IRS Officials Estimate Companies Will Need Eight More Weeks to Comply with the 2001 Tax Relief Reconciliation Act

Business Wire, July 2, 2001

Business Editors/Technology Writers

BOISE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 2, 2001

Cougar Mountain Software Beat the July 1 Deadline

Cougar Mountain Software, leader in mid-range accounting software and point-of-sale software and hardware, today announced the release of the Cougar Mountain Payroll(R) Tax Table Update in accordance with the mandatory Federal Tax Code changes that will go into effect July 1, 2001.

The update was designed to integrate with existing Cougar Mountain Payroll software to automatically revise 2001 withholding rate tables established by the IRS.

The tables were revised to reflect the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 enacted on June 7, 2001. Although the IRS estimates most companies will not be fully tax-code compliant for up to eight weeks after the law goes into effect today, federally-compliant Cougar Payroll is already fully-functional and currently available.

"Many organizations are struggling with how they can update their payroll software by the July 1st deadline," said Cougar Mountain Software President David Bassiri. "Cougar Payroll update is immediately ready. Many Cougar Mountain customers subscribe to our software update service which informs them of changing tax laws and automatically sends software updates when they are available. This service allows business owners to focus on the intricacies of daily operations without worrying about meeting and updating tax requirements."

In addition, Cougar Mountain's automated federal and state payroll tax forms have been updated to reflect the new tax code changes. Earlier this month Cougar Mountain announced the release of a software solutions package to offer companies a faster, more cost-effective way to prepare state and federal payroll forms. The forms integrate with Cougar Payroll to instantly prepare payroll forms required by state and federal agencies, populate fields, and offer printing and electronic filing options.

About Cougar Mountain Software (www.cougarmtn.com):

Founded in 1982, Cougar Mountain Software publishes Accounting(R) for Windows(R) software, Fund Accounting(R) for Windows(R) software, and Point of Sale(R) software and hardware. Cougar Mountain Software represents more than 20,000 national clients in key vertical markets. In April, Cougar Mountain Software was ranked among the industry's Top 100 independent PC software companies in the nation.