Austin Ventures Purchases Majority Interest in Colonial Tax Compliance Company; Outsourcing Veteran, John McAteer, Joins Colonial Tax Compliance Company as Chief Executive Officer.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas, & ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 10, 2003

Austin Ventures, one of the nation's largest venture capital firms, announced today that it has purchased a majority interest in Colonial Tax Compliance Company, "Colonial Tax," a nationwide consulting and outsourcing sales & use tax compliance solutions firm. John McAteer, an outsourcing industry veteran, will lead Colonial Tax as Chief Executive Officer.

Founded by Britt Dobbins and Steve Clarke in 1996, Colonial Tax is dedicated to assisting companies achieve state sales and use tax compliance. Colonial Tax offers three distinct services that directly address corporate sales and use tax concerns: Compliance Review and Audit, Returns Preparation and Exemption Certificates Management.

Concurrent with the financing, John McAteer has joined Colonial Tax as President and CEO. Mr. McAteer brings 30 years of experience in the design and delivery of outsourcing and financial transaction services to the global corporate and financial institutions markets. Most recently, he was Chief Operating Officer of SHPS Incorporated, a leading outsourced benefits and medical management company with 1,500 employees nationwide. Prior to his role at SHPS, Mr. McAteer spent almost 10 years at CorPay Solutions (formerly a division of NPC), one of the nation's leading providers of accounts payable processing. As COO, he was responsible for building and successfully managing long-term relationships with Fortune 100 corporations in North America. Earlier in his career, Mr. McAteer was a Vice President at Citibank N.A. where he was responsible for managing all global US Dollar payment and collection products for the corporate and financial institution markets.

"We are pleased to be partnering with the Colonial Tax team," said Craig Milius, a Principal at Austin Ventures and Colonial Tax Board member. "Over the last 12 months, we evaluated nearly every provider in the sales and use tax compliance market and reached the conclusion that Colonial Tax's people, process and technology are the most advanced in the market today. Steve and Britt have done a tremendous job building a profitable business and positioning the company for its next phase of rapid growth."

Britt Dobbins, one of the co-founders of Colonial Tax, added, "John McAteer's track record speaks for itself. He is a tremendously talented leader who has spent his entire career successfully building and delivering outsourcing solutions to some of the largest and most respected companies in the U.S. Steve and I are excited to have John join our team and to work alongside him to drive the company's growth."

"I have been partnering with CFOs for over 25 years, and I'm convinced that the value proposition that Colonial Tax's compliance solutions offer to the CFO and corporate tax departments is significant. I am excited to join Colonial Tax and leverage this investment to more rapidly accelerate the growth momentum that Colonial Tax has established with a growing roster of Fortune 1000 clients," said Mr. McAteer.

Colonial Tax Compliance Company will continue to be headquartered in Atlanta with offices in St. Louis.

About Austin Ventures

Austin Ventures has been working with talented entrepreneurs to build valuable companies since 1979. With $2.4 billion under management, AV is the most active venture capital firm in Texas, and one of the most established in the nation. With a focus on business services, computer and communications hardware, and enterprise software, Austin Ventures invests at all stages of company development, from $100,000 "planned experiments" to $50+ million investments in management buyouts.

About Colonial Tax

Colonial Tax Compliance Company has established a reputation as a leader in sales and use tax compliance providing a comprehensive suite of outsourcing solutions including returns preparation, exemption certificate management and tax compliance reviews. By combining advanced technology and the experience of tax experts, Colonial Tax has partnered with over 200 companies to ensure they are in compliance with the 7,600 taxing jurisdictions throughout the U.S. Visit www.colonialtax.com for more information.