.

“Today we celebrate our connections to one another through a common name, and acknowledge the growing influence in the worldwide marketplace of our global organization,” said Sage Software President and CEO Ron Verni. “Sage Day represents the great strides we have made over recent years, and especially in these past few months, to truly present one face to our customers, and reinforce our ability to keep our customers for life. Verni continued, “’Sage Day’ is a great way for us to not only have fun, and promote the awareness of our re-branding efforts, but also to take an opportunity to help a worthy cause in the many communities in which we operate.”

Sage Software will make individual donations of $5 to $50 (USD and CDN) to the United Way Hurricane Katrina Response Fund, for each of its employees’ efforts in ‘going green’ for the day, including things such as wearing a green hat or wig, and more.

“Sage Day” follows several months of re-branding activities in North America. In addition to creating a new look, logos, and revised Web sites, Sage Software also recently announced the renaming of its entire small business, mid-market, and small enterprise product lines to reflect the common Sage Software product branding.

The Sage Software re-branding is being incorporated into all of the company’s product names as the product year 2006 versions continue to be introduced. Examples include Peachtree by Sage, Sage SalesLogix, Sage Accpac ERP, and Sage CRM.

For more about Sage Software products and services, please visit www.sagesoftware.com.

CMS announces new 8-week Abra webinar series for Abra clients, and potential clients. Between August 30, and October 12, Brian Kelly will host an informational webinar series every two weeks. For more information, or to register, please click here.

Atlanta (Aug. 5, 2005) - Sage Software launched Timeslips 2006 in early August, including several new features in the program designed to help small and mid-sized businesses save time and increase their ability to complete billable activities.

"With Timeslips 2006, we've addressed customer requests to enhance features to make them easier to use and more intuitive," said Sage's vice president of product management, Jim Portner, in a statement. "Because it is so versatile and feature-rich, it is a very effective solution for many professionals who bill for their services or time."

New customer-requested features include the ability to reprint partially paid or unpaid bills in one step and easily export the reports to a formatted Microsoft Excel file. Also on the reporting side, the report listing has been enhanced to include previews of standard reports within Timeslips, and the program can now generate interactive reports, allowing users to easily drill down to the source of reporting data in order to streamline information reconciliation.

Timeslips 2006 has a suggested retail price of $450, and multi-user versions are available directly from Sage for either $800 (up to five users), or $1450 (up to ten users).

More information is available at www.timeslips.com, or by calling (800) 517-9099.

SAN DIEGO - June 20, 2005 - At SHRM 2005, being held this week at the San Diego Convention Center, Sage Software (formerly Best Software) is showcasing new HRMS technology, focused on multiple database options, and new outsourced payroll offerings for mid-market companies and organizations.

Click here for complete story.

Sage Software Showcases Abra HRMS with New Multiple Database Support and Outsourced Payroll Offerings at SHRM 2005

Click on any photo to see a larger image (it will open in a new window).

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth at the New England Payroll Conference to say hello and sample some regional wines. Congratulations to Candee Lyon of RC Bigelow who won a pair of Red Sox tickets.
Posted June 15, 2005 at 1p.m.