Centage Corporation Introduces Budget Maestro Version 5.8

HOUSTON, TX, September 27, 2004 - Centage Corporation, a leading provider of integrated budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting solutions for mid-market organizations, today introduced a new version of its business performance management software product, Budget Maestro® Version 5.8. The new offering features a host of capabilities designed to make the financial planning and reporting process faster and simpler. Budget Maestro V 5.8 provides a comprehensive library of report templates using Crystal Reports®, tighter integration with Microsoft Excel, a simpler data entry interface for operating expenses with benchmarking ability, and the ability to easily insert links to supporting documents to provide an audit trail or further details on any component of the plan.

"Our customers were looking for improvements in the way they use Budget Maestro to generate financial reports," said Kamran Sassoon, president and CEO of Centage Corporation. "By offering a variety of templates and a range of features that make it easier to work with data in Excel and general ledger systems, we’re helping them generate a variety of reports faster and easier."

Simple, Yet Powerful Financial Reporting
Budget Maestro V 5.8’s library of more than forty reports allows a simple, yet powerful range of financial reports to be created by CFOs, controllers, financial analysts as well as non-financial managers. Some of the report templates provided in Budget Maestro V 5.8 include income statements, balance sheet and cash flow along with unlimited analytical reports in internal and presentation ready formats. Budget Maestro also allows users to create "Report Books" with comprehensive or departmental reporting and analysis.

"Centage has taken reporting to the next level by adding greater flexibility to the Crystal Reporting functionality and to the already dynamic drill down reporting. Many perspectives on the data are now possible with the new release of Budget Maestro," said Ken Knoll, a financial analyst with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana.

Improved Integration with Microsoft Excel
Spreadsheets are the most widely-used budgeting and planning tool, though companies are increasingly turning to database-driven applications like Budget Maestro which more easily promote real-time financial visibility and accountability in the organization. Tighter integration with Microsoft Excel gives Budget Maestro users both the freedom to work with spreadsheets as well as a database application for business performance management. Budget Maestro V 5.8 is now a menu item within Excel allowing users to extract G/L data from Budget Maestro directly into Excel and perform financial analysis on the data.

New Payroll Functionality
In addition, the new version of Budget Maestro also features improved payroll functionality including an automatic global payroll adjustment to help companies plan and track payroll, benefits and other employee-related functions. This helps organizations better manage resources more effectively and offers tighter control of what is typically one of the largest operating expense. "With more than 775 employees and payroll accounting for 68 percent of our operating expenses, we’ve improved our ability to budget and manage resources from a global and individual employee perspective to respond to our management’s changing needs for real-time reporting and analysis," continued Knoll.

Simpler Data Interface and Supporting Document Links
Budget Maestro V 5.8 also has features that enhance user collaboration and accuracy. The product includes a simpler data interface for operating expenses to make it easier for non-financial managers to enter and manipulate data. In addition, Budget Maestro users can insert multiple links to supporting documents in a variety of formats, including Word, Excel, and PDF, which eases the process of viewing and accessing backup data for expense reporting.

Availability and Pricing
Budget Maestro Version 5.8 is available in multiple editions: a single-user Desktop Edition; a 5 user Small Business Edition and a multi-user, multi-location Enterprise Edition. For pricing and additional product information contact Centage Corporation at www.centage.com, or call 1-800.366.5111.

About Centage Corporation
Centage Corporation provides sophisticated yet easy-to use Business Performance Management (BPM) solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to improve its budgeting, forecasting, reporting and analytical capabilities. Since 1995, thousands of licenses of the company’s premier financial solution, Budget Maestro®, have been sold worldwide, enabling managers at all levels to dramatically simplify their budgeting process and improve the accuracy and efficiency of their overall business planning process. Budget Maestro by Centage delivers superior ROI through a combination of best price, easiest implementation and use, and a fiscally sound methodology that enables confident decision-making. Centage Corporation is headquartered in Houston, TX. For more information, visit www.centage.com