Best Software Releases Abra Suite® 7.0
Award-Winning HRMS Adds Integration with Crystal Reports®, Abra OrgPlus™ Charting Tool and Abra LearningAction™ Compliance Management Training.

Reston, Va. - October 28, 2002 - Best Software today announced the availability of Abra Suite® 7.0, the latest version of its award-winning HR management system (HRMS). Version 7.0, which helps companies reduce compliance risk and increase return-on-investment (ROI), offers several feature enhancements, including integration with Crystal Reports®, and the addition of Abra LearningAction™ and Abra OrgPlus™.

Leveraging its July 2002 acquisition of a leading provider of compliance management training solutions, Best Software will offer Abra LearningAction as an add-on service module for Abra Suite 7.0 users. A hosted e-Learning solution, Abra LearningAction enables companies to efficiently provide sexual harassment and diversity courses remotely, without the need for expensive trainers and travel costs.

“We’re seeing traditional HR software developers begin to evolve, with more of them offering service components to complement their product offerings,” said Jim Holincheck, human resource management director for Gartner, Inc., an industry research firm based in Stamford, Conn. “Companies taking a future-oriented look at HR, and those offering a mix of services and products – especially the right mix – will have a competitive advantage.”

Best Software chose to add the HR compliance service offering after completing in-depth industry research. Studies have shown that a major dilemma facing today’s businesses is the fear of non-compliance with court-imposed or government-mandated regulations. The average jury award in corporate discrimination and sexual harassment suits alone totals more than $100,000.

Developed by legal and educational experts, such as Harvard Law School professor David Westfall, and a team of content and educational experts, Abra LearningAction courses cover a variety of topics, including workforce harassment and discrimination, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), privacy in the workplace, and insider trading.

Additional Abra Suite 7.0 enhancements include:

• Crystal Reports – Crystal Reports Professional version 8.5 will ship with Abra Suite 7.0 to enhance its ad hoc reporting capabilities. A world-standard for high-productivity reporting, Crystal Reports provides HR and payroll users of Abra Suite 7.0 with a powerful, new business analysis tool.
• Abra OrgPlus module – Through the integration of Human Concepts’ OrgPlus™, a complete end-to-end organizational charting system, Abra Suite customers can easily develop and communicate up-to-date org charts across their organization. An additional add-on module, Abra OrgPlus Professional™, will allow users to publish org charts on their Intranet, and distribute charts via any web browser.
• Windows XP user interface – Utilizing the look and feel of Microsoft Windows XP allows Abra 7.0 to offer a user-friendly interface replete with fresh colors and icons, emphasizing the product’s usability and easy navigation.
• TimeSheet Professional® integration – Abra Suite will now integrate with TimeSheet Professional, Best Software’s project oriented time and activity tracking system for workgroups of any size.

Several Best Software business partners and customers recently completed a field test of Abra Suite 7.0.

“We’ve been an Abra Suite user for more than five years,” said Roger Elliott, chief financial officer at California Chassis, a manufacturer of metal products and assemblies. “The top enhancement of version 7.0 is the addition of Crystal Reports. We were already using Crystal with our accounting and manufacturing software. Having Crystal as part of Abra Suite allows us to pull a variety of information from the database and present it in our own format. The new online help feature is also great.”

“The demand for robust, integrated HRMS solutions continues to increase,” said Abra General Manager Mary Doize. “An HRMS must offer more than the mere automation of functions, such as payroll and recruiting. Abra Suite 7.0 was designed to exceed customers’ core HRMS needs, offering business solutions that allow HR executives to focus their time and energy on more strategic business initiatives. ”

Abra Suite 7.0 is available for shipment to Best Software business partners and new customers immediately. In February 2003, current customers on a maintenance contract will receive Abra Suite 7.1, which will include minor enhancements not included in version 7.0.

About Best Software
Best Software offers leading business management products and services that give over 1.7 million small and mid-sized customers in North America the insight for success throughout the life of their business. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports three million customers worldwide and has revenue of $815 million. For more than 25 years, Best Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable applications through its portfolio of leading brands, including Abra, ACT!, CPASoftware, FAS, MAS 90, MIP, Peachtree and SalesLogix, among many others. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.bestsoftware.com/moreinfo or call (866) 308-BEST.

Products Offered

MAS 90 & 200 MAS 90 is an industry-leading accounting, distribution, manufacturing and e-business management software solution for small to medium-sized companies with 10 to 500 employees. Recommended by more CPAs than any other application in its class, this product suite offers a broad selection of feature-rich modules that empower customers with the ability to manage and grow their businesses more effectively. A more powerful addition to the product line is MAS 200. This client/server application incorporates thin-client technology, resulting in more efficiently distributed processing, high performance, enhanced data integrity and reliability, remote access support, and scalability. MAS 200 is also available on the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 database management platform.

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HR & Timekeeping Best Software is an industry leader in delivering powerful, easy-to-use human resource and payroll management solutions. HR & Payroll solutions from Best Software offer a wide variety of affordable solutions to meet your organization's changing business needs and daily operations. With solutions that include comprehensive payroll processing; recruiting; training and benefits administration, Best Software can help you get the best results from these elements of your operations.

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