Softline Reports Fast Track Expansion Into U.S. Accounting Mid-Market.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2001

Softline Subsidiaries AccountMate and BusinessVision Appoint Key Sales

and Marketing Personnel From Accpac/SBT, and Sign Top-Tier

Accpac/SBT Business Partners

Softline Software, which includes

subsidiaries AccountMate and BusinessVision, today announced infrastructure enhancements aimed at increasing Softline's U.S. market share. David Dierke, former SBT senior vice president of sales, joins Softline as executive vice president of sales for BusinessVision U.S. Brian Austin, former director of press and analyst relations at Accpac, will lead Softline's public relations efforts for both BusinessVision and AccountMate.

Dierke and Austin served on the SBT management team that doubled revenue, tripled profitability and steered the company to acquisition by Computer Associates last year. The addition of Dierke and Austin will bolster a solid Softline sales and marketing group that already includes previous top performers from SBT and Accpac, as well as AccountMate's recent addition of Michael Horn as executive vice president.

In recent weeks, Softline has also attracted a number of top Accpac and SBT resellers to its AccountMate and BusinessVision channel ranks, including: WAC Consulting in Boston; American Logistics Group in Ohio; The Covasco Group with offices throughout California; and Lettini & Associates in Ventura, California.

"We are especially pleased with reseller recruitment results to date," said Steven Rostovsky, president of Softline Software. "Softline can now point to an undisputable trend whereby top-tier accounting resellers across the U.S. are transitioning their product offerings to reflect either AccountMate, BusinessVision, or in many cases both product lines. We're providing, and will continue to provide the most reseller-centric channel programs in the industry, in addition to developing accounting software that's right-priced, has a long, success heritage in the mid-market, and stays at the forefront of technological developments."

"Softline is quickly assembling a value-added reseller channel comprised of a Who's Who of top SBT resellers, and includes a broad cross-section of the most seasoned, capable accounting software consultants in our industry," said William H. Mills, who served as president of SBT Accounting Systems until its acquisition in 2000. "They are also concurrently recruiting key sales and marketing personnel, including a number of folks who were instrumental in building and selling SBT. I would expect to see some raised eyebrows from the top vendors in this market space."

"BusinessVision is an excellent accounting package that is well-proven throughout the world with more than 1,300 resellers," said Carlton Collins of K2 Enterprises, the nation's leading provider of technology training to the CPA community. "While BusinessVision is still relatively new to the United States, it is quickly gaining respect within the CPA community. AccountMate is also a highly respected package with particular strengths in the areas of manufacturing, oil & gas, and general accounting. With AccountMate and BusinessVision, Softline offers a powerful one-two punch as these products represent solid solutions for small to mid-sized companies."

For more information on becoming an authorized AccountMate or BusinessVision business partner, call 800/877-8896 ext. 541.

About Softline

Softline Software is a global developer of accounting, payroll and e-business solutions for small to medium enterprise (SME) and mid range markets. Softline's worldwide reach includes 38 countries, including South Africa, Australia, Canada and the U.S. Softline has a current installed base of over 320,000 businesses, encompassing approximately 4.9 million users worldwide.

Softline's North American presence includes subsidiaries AccountMate, BusinessVision and Datafaction. Softline offers a distinct "smart value" proposition to the North American accounting mid-market, delivering a rich range of robust accounting solutions at attractive price points. Softline accounting solutions are suited to a broad range of companies in a variety of industries, and include both "out of the box" and highly modifiable software packages. Softline's accounting solutions are enhanced and customized through numerous add-on modules, addressing industry specific requirements in specialized vertical markets. Visit Softline at www.softline.co.za.

About AccountMate

Founded in 1984, AccountMate, a subsidiary of Softline Software, is an award-winning developer of integrated financial information solutions. AccountMate product lines offer financial management solutions, plus programs designed for manufacturing, distribution, retail, wholesale and other vertical markets. Visual AccountMate offers true 32-bit, object-oriented source code, and all Visual AccountMate products are available in multilingual versions. AccountMate currently has over 120,000 installations serving over 200 industries worldwide, and is designed for businesses from start-ups to divisions of Fortune 1000 corporations. All AccountMate products are sold through a worldwide channel of more than 3,000 authorized Business. Visit AccountMate at www.accountmate.com.

About BusinessVision

BusinessVision Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Softline Software, develops robust, "out of the box" accounting solutions for the small and midrange business market. Founded in 1987, BusinessVision has over 120,000 users and 1,300 authorized resellers worldwide. Visit BusinessVision at www.businessvision.com.

About Datafaction

Datafaction, a subsidiary of Softline Software, develops accounting software for CPAs/ Business Managers in the Entertainment Industry, high net-worth planners and Production Companies. Since 1976 Datafaction has been involved in all phases of the design, programming, installation, training and support of its computer system. Visit Datafaction at www.datafaction.com.