OfficeReady Business Plans Software Guides Entrepreneurs and Business Owners In Creating Professional, Effective Business Plans

COSTA MESA, Calif., (May 22, 2000) -- Canon Software Publishing (CSP), a division of Canon Computer Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Canon, Inc., today announced a new product aimed specifically at entrepreneurs - OfficeReady Business Plans. OfficeReady Business Plans includes 100% Microsoft Office integration to provide power, flexibility and ease-of-use.

Using OfficeReady Business Plans will be intuitive to users of Microsoft Office 97 and Office 2000 because OfficeReady Business Plans uses Word, Excel and PowerPoint as the engines to create customized business plans. Entrepreneurs are not required to learn a new word processing or spreadsheet program, as they are in other business plan software titles. Because OfficeReady Business Plans uses the most common software programs for word processing and spreadsheet calculations, users can cut and paste information or create links to previously created documents without being required to re-enter information into a proprietary format. The resulting plans are Word and Excel documents requiring no special viewers for colleagues or financiers to read the file.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 16 million workers participate full or part-time in entrepreneurial activity. OfficeReady Business Plans will help new businesses get started and aid current businesses in planning and adapting their products and services. Access Media International has predicted that small businesses will achieve $25 billion in e-commerce sales by the end of the year. OfficeReady Business Plans also includes Internet-centric sample plans: e-commerce, Internet start-up and transition from brick-and-mortar to Internet. "The best business ideas are fresh. They can't be trapped into old, static, fill-in-the-blank business plan software programs," said Christopher Dorn, executive director and general manager of CSP. "OfficeReady Business Plans has the flexibility to support great business ideas and the expert advice necessary to flesh them out."

OfficeReady Business Plans is the only business planning software currently available that includes three comprehensive Internet/e-commence plans along with 11 other completed sample plans. Instant PowerPoint presentations, free and easy web publishing, integrated photo technology, conversion to condensed summary plans, planned vs. actual tracking and additional corporate identity templates round out the $89.95* software package.

OfficeReady Business Plans gets users started quickly with a 60 second video that orients new users to the program interface so entrepreneurs can start creating a plan minutes after installation. The video can be downloaded from CSP's Web site at www.software.canon.com.

Expert assistance is always available in OfficeReady Business Plans. The software includes advice from a University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, business school professor pertaining to each section of the business plan. Entrepreneurs can also view sample text from any of the business plans available. OfficeReady Business Plans has a simple walk-though wizard to guide new users through the process of creating a business plan, and the software package comes with a book on creating business plans written by the professor.

Using graphics, photos and logos to add impact to a business plan is simple with OfficeReady Business Plans. The software includes Photo Sockets, placeholders for digital images, to make artwork easier to use in the word processing program. By simply clicking on a Photo Socket, users will be able to insert the photo of their choice from a scanner, digital camera, CD-ROM, hard drive or the clipboard. Users may alter the size and shape of the digital photo to fit into the socket by cropping or stretching the image; users can also rotate and flip photos.

OfficeReady Business Plans continues to help entrepreneurs after the business plan is complete. Users can condense their plan into a few pages with one click on the Summary button; condensed plans are useful when seeking venture capital. Plans created with OfficeReady Business Plans can be exported into PowerPoint as well. The PowerPoint conversion will take all section headings and charts and use them to create a presentation starting-point, saving time and providing a framework for an effective, comprehensive presentation.

Using Canon Web Publisher in OfficeReady Business Plans, entrepreneurs can quickly send plans to a personal home page or as an e-mail attachment** for colleagues or financiers to review. Canon provides each user with 5 MB of free, private Web space. Canon Web Publisher also gives the user the ability to set up an address book with names and email addresses. The program will automatically inform the selected names on the address book that an item is available for them to see and give them the URL to connect to the document.

OfficeReady Business Plans also includes Word and Excel templates to help new businesses get up and running quickly. Templates include planned versus actual reports for income statements, cash budgets and balance sheets; business forms for invoicing, expense reports and non disclosure agreements; and corporate identity documents for fax cover sheets, business cards and letterhead.

Pricing & Availability
OfficeReady Business Plans will be available in June 2000 through major retail chains, e-tail sites and from www.software.canon.com for an estimated street price of $89.95. Additionally, CSP instituted a "Product Guaranteed" program for OfficeReady Business Plans. If a customer is not satisfied with OfficeReady Business Plans, they may return it to CSP within 10 days of purchase, and CSP will send them the business plan software title of their choice (Business Plan Pro 4.0 from Palo Alto Software, Smart Business Plans from Smart Online, Inc. or BizPlanBuilder from JIAN Software). Further details are available at www.software.canon.com.

System Requirements
Minimum system requirements for running OfficeReady Business Plans include an IBM-compatible PC with a Pentium processor or better, 166 MHz or faster; Windows 95, 98, 2000 or Windows NT 4.0 operating system; Microsoft Office 97 or Office 2000; a CD-ROM drive; a minimum of 32 MB of RAM (64 MB recommended); 80 MB of free hard disk space recommended; an SVGA/256 color display; and a mouse or other pointing device. OfficeReady products work with most PC-compatible inkjet, Bubble Jet or laser printers.

Customer Service and Customer Technical Support
Canon Software Publishing offers a full range of customer technical support options=: e-mail and Web Site (FAQ's) via the CSP Web site at www.software.canon.com. For 24 hour, 7 day-a-week technical support, a customer can call (757) 413-2855 for fax-back support or to talk with a customer care technician (8 a.m. - 10 p.m. Monday - Friday, EST). Regular customer support is free for the first 30 days. After 30 days, paid support is available.

About Canon Software Publishing
Canon Software Publishing (CSP) is a division of Canon Computer Systems Inc., which is a subsidiary of both Canon U.S.A. Inc. (Lake Success, NY) and Canon Inc. (Tokyo, Japan). The division, headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., was founded in 1998 to develop, publish and distribute computer software primarily in North and South America. CSP publishes titles from both independent third-party developers and associated Canon companies. Canon is recognized as the world's leading imaging technology company, a leader in printer technology and a top worldwide patent holder. As a global technology leader, Canon achieved $25 billion in worldwide sales in 1999.

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*Price is estimate only. Dealer price may vary and is subject to change at any time. Product specifications and features subject to change without notice.
**Internet access must be purchased separately and may require a payment of a monthly fee.
=Support program specifics subject to change without notice. All product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.