New courses for Microsoft Office 2003 will be available during April 2005. Six courses cover Microsoft Office Excel 2003, Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003, and Microsoft Office Access 2003.

New courses for Microsoft Office XP will be available during January 2005. Six courses cover Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, and Microsoft Access 2002.

Our latest course, Practical Sage Line 50 Accountant, will be available from 1 August 2004. The course is based on version 9 of this market-leading accounting software, and is aimed at new and existing users of Sage Line 50; practicing accountants who have clients using Sage Line 50; and finance students who want to gain an understanding of computer-based accounting systems.

The new Advanced Access 2000 course will be available from 10 October 2003. Unique to this course is its coverage of both Access 97 and Access 2000. Although all lessons are demonstrated in Access 2000, exercises and sample data files are provided for both versions. The course syllabus is now available in the Courses section.

Courses on Disk will release Advanced Access 2000 in September 2003. This new course will pick up from where Practical Access 97/2000 ended, covering relational database design, advanced queries, forms, reports, and formatting, integrating with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word, Macros, and publishing to the Web. For more details, to register your early interest, or to request an advance copy of the course syllabus, please contact Jeremy Kidson on 01825 840686.

Courses on Disk have announced revised pricing for their course CD-ROMs. Effective from 1 June 2003, the first course will be £99 as before. All subsequent courses ordered at the same time will be £50 each. The effect of this change means that our courseware is now even less expensive when purchasing 5 or more CDs.

Courses on Disk today announced two new CD-ROM training courses; one for Microsoft Access 97 and one for Microsoft Access 2000. Both courses show you how to use Microsoft Access databases, and how, step-by-step, to create databases for your own use. These courses will be available from 2 June 2003.

Courses on Disk today announced that registered charities will be entitled to a 25% discount on all courses they purchase. This means that charities will receive training at a reduced cost. More than 180,000 registered charities in the UK will now benefit from the most affordable and convenient training available for Microsoft Office.

Stamford Homes Limited of Orton Southgate, Peterborough, recently became the 3,000th organisation to choose CD-ROM training for its staff. Our thanks to Richard Smirfitt, and to all our customers for their valued business. Best wishes also for a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year from the Directors of Courses on Disk. We look forward to satisfying more of your training needs in 2003.

Courses on Disk today released two new CD-ROM training courses; one for Microsoft PowerPoint 97 and one for Microsoft PowerPoint 2000. Love or hate presenting, PowerPoint is the best software tool to support you. If you have to present financial information to directors, shareholders, management meetings, committees, clients or other groups, you'll want to design and build an effective presentation. Our courses show you how, step-by-step, from start to end, to create such a presentation. They also show you how to publish the same presentation in other forms, such as on CD-ROM, on the company intranet, or over the Internet to reach a wider audience.

Tuf-Treds (Dyfed) Limited of Pontyberem today became the 2,000th business to adopt Courses on Disk's CD-ROM training for Microsoft Office. More than 1,000 organisations each year are now adopting our convenient, self-paced and low cost training.

Nigel Harris of West Country firm Burton Sweet was chosen by AccountingWeb.co.uk to review Microsoft Excel 2000 CD-ROM training from Courses on Disk. Nigel reported:

"So are Courses on Disk CD-ROMs worth buying? Definitely. They represent outstanding value for money - the full package represents some 54 hours of training without the lost time and inconvenience of travelling to externally run courses. In fact, when you consider the number of times you might reuse each CD the purchase price seems downright trivial! They would be particularly useful for training new staff or managing the transition to Office 2000."

See the full review on the AccountingWeb website

Courses on Disk congratulates Deloitte & Touche of Gibraltar for becoming the 1,000th customer to invest in its CD-ROM basing training courses.

Writing in the December 2000 issue of Chartech News, Don Heady reviews CD-ROM training courses from Courses on Disk, and concludes "Their products are carefully thought out and go into detail not covered by others and they counter the criticisms of other products... These definitely are this month's 'best buy' for those who want a proper understanding of the software they use".

Don Heady is a consultant to Maynard Heady of Canvey Island and Maldon, Essex, and a member of the IT Faculty committee of the ICAEW.

Courses on Disk have today announced The Microsoft Collection, a collection of 4 CDs that provide comprehensive interactive training for accountants in key office IT applications. Five training courses are included: Windows 95 and Windows 98, Excel, Word, The Internet, including Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. All courses meet or exceed the proficiency levels set out by the ICAEW's General Practitioner Board, in their document titled 'A learning strategy for IT'. They are already in use by more than 600 firms of accountants to train thousands of staff in key IT skills.

Pricing is as follows:

Students (single-user license for home use) £99*
Sole practitioners (working alone or employing one part or full time secretary) £149*
All practices and businesses (unlimited use in a single office) £249*

Until 7 October 2000 there is a special introductory offer to encourage sole practitioners to invest in IT training. They can purchase The Microsoft Collection for just £99*, a further saving of £50. The license is restricted to the proprietor and one secretarial or adminstration employee. Courseware CDs are also available individually at £99* each, with generous discounts for multiple purchases on a single order. * A post and packing charge of £9.95 applies per order, and prices are exclusive of VAT. Courses require a personal computer (Pentium or better) fitted with a CD-ROM drive, 16-bit sound card, and speakers or headphones. For more information contact Jeremy Kidson on 01825 840686, or e-mail him at jeremy@coursesondisk.com.

Following the acquisition of CSM by Sage, it looks like the AuditMan accounts production system is to be replaced by APEX for Windows. But is this product right for users of AuditMan, and how do they decide? Courses on Disk has an invaluable tool for all AuditMan users. We have a CD-ROM based training course that's extremely comprehensive, and very popular. It provides more than 30 hours of narrated tuition in which you see live usage of APEX for Windows and hear concepts explained. What better way is there to really find out about a software package you're unfamiliar with, and come to a really considered decision? Unlike sales demonstrations you see everything you want to do see, and it's so convenient because you can review APEX for Windows in your own time. Mastering APEX for Windows normally retails for £250* per CD. However, for AuditMan users we have a very special offer. For just £50* you receive a copy of the course to help you evaluate APEX for Windows. If you decide to select it as your accounts production system, you can purchase the CD outright for a further £50. It's then yours to use for unlimited staff training within a single office. For more information on this very special offer to AuditMan users, including a courseware fact sheet and full syllabus, either call Jeremy Kidson on 01825 840686, or fax him on 01825 841266. Alternatively, send an e-mail to jeremy@coursesondisk.com.

Courses on Disk have released Practical Internet for Accountants, a training course designed for accountants in practice, commerce and industry. The course covers all key Internet services: browsing, e-mail, file transfer, newsgroups, chat and collaboration. It also provides a wealth of practical advice on Web site design and management, and e-commerce. Practical Internet for Accountants is the latest addition to the hugely popular series. More than 1000 courses are used by over 600 practices and businesses to train their staff and management in key IT skills. The series also includes courses on Excel, Word and Windows. For further information contact Jeremy Kidson on 01825 840686, or e-mail him at jeremy@coursesondisk.com.

Courses on Disk announces the release of another CD-ROM training course - Practical Word 97 for Accountants. The course is designed for accounting professionals and staff wanting to get the most out of Microsoft Word. The course meets and exceeds the requirements of the ICAEW's General Practitioner Board in their booklet 'A learning strategy for IT'. As with all Courses on Disk CD-ROM training courses, Practical Word 97 for Accountants can be run as many times as required, to train all staff in an office. Practical Word 97 for Accountants is the fifth CD-ROM training course produced for accountants by Courses on Disk. Courses are also available for Windows 95/98, Excel, Hartley Accountant, and APEX for Windows. For further information please contact Jeremy Kidson on +44 (0)1273 691199. * Plus £9.95 post and packing, and VAT if applicable.