Best Software Introduces New ACT! Functionality to Share Contact Information with QuickBooks 2003

Business Wire, Dec 11, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 2002

ACT! Link version 1.5 for use with QuickBooks provides additional

reporting capabilities and support for new QuickBooks 2003

Best Software today announced that its best-selling ACT!(TM) contact manager now offers an update to ACT! Link(TM) for use with QuickBooks.

The update includes additional reporting and data integration with Intuit's (Nasdaq:INTU) latest versions of QuickBooks(R) financial management software, QuickBooks Pro Edition 2003, QuickBooks Premier Edition 2003 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 2.0.

ACT! Link for use with QuickBooks enables critical data such as sales contacts and invoice status to be automatically shared and updated between the two programs -- thus eliminating the need for duplicate data entry on linked contact records, according to Steven Greene, president of Make the Grade Academic Services, an educational consulting and tutoring business.

"We have about 150 clients that we bill weekly, generating several hundred invoices a month. Each client may be in a different stage of the invoicing process and sometimes they decide to make double payments so it gets tricky," said Greene. "My clients are proactive about their children's education and we speak with them regularly about their child's progress. Since most client calls involve academic progress, ACT! is always open on my screen so I can access my notes and histories. With ACT! linked to QuickBooks, I no longer have to shuffle between programs to get the essential accounting data I also need. While I have them on a status call, I can also let them know that they have an outstanding invoice or thank them for being up to date with all of their payments. One of the main reasons we have been successful is the personalized attention and up to the minute information that we deliver. And, when a parent calls, we have answers for them."

With this update, users can generate and view reports from consolidated data organized and calculated by QuickBooks such as Customer Balance Detail, AR Aging Detail, Vendor Balance Detail and AP Aging Detail. These reports will help companies keep open balances to a minimum. Users can proactively stay on top of their customer with a snapshot reference of account aging details, and can also:

-- Ensure the entire organization is working from the same database - Users can transfer ACT! contacts into QuickBooks Pro Edition 2003, QuickBooks Premier Edition 2003 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 2.0 with a few simple clicks, saving time by not having to double enter contact information. In addition, users can create ACT! contacts from their QuickBooks customer and vendor lists to ensure that everyone in the organization is working from the same database of customers and vendors. ACT! Link for use with QuickBooks imports all customers, vendors and employees data and creates matching, linked records in ACT!. If a contact's information changes later, users can use the update feature to edit information in both applications.

-- Have a complete view of the account, from order to invoice and more - While connected to QuickBooks, users can view real time accounting information for any linked record from within the new ACT! QuickBooks View. Now, ACT! users can see invoices and sales receipts for customers and purchase order and bills for vendors from within ACT!. Users can view summary information such as Year to Date and Month to Date summaries and 30, 60, and 90-day agings, as well as regulate who sees specific accounting information. This gives sales people a complete view of each account at any given time without having to leave ACT!.

-- Decrease the time between closing a sale and generating an invoice - When a sale is closed in ACT! using the Sales and Opportunity tracking feature, ACT! Link for use with QuickBooks will transfer invoice information directly to QuickBooks 2003 products, so an invoice can be generated instantly for approval and printing. Users no longer have double entry of sales information so they can focus on selling, not administrative tasks.

"The sharing of data between applications such as ACT! and QuickBooks 2003 products helps small businesses avoid having to manually enter the same data in both applications, which takes a lot of time and can result in data entry errors," said Esther Kruijver, director of Intuit Developer Network for Intuit. "ACT! is a perfect example of how our members are successfully using the QuickBooks SDK to bring valuable applications to Intuit's small business customers."

To learn more about ACT! Link for use with QuickBooks, please visit www.act.com/actlinkpremierpro. ACT! Link for use with QuickBooks has a suggested retail price of $99.95US. For information about volume licensing of ACT! or for five or more users of ACT! Link for use with QuickBooks, please call 888/855-5222.

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 or call 866/308-BEST.