Pittsburgh, PA � March 11, 2003 � Aptech Computer Systems, Inc. today announced its two widely-installed hotel industry financial applications, Profitvue®, for single and multi-property management systems; and Webvue®, for Internet-enabled central back office accounting systems, are upgraded to Version 8 with new functionality to streamline hotel operation.   Months of collaboration with hospitality industry users resulted in significant system functionality enhancements including HTML formatting, which lets financials automatically attach to emails for easy end-user double-click access; new interfaces; and drop-down menus. 

�Aptech acts as the IT department for many of our clients.  We provide them with financial systems and services, and many also trust us to be part of their decision support team,� said Jay Troutman, president of Aptech.  �We scan the horizon to help them see what they will need in the future, and what we see is a need for greater operating efficiency.  The hotel industry is realizing this is not just a slow economy; it is the new economy. Version 8 is our response to the need for more efficient business practice.� 

Troutman continued, �We worked with our clients to make the Profitvue Version 8 financial information more easily understood and actionable so managers can spot changes in the property�s status, respond quickly, and communicate them instantly.  Profitvue�s financial reports are formatted in HTML now for greater portability.  HTML lets the financials automatically attach to emails for better intercompany communication, and Profitvue financial data is exportable to Excel for flexible spreadsheet analysis.�

Pineapple Management Services, one of the hotel companies that partnered with Aptech on Version 8�s development, has already put the new system to work.  �We have three regional managers, a team of off-site auditors, 13 general managers, and our investors who all need clear accurate financial information,� said Dickey L. Alford, Pineapple�s corporate controller.  �Profitvue 8 allows me to email our financials instantly without reformatting.  In the past, our operating reports had to be copied and faxed out, or re-keyed into spreadsheets to be emailed.  Our upgrade to Profitvue Version 8 has saved me two days of work this week alone.  When the email is received by our managers, a double-click displays the report, and then they have the financials on their laptops where they can answer their own questions about specific expenses and what makes up their value.  My whole operations team is benefiting.  Our auditors and investors need lots of financial information, and they like to use Excel.  The new Profitvue 8 upgrade creates reports in Excel-readable format so investors can open property financials and pull them into their Excel spreadsheets for analysis.�

To increase hotel accounting staff efficiency Version 8 enhancements include new general ledger interfaces to the MICROS Fidelio and Visual One property management systems, as well as to front office systems from Marriott, MSI, Hilton, Resort Data Processing, and Choice Hotels.  Through the Profitvue PMS interface, night audit ledger totals from the front office system are imported into the Profitvue general ledger error-free for inclusion in consolidated financial reporting without rekeying.   To make the accounts payable team�s job easier, functionality is enhanced to eliminate the need for cross-vendor open invoice searches.  Now all open invoices can be displayed on one screen, even if they are from separate vendors, allowing faster payment selection. 

An additional Version 8 enhancement for budgeting allows controllers and accounting managers to quickly increase or decrease different areas of an operating budget to reflect changes in market demand, vendor pricing, or influences that will affect the coming financial year.  By changing the contribution of one or more budget areas in Profitvue the entire plan is instantly updated.

Profitvue gives users the tools to make well-informed business decisions based on current, accurate operations data.  Department managers and corporate executives benefit from Profitvue�s integrated decision support, statistical and financial reporting capabilities, and flexible, customizable open database compliant (ODBC) architecture.  Profitvue and Webvue, with a total of over 700 installations, are both in wide use by large management companies and independent properties. 

Webvue Boosts Internet Functionality

Webvue, an extension of Profitvue that supports centralized property accounting and reporting via the Internet, has been given a completely new look with the Version 8 upgrade.  New drop-down menus for a wide variety of functions have been added at the top of each screen for faster training and ease of use.  Additionally, property budgets can now be entered and reviewed on-line without interfering with corporate operations.  Webvue enables properties to quickly and easily send and access financial and statistical data and generate reports through the Internet or via an intranet site.  Hotels can have real-time access to financials from any location. Webvue is fully secure and centrally controlled, and expands to handle large-scale multi-property accounting.

"At Aptech we took advantage of a slow economy to invest in our products in ways that would benefit the industry.  We teamed with our users to learn how we could make their business be more profitable, and Version 8 is the result,� said Troutman.

About Aptech
Aptech Computer Systems, Inc., a leading provider of financial and operational software and services, is known for valuing human relationships and evolving technology offerings as the market dictates, a commitment that has earned the company 100% customer loyalty of its 700 users over the last three decades.   For more information about Aptech and its products, please call (800) 245-0720 or email [email protected].

Profitvue and Webvue are registered trademarks to Aptech Computer Systems, Inc.  All other trademarks are owned by their respective holders.