Creating our Accountants' Club Priority Link Some of our many customers are Accountants and we look after them in a slightly different way. We've always had a VIP club for Accountants, and like our customers we ask them what they want from us and our club every year. This year, their feedback told us that Accountants want to be put through to a real person in less time. Not an unreasonable request really, so we put our heads together around a table, had a few coffees ( as you do), and the Accountants' Club Priority Link was born. It's a service which guarantees an answer to your call within 6 rings or we call you back within 30 minutes. Simple. Introducing the Accountants' Club Priority Link has helped us learn even more about how people want to work with us, which is, to give them the best possible service, in the quickest time whilst understanding their individual needs. It's been a revelation, going from 0 to over 2,000 customers in a year – a credit to our peoples' commitment to doing the right thing. Your wish is our command Our business was born out of one man's wish to simplify a process. So we know if we can grant some of our customers' wishes, then we're onto a winner for them and us. Customers can submit ideas to our software and service Wish Lists. Common themes and big bugbears are highlighted, and our developers wave their wands to grant them. It's not something we take lightly, cherry picking fun stuff to slip in if we've got time, we've developed whole versions of our software based just on Wish List items. We can't promise the world, but we have a responsibility to offer the people who rely on us, the chance to contribute to how we progress, it is for them after- all. Our customers asked us to: Allow negative timesheets; introduce multiple currency expenses; create purchase orders from the sales order screen; create cross module reports and create a dashboard look and feel to our software; so we did. ( They're all in the 2009 release of our Sage 200 Suite, saving our customers time, money and effort.) 18Sage CSR Report 08 - MarketplaceSage

A different kind of customer Not all of our customers are users of our software, a network of Business Partners are a different breed who work with their own customers to sell and support our software. Our partner relationship is based on terms which aren't just for our sanity, we have a responsibility to make sure our Business Partners are on a level playing field, and show integrity to each other too ( business can be a ruthless world, but it doesn't have to be). The relationship between us, is one of our biggest assets, meaning we're all able to provide outstanding support, service and advice to our mutual customers. Recognising that our Business Partners need a bit more than a box and a manual means we make all manner of tools available for them, from marketing materials to dedicated support lines, to help them and their customers, run their businesses successfully. Getting our software and business model right means Business Partners can grow their business alongside ours, ( so no pressure there then) but we do have an even bigger responsibility to them to be on top of our game. The Circle of Excellence awards recognise and reward the Business Partners who customers are ' most likely to recommend'. We appreciate the people who help us achieve our vision, and with the Circle of Excellence you get a little more than just another trophy for the cabinet as Dominic, one of last years winners explains: " From start to finish it was a well organised and exciting trip. The hot air balloon, the exquisite hotel and fine dining, were all an experience" MarketplaceSage CSR Report 08 - Marketplace19