Bottomline Technologies Provides Annual Report Filing Information

Business Wire, Sept 13, 2004

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) announced today that it has filed an extension for filing its complete Annual Report on Form 10-K. Bottomline also announced the filing of a partial Form 10-K containing all of the information required by Form 10-K other than the audit report and consent of its auditor Ernst & Young.

The extension will allow Ernst & Young to gain additional clarification on the application of the auditor independence rules to an immaterial investment that Ernst & Young holds through its affiliated venture capital fund, Red Rock Ventures, in a company unrelated to Bottomline, in which a significant stockholder in Bottomline, General Atlantic Partners, subsequently also became an investor.

In the interim filing, Bottomline has included unaudited financial statements consistent with the financial results provided in its most recent earnings release and expects that its audit by Ernst & Young, upon the successful resolution of the independence concern, will be completed. Bottomline is prepared to file the complete 10-K immediately after Ernst & Young is able to successfully resolve its independence concern.

"Our audit had already been completed and we were prepared to file our full 10-K, when we were made aware last Thursday that there could be an independence issue which our auditors wanted to address," said Joe Mullen, CEO of Bottomline Technologies. "We respect the importance of the independence rules and want to allow Ernst & Young the opportunity to confirm that all appropriate actions have been taken under those rules before our complete filing is made. Our audit committee has reviewed the situation and we do not believe that Ernst & Young's judgment or independence was in any way impaired. This will not affect our reported results and our outlook for the first quarter and the year remains strong."

About Bottomline Technologies

Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) is a leading global technology provider of Financial Business Process Solutions (fBPM). Bottomline's comprehensive set of fBPM offerings enables businesses and financial institutions to more effectively manage their critical financial transactions, cash decisions and trading partner relationships, leveraging the Web. fBPM applications include Electronic Payments and Cash Management, Electronic Invoice Receipt and Management, Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP), Electronic Banking and Information Reporting and Document Output Management. Founded in 1989, Bottomline maintains its corporate headquarters in Portsmouth, NH and international headquarters in Reading, England. For more information, visit Bottomline on the Web at www.bottomline.com, or dial (800) 243-2528 or (603) 436-0700.

Cautionary Language

Any statements in this announcement about our future expectations, plans and prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the timing and success of the resolution of Ernst & Young's independence concern and the completion of Ernst & Young's audit and other factors discussed in our most recent quarterly report filed with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this announcement represent our views as of the date of this announcement. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this announcement.