VIALINK CO
424B1, 1999-08-13
COMPUTER PROGRAMMING SERVICES
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<PAGE>   1

                                                FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 424(b)(1)
                                                      REGISTRATION NO. 333-83315


================================================================================


                               THE VIALINK COMPANY

                         112,500 SHARES OF COMMON STOCK

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

         This prospectus relates to the public offering, which is not being
underwritten, of up to 112,500 shares of our common stock by some of our
shareholders.

         The prices at which such shareholders may sell the shares will be
determined by the prevailing market prices for the shares or in negotiated
transactions. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the
shares.

         Our common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Small Cap Market under the
symbol "IQIQ." On August 5, 1999, the closing price for our common stock was
$14.06.




          AN INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMON STOCK INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK.
                     SEE "RISK FACTORS" BEGINNING ON PAGE 7.


















AUGUST 5, 1999
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities
commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this
prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a
criminal offense.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WE WILL AMEND AND COMPLETE THE INFORMATION IN THIS PROSPECTUS. ALTHOUGH THE
SELLING SHAREHOLDERS ARE PERMITTED BY U.S. FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS TO OFFER
THESE SECURITIES USING THIS PROSPECTUS, THE SELLING SHAREHOLDERS MAY NOT SELL
THEM OR ACCEPT YOUR OFFER TO BUY THEM UNTIL THE DOCUMENTATION FILED WITH THE SEC
RELATING TO THESE SECURITIES HAS BEEN DECLARED EFFECTIVE BY THE SEC. THIS
PROSPECTUS IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL THESE SECURITIES OR OUR SOLICITATION OF YOUR
OFFER TO BUY THESE SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE THAT WOULD NOT BE
PERMITTED OR LEGAL.



<PAGE>   2



                               TABLE OF CONTENTS

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                                                     Page
                                                                                                     ----
<S>                                                                                                 <C>
Prospectus Summary................................................................................     3
Risk Factors......................................................................................     7
Special Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements......................................    16
Use of Proceeds...................................................................................    17
Dividend Policy...................................................................................    17
Market Prices.....................................................................................    17
Selected Financial Data...........................................................................    18
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.............    19
Business..........................................................................................    28
Management........................................................................................    38
Certain Transactions..............................................................................    47
Principal and Selling Shareholders................................................................    48
Description of Securities.........................................................................    50
Shares Eligible for Future Sale...................................................................    57
Plan of Distribution..............................................................................    60
Legal Matters.....................................................................................    61
Experts...........................................................................................    61
Where You Can Find Additional Information.........................................................    62
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements........................................................   F-1
</TABLE>







         WE HAVE NOT AUTHORIZED ANY DEALER, SALES PERSON OR OTHER PERSON TO GIVE
YOU WRITTEN INFORMATION OTHER THAN THIS PROSPECTUS OR TO MAKE REPRESENTATIONS AS
TO MATTERS NOT STATED IN THIS PROSPECTUS. YOU MUST NOT RELY ON UNAUTHORIZED
INFORMATION. THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL THESE SECURITIES OR OUR
SOLICITATION OF YOUR OFFER TO BUY THESE SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE
THAT WOULD NOT BE PERMITTED OR LEGAL. NEITHER THE DELIVERY OF THIS PROSPECTUS
NOR ANY SALE MADE HEREUNDER AFTER THE DATE OF THIS PROSPECTUS SHALL CREATE AN
IMPLICATION THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN OR THE AFFAIRS OF VIALINK HAVE
NOT CHANGED SINCE THE DATE HEREOF.



<PAGE>   3


                               PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

         This summary is qualified by more detailed information appearing in
other sections of this prospectus. The other information is important, so please
read this entire prospectus carefully. You should completely and carefully read
this prospectus, including the more detailed information and financial
statements and the notes to those financial statements.

                               THE VIALINK COMPANY

         We provide subscription-based electronic commerce services, designed
specifically for the food and consumer packaged goods industries. We have
developed a cost-effective, Internet-accessible shared database, the viaLink
Item Catalog, that enables subscribing manufacturers, suppliers and retailers to
exchange product, pricing and promotional information. Our services offer a
single interface solution for retailers to receive product information from all
their suppliers, regardless of the technological capabilities of the retailer or
the supplier.

         Our Item Catalog service offers benefits to every member of the supply
chain. Retailers can reduce costs associated with manual entry of item and cost
data, wholesalers can eliminate the costs associated with maintaining interfaces
with multiple retailer systems, distributors will receive timely and accurate
product information and manufacturers can consistently and efficiently
communicate with their entire supply chain. Product, pricing and promotional
information contained in our database is secured with state-of-the-art firewalls
and password protections. With the use of a personal computer, commonly
available software and a Web browser, we enable our subscribers to improve
management of information flow, reduce errors and invoice discrepancies, enhance
the accounts receivable collection process and reduce redundant information
processing.


                                 REINCORPORATION

         At our 1999 annual meeting of shareholders, our shareholders approved
the reincorporation of viaLink from Oklahoma to Delaware. We intend to effect
the reincorporation after November 20, 1999, the date on which our redeemable
common stock purchase warrants expire. For more information on the
reincorporation and the rights of our security holders following the
reincorporation, please see "Description of Securities -- Delaware
Reincorporation" below.


                                HOW TO CONTACT US

         Our principal executive offices and headquarters are located at 13800
Benson Road, Edmond, Oklahoma 73013-6417, and our telephone number is (405)
936-2500. Our World Wide Web home page is located at http://www.vialink.com.
Information contained in, or linked to, our Website does not constitute part of
this prospectus.


                                       3
<PAGE>   4


                                  THE OFFERING

         The following information regarding shares outstanding is as of June
30, 1999. It excludes an aggregate of 2,343,017 shares of common stock issuable
upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of June 30, 1999, with a
weighted average exercise price of $7.20 per share and 193,802 shares of common
stock reserved for issuance pursuant to our employee stock purchase plan as of
June 30, 1999. It includes a total of 360,000 shares registered simultaneously
to the shares registered pursuant to this prospectus, however such shares will
remain subject to a promotional shares escrow agreement until November 20, 1999.
We will not receive any proceeds from the shares sold by the selling
shareholders.

<TABLE>


<S>                                                     <C>
Common stock outstanding prior
     to this offering............................       2,907,418 shares
Common stock offered by the selling shareholders          472,500 shares
                                                      ------------------
       Total shares offered......................         472,500 shares

Common stock to be outstanding after this offering
assuming the outstanding options and the warrant
held by the selling shareholders are exercised in
full.............................................       3,379,918 shares

Use of Proceeds .................................       We will not receive any proceeds from the shares
                                                        sold by the selling shareholders.
Nasdaq SmallCap Market Symbol ...................       common stock:  IQIQ
</TABLE>



                                       4
<PAGE>   5

                       SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
                                   (UNAUDITED)

         This information was derived from our audited financial statements. You
should read the following summary consolidated data together with "Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and
our consolidated financial statements and notes included elsewhere in this
prospectus. The pro forma as adjusted balance sheet gives effect to the exercise
of the options and warrants to purchase 472,500 shares of common stock by the
selling shareholders, net of the costs of this offering, estimated at $42,000.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                              YEAR ENDED                                THREE MONTHS ENDED
                                                              DECEMBER 31,                                   MARCH 31,
                                           --------------------------------------------------    --------------------------------
                                                1998              1997              1996              1999              1998
                                           --------------    --------------    --------------    --------------    --------------

<S>                                        <C>               <C>               <C>               <C>               <C>
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS DATA:
Revenues ...............................   $    8,230,628    $    9,022,842    $    9,507,370    $      108,178    $    3,098,403
Expenses ...............................        9,870,673        11,995,787        10,556,704         2,465,512         3,007,665
Loss from operations ...................       (1,640,045)       (2,972,945)       (1,049,334)       (2,357,334)           90,739
Gain on sale of assets .................        2,998,453                --                --           462,041                --
Other income ...........................          340,670                --                --           273,000                --
                                           --------------    --------------    --------------    --------------    --------------
Income (loss) before income taxes ......        1,699,078        (2,972,945)       (1,049,334)       (1,622,293)           90,739
Provision (benefit) for income .........               --            34,481
   taxes ...............................        1,049,440        (1,112,127)         (366,925)
Net income (loss) ......................          649,638        (1,860,818)         (682,409)       (1,622,293)           56,258
Other comprehensive income (loss) ......         (315,673)               --                --         1,447,856                --
                                           --------------    --------------    --------------    --------------    --------------
Comprehensive income (loss) ............   $      333,965    $   (1,860,818)   $     (682,409)   $     (174,437)   $       56,258
                                           ==============    ==============    ==============    ==============    ==============
Net income (loss) per common share:
  Basic ................................   $         0.24    $        (0.68)   $        (0.37)   $        (0.57)   $         0.02
                                           ==============    ==============    ==============    ==============    ==============
  Diluted ..............................   $         0.21    $        (0.68)   $        (0.37)   $        (0.57)   $         0.02
                                           ==============    ==============    ==============    ==============    ==============
Weighted average shares outstanding:
  Basic ................................        2,741,041         2,727,438         1,838,522         2,866,802         2,729,521
  Diluted ..............................        3,102,443         2,727,438         1,838,522         2,866,802         2,779,665
</TABLE>


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                               AS OF MARCH 31, 1999
                                           ---------------------------
                                                            PRO FORMA
                                               ACTUAL      AS ADJUSTED
                                           ------------   ------------

<S>                                        <C>            <C>
BALANCE SHEET DATA:
Total current assets ...................   $  8,996,208   $ 11,429,208
Working capital ........................      7,836,030     10,269,030
Total assets ...........................     11,151,733     13,584,773
Current liabilities ....................      1,160,178      1,160,178
Long-term debt .........................        592,322        592,322
Stockholders' equity ...................      9,399,233     11,832,233
</TABLE>



                                       5

<PAGE>   6


                  SUMMARY PRO FORMA CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

         You should read the following summary unaudited pro forma consolidated
financial data together with our consolidated financial statements and unaudited
pro forma consolidated financial statements and notes included elsewhere in this
prospectus. This pro forma financial data assumes that both the sale of ijob and
the asset sale to Netplex occurred on December 31, 1997 and at the beginning of
each period for which statements of operations are presented. This pro forma
information does not give effect to the exercise of outstanding stock options
exercisable for the purchase of 1,574,989 shares of common stock or to the
93,974 shares of common stock reserved for issuance pursuant to our employee
stock purchase plan as of December 31, 1998. We have presented the unaudited pro
forma consolidated financial statements merely for illustrative purposes. This
information is not indicative of the financial condition and results of
operations we would have achieved had the sale of our ijob subsidiary to DCM
Company, Inc. and the sale of our consulting assets to Netplex actually been
consummated in accordance with the assumption described in the notes to the
unaudited pro forma consolidated financial statements.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                   PRO FORMA
                                               -----------------
                                                   YEAR ENDED
                                               DECEMBER 31, 1998
                                               -----------------

<S>                                            <C>
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS DATA:
Revenues ...................................   $       732,587
Expenses ...................................         2,287,401
Loss from operations .......................        (2,935,305)
Gain on sale of assets .....................         2,998,453
Other income ...............................         1,106,670
Income before income taxes .................         1,169,818
Provision for income taxes .................         1,049,440
Net income .................................           120,378
Other comprehensive loss ...................          (315,673)
Comprehensive loss .........................          (195,295)
Net income per common share:
  Basic ....................................   $          0.04
                                               ===============
  Diluted ..................................   $          0.04
                                               ===============
Weighted average shares outstanding:
  Basic ....................................         2,741,041
  Diluted ..................................         3,102,443
</TABLE>


                                       6
<PAGE>   7





                                  RISK FACTORS

         Before you invest in our common stock, you should be aware of various
risks, including those discussed below. You should carefully consider these risk
factors, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus,
before you decide whether to purchase shares of our common stock.


DUE TO THE SALE OF OUR CONSULTING ASSETS TO NETPLEX, WE NEED TO REPLACE MOST OF
OUR HISTORICAL REVENUE WITH REVENUE FROM OUR VIALINK SERVICES. SINCE OUR
SERVICES ARE UNPROVEN, OUR BUSINESS, FINANCIAL RESULTS AND STOCK PRICE COULD BE
ADVERSELY AFFECTED

         We have historically derived substantially all of our revenues from
providing management consulting services and computer system integration
services to the retail and wholesale distribution industries. In order to permit
us to focus our resources solely on developing and marketing our viaLink
services, we sold the assets underlying our management consulting services and
computer integration services to Netplex. We had previously generated
approximately 90% of our total revenues from the assets sold to Netplex. We also
sold our wholly owned subsidiary, ijob.

         As a result of these sales, we are now substantially dependent on
revenues generated from our viaLink services. Our viaLink services have achieved
only limited market acceptance and, to date, have accounted for an insubstantial
amount of our historical revenues. Consequently, we resemble a development stage
company and will face many of the inherent risks and uncertainties that
development stage companies face. These risks include our:

         o     Need for our services to achieve market acceptance and produce a
               sustainable revenue stream;

         o     Need to expand sales and support and product development
               organizations;

         o     Need to manage rapidly changing operations;

         o     Dependence upon key personnel;

         o     Reliance on strategic relationships; and

         o     Competition.

         Our business strategy may not successfully address these risks, and our
viaLink services may not achieve market acceptance. If our viaLink services fail
to achieve market acceptance or if we fail to recognize significant revenues to
replace the revenues lost in the sale to Netplex, our business, financial
condition and operating results would be materially adversely affected.

WE HAVE A HISTORY OF NEGATIVE CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS AND OPERATING LOSSES AND
EXPECT FUTURE OPERATING LOSSES

         By selling our consulting business and ijob, we lost the source of
approximately 97% of our historical revenues. To date, revenues from our viaLink
services have been insignificant. Moreover, we expect to expend significant
resources in aggressively developing and marketing these services into an
unproven market. Therefore, we expect to incur negative cash flow from
operations and net operating losses for the foreseeable future. We may not ever
generate sufficient revenues to achieve or sustain profitability or generate
positive cash flow. We have incurred net operating losses of approximately $1.0
million in 1996, $3.0 million in 1997 and $1.6 million in 1998. On a pro forma
basis giving effect to the sale of our consulting business and ijob, as if sold
on January 1, 1998, we had pre-tax income of approximately $1.2 million for
1998. However, this $1.2 million pro forma pre-tax income includes an
approximate $3.0 million one-time gain on the sale of assets from our consulting
business, and therefore should not be construed as representative of future
operations. As of March 31, 1999, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately
$2,586,000 representing the sum of our historical net losses.





                                       7
<PAGE>   8

WE RELY SOLELY ON OUR VIALINK SERVICES. IF OUR VIALINK SERVICES FAIL TO BECOME
ACCEPTED BY THE FOOD AND CONSUMER PACKAGED GOOD INDUSTRIES, OUR BUSINESS WILL BE
MATERIALLY AND ADVERSELY AFFECTED

         Virtually all of our revenues for the foreseeable future will be
derived from a single source: subscription sales of our viaLink services. We
have only recently introduced these services. They may not achieve market
acceptance. To date we have received only an insignificant amount of revenues
from these services. The market acceptance of our Item Catalog service as an
industry-wide shared database will depend upon subscriptions from a large number
of industry manufacturers, suppliers and retailers. A large number of
manufacturers, suppliers and retailers may not subscribe to this service.
Furthermore, we cannot predict the amount of time required for a significant
number of manufacturers, suppliers and retailers to subscribe to our services.
If our services do not achieve market acceptance, or if market acceptance
develops more slowly than expected, our business, operating results and
financial condition will be seriously damaged.

         A number of factors will determine whether our services will achieve
market acceptance, including:

         o     Performance and functionality of our viaLink services;

         o     Ease of adoption;

         o     Satisfaction of our initial subscribers;

         o     Success of our marketing efforts;

         o     Our ability to successfully manage the transition of our database
               to the Hewlett-Packard hosting facility;

         o     Success of our strategic relationships;

         o     Improvements in technological performance; and

         o     Continued acceptance of the Internet for business use.

         The markets for business-to-business electronic commerce services
evolve rapidly. If new markets evolve, customers in those markets, including our
current customers, may not choose our viaLink services.

THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF OUR QUARTER-TO-QUARTER RESULTS COULD CAUSE OUR STOCK
PRICE TO BE VOLATILE OR DECLINE

         Our future operating results may vary significantly from quarter to
quarter due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control. Our
expense levels are based primarily on our estimates of future revenues and are
largely fixed in the short term. We may be unable to adjust spending rapidly
enough to compensate for any unexpected revenue shortfall, including as a result
of delayed or lack of market acceptance of our viaLink services. Accordingly,
any significant shortfall in revenues in relation to our planned expenditures
would materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial
conditions.

         Due in large part to our uncertainty regarding the success of our
viaLink services, we cannot predict with certainty our quarterly revenues and
operating results. Further, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our
operating results are not necessarily a meaningful indication of future
performance, especially in light of the significant changes in business which we
have undertaken. It is likely that in one or more future quarters our results
may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors. If this
occurs, the trading price of our common stock would likely decline.





                                       8
<PAGE>   9

WE HAVE RECENTLY ENTERED INTO TWO STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS AND MAY ENTER INTO
MORE IN THE FUTURE. IF THESE STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS DO NOT PRODUCE THE
ANTICIPATED BENEFITS OR IF WE ARE UNABLE TO ENTER INTO ADDITIONAL FUTURE
STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS, OUR VIALINK SERVICES MAY NOT ACHIEVE MARKET ACCEPTANCE

         Our current strategic relationships may not prove to be beneficial to
us, and they may not be sustained. Further, we may not be able to enter into
successful new strategic relationships in the future, which could have a
material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial
condition. We currently have formed strategic relationships with Ernst & Young
and Hewlett-Packard. Ernst and Young has agreed to provide us with sales and
marketing support as well as consulting and integration services.
Hewlett-Packard has agreed to provide us with a technological platform to host
our services. Maintaining these and other relationships will help us to validate
our technology, facilitate broad market acceptance of our services and enhance
our sales and marketing. However, these existing strategic relationships may not
bring us the anticipated benefits and we may not be able to enter into new
strategic relationships in the future. If we are unable to develop key
relationships or maintain and enhance existing relationships, we may have
difficulty achieving market acceptance for our viaLink services.

THE HEWLETT-PACKARD NOTE WILL LEVERAGE US CONSIDERABLY, CAUSING FINANCIAL AND
OPERATING RISK, AND MAY RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT DILUTION

         As a result of our issuing a $6.0 million subordinated secured
convertible promissory note to Hewlett-Packard, our debt service requirements
will increase substantially when we are required to begin making repayments in
February 2004. The degree to which we are leveraged could materially adversely
affect our ability to obtain future financing and could make us more vulnerable
to industry downturns and competitive pressures. Our ability to meet our debt
obligations will be dependent upon our future performance, which will be subject
to financial, business and other factors affecting our operations. Additionally,
beginning in August 2000 all principal and interest due under the note could be
converted into shares of our common stock at $7.00 per share, a substantial
discount from our current stock price, resulting in substantial dilution to our
current shareholders.

WE ARE DEPENDENT UPON THE OPERATION OF THE PRODUCTION AND DATA CENTER BY
HEWLETT-PACKARD FOR THE TIMELY AND SECURE DELIVERY OF OUR SERVICES

         As part of our strategic relationship, we utilize Hewlett-Packard's
data center as the host for our viaLink services. We are dependent on our
continued relationship with Hewlett-Packard and on their data center for the
timely and secured delivery of our services.

THE 7% ROYALTY WE MUST PAY TO ERNST & YOUNG COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR ABILITY
TO BECOME PROFITABLE

         Pursuant to an alliance agreement between Ernst & Young and us, we must
pay a royalty of 7% of our subscription service revenues to Ernst & Young until
May 2001. Upon meeting specified objectives relating to significant Ernst &
Young clients becoming our customers, these royalty payments will continue in
perpetuity. These royalty payments could inhibit our ability to become
profitable and could have an adverse effect on our operating results and
financial condition.

THE ISSUANCE OF THE WARRANT TO ERNST & YOUNG COULD RESULT IN SUBSTANTIAL
DILUTION TO OUR CURRENT SHAREHOLDERS

         The issuance of the warrant to Ernst & Young to purchase 250,000 shares
of our common stock could cause substantial dilution to our current
shareholders. Our common stock was trading at $16.63 on July 15, 1999 and the
warrant is exercisable for a price of $8.00 per share of our common stock.

WE MAY BE UNABLE TO OBTAIN THE ADDITIONAL CAPITAL REQUIRED TO GROW OUR BUSINESS

         We intend to spend large amounts of capital to fund our growth and
develop a market and market acceptance for our Item Catalog service and other
viaLink services. We have incurred operating losses and negative cash flow in
the past and expect to incur operating losses and negative cash flow in the
future. In addition, we do not currently have a line of credit and do not have
current plans to establish a new line of credit. We expect that the cash we
received in the Hewlett-Packard financing and cash we may receive upon exercise
of our warrants will







                                       9
<PAGE>   10


enable us to meet our working capital and capital expenditure requirements
throughout 1999 and into 2000. After that time, our ability to fund our planned
working capital and capital expenditures will depend upon our ability to obtain
sufficient equity or debt financing. Our future financing requirements will
depend on a number of factors, including our:

         o     Achieving and sustaining profitability;

         o     Growth rate;

         o     Working capital requirements;

         o     Market acceptance; and

         o     Costs of future research and development activities.

         We may not be able to obtain the additional financing necessary to
satisfy our cash requirements or to implement our growth strategy successfully.
Moreover, if our stock price drops significantly, the warrant holders may choose
not to exercise their warrants and purchase the underlying shares of our common
stock, which will adversely affect our 1999 cash flow. If we cannot obtain
adequate additional financing, we will be forced to curtail our planned business
expansion and may be unable to fund our ongoing operations, including the
marketing and development of our Item Catalog service and our other viaLink
services. If adequate additional financing is not available, we may also be
required to license our rights to commercialize our proprietary technologies to
third parties, and we may not be able to acquire complementary businesses and
technologies which could further our growth strategy.

         Pursuant to an agreement with Barron Chase Securities, Inc., the
underwriter of our initial public offering, we have agreed not to issue any
preferred stock until November 20, 1999 without their prior written consent.
This could further limit our ability to obtain additional financing.


IF WE FACE INCREASED COMPETITION, WE MAY BE FORCED TO REDUCE THE PRICES OF OUR
SERVICES IN AN ATTEMPT TO GAIN OR PROTECT OUR MARKET SHARE

         If we face increased competition, we may not be able to sell our
viaLink services on terms favorable to us. Furthermore, increased competition
could reduce our market share or require us to reduce the price of our services.
We currently compete principally on the basis of the specialized and unique
features and functions of our viaLink services including their:

         o     Ability to operate with other network products and operating
               systems;

         o     Product quality;

         o     Ease-of-use;

         o     Reliability; and

         o     Performance.

         To achieve market acceptance and thereafter to increase our market
share, we will need to continually develop additional services and introduce new
features and enhancements. Many of our competitors and potential competitors
have significant advantages that we do not, including:

         o     Significantly greater financial, technical and marketing
               resources;

         o     Greater name recognition;

         o     A broader range of products and services; and

         o     More extensive customer bases.



                                       10
<PAGE>   11
Consequently, they may be able to respond more quickly than we can to new or
emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements.

WE MUST ADAPT TO TECHNOLOGY TRENDS AND EVOLVING INDUSTRY STANDARDS TO REMAIN
COMPETITIVE

         Our market is susceptible to rapid changes due to technological
innovation, evolving industry standards and changes in subscriber needs. If our
competitors introduce new products and services embodying new technologies, our
existing services may become obsolete. Our future success will depend upon our
ability to continue to develop and introduce a variety of new services and
enhancements, which respond to technological change, evolving industry standards
and customer requirements on a timely basis, to address the increasingly
sophisticated needs of our customers.

IF INTERNET USAGE DOES NOT CONTINUE TO GROW, WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CONTINUE OUR
BUSINESS PLAN

         Our ability to achieve market acceptance depends upon the food and
consumer packaged goods industries' widespread acceptance of the Internet as a
vehicle for business-to-business electronic commerce. There are a number of
critical issues concerning commercial use of the Internet, including security,
reliability, cost, quality of service and ease of use and access. Organizations
that have already invested substantial resources in other means of exchanging
information may be reluctant to implement Internet-based business strategies.
There can be no assurance that Internet-based information management utilizing
viaLink, or any other product, will become widespread. If the Internet fails to
become widely accepted by the food and consumer packaged goods industries,
viaLink subscribers may be required to utilize private communications networks,
at comparatively higher cost.

UNDETECTED SOFTWARE ERRORS OR FAILURES FOUND IN NEW PRODUCTS MAY RESULT IN LOSS
OF OR DELAY IN MARKET ACCEPTANCE OF OUR PRODUCTS WHICH COULD MATERIALLY
ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR OPERATING RESULTS

         Errors or defects in our products may result in loss of revenues or
delay in market acceptance and could materially adversely affect our business,
operating results and financial condition. Software products such as ours may
contain errors or defects, sometimes called "bugs," particularly when first
introduced or when new versions or enhancements are released. In the past, we
have discovered software errors in some of our new products after their
introduction. Despite our testing, current versions, new versions or
enhancements of our products may still have defects and errors after
commencement of commercial operation.

WE MAY BECOME SUBJECT TO PRODUCT LIABILITY CLAIMS WHICH, WHETHER OR NOT
SUCCESSFUL, COULD MATERIALLY ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS

         A product liability claim, whether or not successful, could damage our
reputation and our business, operating results and financial condition. Our
license agreements with our customers typically contain provisions designed to
limit our exposure to potential product liability claims. However, these
contract provisions may not preclude all potential claims. Product liability
claims in excess of insurance limits could require us to spend significant time
and money in litigation or to pay significant damages.

IF THE SECURITY MEASURES PROTECTING OUR SERVICES ARE INADEQUATE, OUR BUSINESS
WILL BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED

         Our Item Catalog service and other viaLink services contain security
protocols. However, our database and these services may be vulnerable to
break-ins and similar security breaches that jeopardize the security of the
information stored in, and transmitted through, the computer systems of our
subscribers. Any security breach could result in significant liability to us and
also deter potential subscribers. Moreover, the security and privacy concerns of
potential subscribers, as well as concerns related to computer viruses, may
inhibit the marketability of our viaLink services.



                                       11
<PAGE>   12


OUR PLANNED AGGRESSIVE GROWTH WILL STRAIN OUR RESOURCES

         We intend to expand our operations rapidly in the foreseeable future to
pursue existing and potential market opportunities. If this rapid growth occurs,
it will place significant demands on our management and operational resources.
We will need to hire additional sales and marketing, research and development
and technical personnel to increase and support our sales. We will also need to
hire additional support and administrative personnel, expand customer service
capabilities and expand our information management systems. From time to time,
we have experienced, and we expect to continue to experience, difficulty in
hiring and retaining talented and qualified employees. Our failure to attract
and retain the highly trained technical personnel that are essential to our
product development, marketing, service and support teams may limit the rate at
which we can generate revenue and develop new products or product enhancements.
In order to manage our growth effectively, we must implement and improve our
operational systems, procedures and controls on a timely basis. If we fail to
implement and improve these systems, our business, operating results and
financial condition will be seriously damaged.

OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM MAY NOT BE ABLE TO WORK TOGETHER EFFECTIVELY TO IMPLEMENT
OUR BUSINESS MODEL

         We have recently hired many of our current executive officers to
establish a team to manage our operations. These newly hired officers include
our Chief Executive Officer, hired in October 1998, our Chief Operating Officer,
hired in October 1998, our Executive Vice President of Business Development,
hired in April 1999, our Chief Financial Officer, hired in April 1999, our Vice
President of Strategic Products, hired in March 1999, our Vice President of
Human Resources, hired in April 1999 and our Vice President of Operations,
promoted in February 1999. These individuals had not previously worked together
and are in the process of integrating as a management team.

OUR SUCCESS IS SUBSTANTIALLY DEPENDENT ON OUR ABILITY TO RETAIN OUR KEY
PERSONNEL

         The loss of services of our key technical, sales and senior management
personnel would seriously damage our business, results of operations and
financial condition. On October 1, 1998, we entered into employment agreements
with both Lewis B. Kilbourne, our Chief Executive Officer, and Robert N. Baker,
our President and Chief Operating Officer. Both of these agreements has a term
of three years, with year-to-year renewals. We also maintain a key man life
insurance policy for Mr. Baker.

WE MAY MAKE UNSPECIFIED FUTURE ACQUISITIONS OR ENTER INTO ADDITIONAL JOINT
VENTURE ARRANGEMENTS. THESE ACTIONS MAY DIVERT MANAGEMENT ATTENTION FROM OUR
OPERATIONS AND MAY BE UNSUCCESSFUL, EITHER OF WHICH COULD HAVE A MATERIAL
ADVERSE AFFECT ON OUR BUSINESS

         Although we do not have any current plans for future acquisitions, in
the future we may acquire additional businesses, products and technologies, or
enter into joint venture arrangements that could complement or expand our
business. Management's negotiations of potential acquisitions or joint ventures
and management's integration of acquired businesses, products or technologies
could divert their time and resources. The decision to make any future
acquisitions could require us to issue dilutive equity securities, incur debt or
contingent liabilities, amortize goodwill and other intangibles, or write-off
in-process research and development and other acquisition-related expenses.
Further, we may not be able to successfully integrate any acquired business,
products or technologies with our existing operations or retain key employees.
If we are unable to fully integrate an acquired business, product or technology,
we may not receive the intended benefits of that acquisition.

IF WE FAIL TO ADEQUATELY PROTECT OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OR FACE A
CLAIM OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT BY A THIRD-PARTY, WE COULD LOSE OUR
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OR BE LIABLE FOR SIGNIFICANT DAMAGES

         Our success is in part dependent upon our proprietary software
technology. Companies in the software industry have experienced substantial
litigation regarding intellectual property. We license our products under
agreements containing provisions prohibiting the unauthorized use, copying and
transfer of the licensed program. In addition, we rely on a combination of trade
secret, copyright and trademark laws as well as non-disclosure and





                                       12
<PAGE>   13


confidentiality agreements to protect our proprietary technology. We own no
patents. However, these measures provide only limited protection, and we may not
be able to detect unauthorized use or take appropriate steps to enforce our
intellectual property rights.

         Any litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights may divert
management resources and may not be adequate to protect our business. We also
could be subject to claims that we have infringed the intellectual property
rights of others. In addition, we may be required to indemnify our end-users for
similar claims made against them. Any claims against us could require us to
spend significant time and money in litigation, pay damages, develop new
intellectual property or acquire licenses to intellectual property that is the
subject of the infringement claims. These licenses, if required, may not be
available on acceptable terms. As a result, intellectual property claims against
us could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and
financial condition.

WE DEPEND ON THIRD-PARTY TECHNOLOGY FOR USE IN OUR PRODUCTS. IF WE ARE UNABLE TO
CONTINUE TO USE THESE SOFTWARE LICENSES OUR BUSINESS MAY BE MATERIALLY ADVERSELY
AFFECTED

         We rely upon software that we license from third parties, including
software that is integrated with our internally developed software and used in
our products to perform key functions. These third-party software licenses may
not continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms. The loss
of, or inability to maintain or obtain any of these software licenses, could
result in delays in our ability to provide our services or in reductions in the
services we provide until we develop, identify, license and integrate equivalent
software. Any delay in product development or in providing our services could
damage our business, operating results and financial condition.

WE WOULD LOSE REVENUES AND INCUR SIGNIFICANT COSTS IF OUR SYSTEMS AND SOFTWARE
OR MATERIAL THIRD-PARTY SYSTEMS OR SOFTWARE ARE NOT YEAR 2000 COMPLIANT

         Some computers, software and other equipment include programming code
in which calendar year data is abbreviated to only two digits. As a result of
this design decision, some of these systems could fail to operate or fail to
produce correct results if "00" is interpreted to mean 1900, rather than 2000.
These problems are widely expected to increase in frequency and severity as the
year 2000 approaches and are commonly referred to as the "Year 2000 Problem."

         The Year 2000 Problem presents us with several potential risks
including the following:

         Internal infrastructure. The Year 2000 Problem could affect computers,
software and other equipment that we use internally as well as divert
management's attention from ordinary business activities. In addition to
computers and related systems, the operation of our office and facilities
equipment, such as fax machines, photocopiers, telephone switches, security
systems, elevators and other common devices, may be affected by the Year 2000
problem.

         Suppliers/third-party relationships. There can be no assurance that our
vendors, customers, suppliers, service providers or other third parties that we
rely upon will resolve any or all Year 2000 Problems with their systems on a
timely basis.

         Software/services. We believe that it is not possible to determine with
complete accuracy that all Year 2000 Problems affecting the software used in
providing our services have been identified or corrected due to the complexity
of this software.

         Consulting services. We may be subject to Year 2000 Problem claims in
connection with software programs developed and previously installed on customer
sites through our recently discontinued consulting services. Under our asset
sale agreement with Netplex, we are responsible, and potentially liable, for
problems with the software installed by us in customer sites prior to September
1, 1998.

         We expect to identify and resolve all Year 2000 Problems by the end of
the second quarter of 1999, that could materially adversely affect our business,
financial condition or results of operations. We are currently developing
contingency plans to be implemented as part of our efforts to identify and
correct Year 2000 Problems







                                       13
<PAGE>   14



affecting our internal systems and expect to complete our contingency plans by
June 30, 1999. However, we believe that it is not possible to determine with
complete certainty that all Year 2000 Problems affecting us will be identified
or corrected in a timely manner. If we fail to identify and correct all Year
2000 Problems affecting our internal systems, or if we are forced to implement
our contingency plans, our business, financial condition or results of
operations could be materially adversely affected.

AS AN INTERNET COMPANY, OUR STOCK AND WARRANTS MAY EXPERIENCE EXTREME PRICE AND
VOLUME FLUCTUATIONS

         The market prices for our common stock and redeemable warrants have
fluctuated in the past and are likely to continue to be highly volatile and
subject to wide fluctuations. In addition, the stock market has experienced
extreme price and volume fluctuations. The market prices of the securities of
Internet-related companies have been especially volatile. In the past, companies
that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been
the object of securities class action litigation. If we were to be the object of
securities class action litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a
diversion of management's attention and resources.

THE PRICE OF OUR COMMON STOCK MAY DECLINE DUE TO SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

         Sales of a substantial number of shares of common stock could adversely
affect the market price of the common stock and could impair our ability to
raise capital through the sale of equity securities. If all options held by the
selling shareholders are exercised, we will have outstanding 3,379,918 shares of
common stock, assuming no exercise of outstanding options after June 30, 1999.
Of these shares:

         o     1,588,184 shares will be freely tradable without restriction or
               further registration under the Securities Act unless purchased by
               our "affiliates";

         o     360,000 shares will be freely tradable without restriction or
               further registration under the Securities Act following the
               termination of the lock-up arrangement under the promotional
               shares escrow agreement described below;

         o     1,140,000 shares held by affiliates will become available for
               sale pursuant to the volume and manner of sale provisions of Rule
               144 following the termination of the promotional shares escrow
               agreement described below; and

         o     1,431,734 shares of common stock will be "restricted securities"
               as defined in Rule 144 of the Securities Act.

         An additional 502,900 shares of common stock are issuable upon the
exercise of currently exercisable options. Substantially all shares issued
following the exercise of these options will be freely tradable.

         Beginning in August 2000, the $6.0 million promissory note we issued to
Hewlett-Packard becomes convertible into our common stock at a price of $7.00
per share. In the event that Hewlett-Packard elects to convert this note and
these shares are registered for resale under the Securities Act, the shares will
be available for sale. The table below sets forth the approximate number of
Conversion Shares issuable at various times during the term of the convertible
note, assuming we do not make any repayments of principal or interest and
Hewlett-Packard exercises its conversion right in full:




                                       14
<PAGE>   15

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                           PRINCIPAL AND                  CONVERSION SHARES
   DATE                                   INTEREST DUE($)                   (@$7.00 SHARE)
- -----------                               ----------------                 -----------------

<S>                                       <C>                               <C>
August 5, 2000                                $7,035,000                        1,005,000
(18 months)
(initial conversion date)

August 5, 2001                                 7,725,000                        1,103,571
(30 months)


August 5, 2002                                 8,415,000                        1,202,143
(42 months)


August 5, 2003                                 9,105,000                        1,300,714
(54 months)


February 28, 2004                              9,493,475                        1,356,211
(60 months)
(maturity date)
</TABLE>

For more information on the convertible note we issued to Hewlett-Packard,
please see "Business -- Strategic Relationships" below.

         In connection with our initial public offering of common stock, our
executive officers, some former executive officers and certain holders of stock
options entered into a Promotional Shares Escrow Agreement. Under this
agreement, they agreed until November 19, 1999 not to sell or otherwise dispose
of any shares of our common stock, unless the subsequent holder agrees to take
such securities subject to the agreement.

OUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OWN A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF OUR COMPANY, AND WILL
BE ABLE TO EXERCISE SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE OVER OUR COMPANY

         Our executive officers and directors, in the aggregate, beneficially
own approximately 39% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, these
shareholders, if they act together, could control all matters submitted to our
shareholders for a vote, including the election of directors and the approval of
mergers and other business combination transactions.

IT MAY BE DIFFICULT FOR A THIRD PARTY TO ACQUIRE US DUE TO PROVISIONS IN OUR
CHARTER, BYLAWS AND THE LAWS OF OUR STATE OF INCORPORATION

         Provisions of our charter and bylaws as well as the Oklahoma General
Corporation Act could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us,
even if doing so would be beneficial to our shareholders. We are subject to the
business combination provisions of the Oklahoma General Corporation Act which
restrict many possible business combinations (i.e. acquisitions) with interested
shareholders. These provisions may have the effect of inhibiting a
non-negotiated merger or other business combinations.

         At our 1999 annual meeting of shareholders, our shareholders approved
our reincorporation from Oklahoma to Delaware. The charter and






                                       15
<PAGE>   16

bylaws of viaLink Delaware will be substantially similar to the charter and
bylaws of viaLink Oklahoma. Upon the effectiveness of our reincorporation, we
will be subject to the Delaware General Corporation Law. Delaware laws contain
provisions similar to Oklahoma law which will restrict our ability to engage in
business combinations with interested shareholders.

THE EXERCISE OF WARRANTS AND STOCK OPTIONS MAY HAVE A DILUTIVE EFFECT ON THE
PRICE OF OUR STOCK

         Investors purchasing shares of common stock in the offering will incur
immediate and substantial dilution in net tangible book value per share.

OUR SECURITIES COULD BE DELISTED FROM THE NASDAQ SMALLCAP MARKET WHICH MAY MAKE
THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF OUR SECURITIES MORE DIFFICULT

         Shares of our common stock and redeemable warrants are quoted on the
Nasdaq SmallCap market. Our securities could be delisted from the Nasdaq
SmallCap market, which would force us to list our shares on the OTC Bulletin
Board or some other quotation medium, such as "pink sheets," depending upon our
ability to meet the specific listing requirements of those quotation systems. As
a result, an investor would find it more difficult to dispose of, or to obtain
accurate quotations of the price of our securities. Such delisting may also have
the adverse effect of reducing the visibility, liquidity and prestige of our
common stock. For continued listing on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, we must
maintain compliance with the following standards set forth by Nasdaq: (i) have
net tangible assets of at least $2 million, market capitalization of at least
$35 million or net income of at least $500,000; (ii) market value of public
float of at least $1 million; (iii) a minimum bid price per share of our common
stock of $1; (iv) at least two market makers in our securities; and (v) at least
300 shareholders.

OUR COMMON STOCK MAY BECOME SUBJECT TO "PENNY STOCK" REGULATIONS WHICH WOULD
IMPOSE SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS ON THE BROKER-DEALERS WHO PURCHASE OR SELL OUR
SECURITIES

         In the event our common stock is delisted from the Nasdaq SmallCap
Market and does not trade on another national securities exchange, we may become
subject to "penny stock" regulations that impose additional sales practice and
market making requirements on broker-dealers who sell or make a market in our
securities. A "penny stock" is generally a stock that is not listed on a
national securities exchange or NASDAQ, is listed in "pink sheets" or on the
NASD OTC Bulletin Board, have a price per share of less than $5 per share and
are issued by a company with net tangible assets less than $5 million. The penny
stock trading rules impose additional duties and responsibilities upon
broker-dealers recommending the purchase of a penny stock (by a purchaser that
is not an accredited investor as defined by Rule 501(a) promulgated under the
Securities Act of 1933) or the sale of a penny stock. Among such duties and
responsibilities, with respect to a purchaser who has not previously had an
established account with the broker-dealer, the broker-dealer is required to
obtain information concerning the purchaser's financial situation, investment
experience and investment objections and make a reasonable determination that
transactions in the penny stock are suitable for the purchase and the purchaser
has sufficient knowledge and experience in financial matters. The broker-dealer
must also receive a signed written statement setting forth the basis for such
determination. If our securities become subject to penny stock regulations, it
would adversely affect the ability and willingness of broker-dealers who sell or
make a market in our common stock and of investors to sell our securities in the
secondary market.

                               ------------------

          SPECIAL CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

         Some of the information in this prospectus contains forward-looking
statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify
these statements by forward-looking words such as "may," "will," "expect,"
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate" and "continue" or similar words. You should
read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our
future expectations, contain our projections of the future operating results of
our operations or of our financial condition or state other forward-looking
information. We believe that it is important to communicate our future
expectations to our investors. However, there may be events in the future that
we are not able to accurately predict or control. The risk factors listed in
this section, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus, provide
examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our






                                       16
<PAGE>   17

actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our
forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our common stock, you should be
aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and
elsewhere in this prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our
business, operating results and financial condition.



                                       17
<PAGE>   18



                                 USE OF PROCEEDS

         We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common stock by the
selling shareholders.


                                 DIVIDEND POLICY

         We intend to retain any future earnings to finance the expansion of our
business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
Any future determination as to the payment of dividends will be at the
discretion of our board of directors. In addition, the terms of the secured
subordinated promissory note we issued to Hewlett-Packard prohibit us from
paying any dividends while any amounts remain outstanding under this note.


                                  MARKET PRICES

         Our common stock and redeemable common stock purchase warrants have
been quoted on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market under the symbols "IQIQ" and "IQIQW,"
respectively, since November 1996. The following table sets forth the high and
low sale prices of the common stock and redeemable warrants as reported by the
Nasdaq SmallCap Market.


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                            COMMON STOCK PRICE                    REDEEMABLE WARRANT PRICE
                                        --------------------------               ---------------------------
                                         HIGH                 LOW                 HIGH                  LOW
                                        ------              ------               ------                -----
<S>                                     <C>                 <C>                  <C>                  <C>
1997:
    First Quarter                       $ 5.38              $ 3.63               $ 1.69               $ 0.63
    Second Quarter                        4.50                2.88                 1.00                 0.38
    Third Quarter                         5.88                3.00                 1.50                 0.50
    Fourth Quarter                        4.50                2.94                 1.13                 0.50

1998:
    First Quarter                         4.50                2.88                 1.00                 0.38
    Second Quarter                        5.13                2.38                 1.19                 0.44
    Third Quarter                         3.69                2.13                 1.00                 0.38
    Fourth Quarter                       14.50                2.44                 9.25                 0.44

1999:
    First Quarter                        33.00               10.56                26.63                7.25
    Second Quarter                       25.00               12.25                20.25                8.06
    Third Quarter (through
      August 5, 1999)                    18.41               13.19                13.50                8.63
</TABLE>

         We believe there are currently approximately 1,300 record holders of
common stock and approximately 260 record holders of redeemable warrants. On
August 5, 1999, the closing sale prices of our common stock and redeemable
warrants as reported on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market were $14.06 and $8.63,
respectively.



                                       18
<PAGE>   19


                             SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

         The following selected financial data is qualified by reference to, and
should be read in conjunction with, our financial statements and related notes
contained elsewhere in this prospectus and "Management's Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." The selected financial data
presented below is not necessarily indicative of our future results of
operations or financial performance. The selected financial information as of
and for the years ended December 31, 1996, 1997 and 1998, is derived from our
audited financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. For the
three months ended March 31, 1999 and 1998 and as of March 31, 1999, this
information is derived from our unaudited financial statements appearing
elsewhere in this prospectus.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                  YEAR ENDED                           THREE MONTHS
                                                                  DECEMBER 31,                         ENDED MARCH 31,
                                                 --------------------------------------------    ----------------------------
                                                     1998            1997            1996            1999            1998
                                                 ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------
                                                                                                          (unaudited)

<S>                                              <C>             <C>             <C>             <C>             <C>
STATEMENTS OF INCOME DATA:
Revenues .....................................   $  8,230,628    $  9,022,842    $  9,507,370    $    108,178    $  3,098,404
Expenses:
   Direct cost of sales ......................      1,563,757       2,211,956       2,570,840              --         377,068
   Salaries and benefits .....................      5,256,247       6,174,503       5,167,571         501,358       1,787,430
   Selling, general and administrative .......      1,964,180       2,708,351       2,007,999       1,150,822         558,599
   Interest expense, net .....................        161,355          73,581         219,089         634,498          36,116
   Depreciation and amortization .............        925,134         827,396         591,205         178,834         248,452
                                                 ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------
     Total expenses ..........................      9,870,673      11,995,787      10,556,704       2,465,512       3,007,665
Loss from operations .........................     (1,640,045)     (2,972,945)     (1,049,334)     (2,357,334)         90,739
Gain on sale of assets .......................      2,988,453              --              --         462,041              --
Other income .................................        340,670              --              --         273,000              --
                                                 ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------
Income (loss) before income taxes ............      1,699,078      (2,972,945)     (1,049,334)     (1,622,293)         90,739
Provision (benefit) for income taxes .........      1,049,440      (1,112,127)       (366,925)             --          34,481
                                                 ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------
Net income (loss) ............................        649,638      (1,860,818)       (682,409)     (1,622,293)         56,258
Other comprehensive income
   (loss)--unrealized loss on securities .....       (315,673)             --              --       1,447,856              --
                                                 ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------    ------------
Comprehensive income (loss) ..................   $    333,965    $ (1,860,818)   $   (682,409)   $   (174,437)   $     56,258
                                                 ============    ============    ============    ============    ============
Net income (loss) per common share:
Basic ........................................   $       0.24    $      (0.68)   $      (0.37)   $      (0.57)   $       0.02
                                                 ============    ============    ============    ============    ============
Diluted ......................................   $       0.24    $      (0.68)   $      (0.37)   $      (0.57)   $       0.02
                                                 ============    ============    ============    ============    ============
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic ........................................      2,741,041       2,727,438       1,838,522       2,866,802       2,729,521
Diluted ......................................      3,102,443       2,727,438       1,838,522       2,866,802       2,779,665
</TABLE>


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                       AS OF DECEMBER 31,            MARCH 31,
                                 -----------------------------    --------------
                                     1998            1997              1999
                                 -------------   -------------    --------------
                                                                   (unaudited)

<S>                              <C>             <C>              <C>
BALANCE SHEET DATA:
Current assets ...............   $   2,160,384   $   1,567,827    $   8,996,208
Working capital (deficit) ....       1,049,917        (331,366)       7,836,030
Total assets .................       4,597,046       5,804,153       11,151,733
Current liabilities ..........       1,110,467       1,899,193        1,160,178
Long-term debt ...............              --       1,017,024          592,322
Stockholders' equity .........       3,486,579       2,887,936        9,399,233
</TABLE>


                                       19
<PAGE>   20

                MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL
                       CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

         The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction
with the consolidated financial statements and the notes appearing elsewhere in
this prospectus.


OVERVIEW

         viaLink provides a business-to-business electronic commerce solution
for the food and consumer packaged goods industries. We have developed a
cost-effective, Internet-accessible shared database, the Item Catalog, that
enables subscribing manufacturers, suppliers and retailers to exchange product,
pricing and promotional information. Our solution offers a single interface
solution where retailers can receive product information from all of their
suppliers, regardless of the technological capabilities of the retailer or the
supplier. Suppliers and manufacturers are able to efficiently communicate
product and pricing information to their customers, significantly reducing the
operational and administrative costs of supply chain management. We also offer
the Exchange Manager and ItemXpress services to complement our Item Catalog
service. Exchange Manager allows subscribers to exchange order and invoice
transactions through a single interface, regardless of their number of trading
partners. ItemXpress allows subscribers to quickly and accurately create an
initial setup of their pricebook through a custom load for each retailer's
system.

         We expect that our future revenues will be generated primarily from
monthly subscriptions to the Item Catalog, Exchange Manager and ItemXpress
services. Under our former pricing model, monthly subscription fees collected
from retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers in the food and consumer packaged
goods industries were calculated based on the amount of each service the
subscriber used. Fees were generated when retailers and suppliers would "match"
transactions through the Item Catalog service system. We have recently changed
our pricing model to begin pricing our services based on a flat monthly rate
with a variable component based on usage. The variable portion of each
subscriber's monthly service fee is calculated based on the service and amount
of service the subscriber uses. For example, for use of the Item Catalog
service, retailers pay based on the number of suppliers from whom they receive
data; suppliers pay based on the number of retailers that download their data;
and manufacturers pay based on the number of retailers that subscribe to the
service. We price our other services based on the number of stores supported or
the amount of data stored and retrieved.

         Until March 31, 2000, we may also receive quarterly payments of up to
$1.5 million pursuant to an earn-out agreement with Netplex. We currently
receive revenues from Web hosting services we perform, but expect to reduce our
focus on this service.

         We expect to receive the proceeds from the exercise of our 920,000
redeemable warrants by November 20, 1999. Pursuant to each warrant the holder
thereof may purchase one share of our common stock for an exercise price of
$5.00 per share.

         In order to achieve market acceptance, we expect to continue our high
level of expenditures for investment in, and sales and marketing of, our viaLink
services. One of our strategies is to invest in new technology to facilitate
deployment and acceptance of our viaLink services. However, in order to
implement this strategy, we believe that we will need significant additional
capital resources, as well as hosting and marketing partners for our viaLink
services. We are currently seeking additional equity or debt financing and
negotiating with potential hosting and marketing partners.

         In connection with the note we issued to Hewlett-Packard, we have
adopted a policy regarding the accounting required for such convertible
securities. Based on the price of our common stock at the commitment date and
the conversion price of the debt into our common stock by Hewlett-Packard at
$7.00 per share, the intrinsic value of the conversion feature at the commitment
date was approximately $20,000,000. However, the value is limited by the amount
of the proceeds and we have allocated the full amount of proceeds to the
beneficial conversion feature and recorded the $6,000,000 as additional paid-in
capital. Furthermore, we have recognized a non-cash interest charge of the
beneficial conversion feature in the amount of $592,322 during the first quarter
of 1999, by establishing long-term debt in the same amount. We will continue to
record a non-cash interest charge of








                                       20
<PAGE>   21


approximately $1,000,000 and increase the long-term debt each quarter until the
conversion date of August 5, 2000, 18 months after the effective date of the
transaction with Hewlett-Packard, at which date the amount of the principal
balance of the long-term debt will be $6,000,000.

         On February 4, 1999, we entered into financing agreements and a note
purchase agreement with Hewlett-Packard pursuant to which Hewlett-Packard
purchased from us a $6.0 million secured subordinated promissory note. This note
bears interest at 11.5% per annum. Subject to approval by our shareholders, the
note will be exchanged for a subordinated secured convertible promissory note,
which is convertible into our common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per
share. The purchase of the note occurred on February 5, 1999. As of April 30,
1999, we had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $5.1
million.

         On May 3, 1999, we entered into an agreement with Ernst & Young
pursuant to which Ernst & Young will provide us with consulting and integration
services and sales and marketing support, to assist us in the development of our
viaLink services. In connection with this agreement, we issued Ernst & Young a
warrant to purchase up to 250,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $8.00
per share, 62,500 shares of which will be purchased shortly after the date of
this prospectus. Additionally, we have agreed to pay a royalty of 7% of our
service revenues to Ernst & Young for a period of two years and in the event
that at least ten "significant clients" of Ernst & Young become subscribers to
our services during this two year period, we will be obligated to continue this
royalty payment in perpetuity. As of the date if the issuance of the warrant,
the warrant conversion price was below the value of our stock. The difference
will result in a non-cash charge to our statement of operations.

         We expect to report substantial losses from operations in 1999. The
extent of these losses will depend substantially on the amount of revenues
generated from subscriptions to our viaLink services, which have not yet
achieved market acceptance. To date, revenues from these services have not been
significant. As a result of our high level of expenditures for selling and
marketing and investments in these services, we expect to incur losses in future
periods until such time as the recurring revenues from these services are
sufficient to cover expenses.

         We recognize revenue from subscriptions to our Item Catalog, Exchange
Manager and ItemXpress services as the services are performed. Revenue from the
earn-out agreement with Netplex, which is expected to pay us approximately $1.5
million over the next 18 months, is recognized quarterly as earned. Actual
payments are rendered to us from Netplex, according to the terms of the earn-out
agreement. Web site hosting and other miscellaneous revenues are recognized as
services are performed.


SALE OF CONSULTING BUSINESS AND ijob, INC.

         In order to focus on the development and deployment of our viaLink
services, we recently sold the assets related to our management consulting and
systems integration services (including our proprietary Retail Services
Application software) to Netplex. Historically, approximately 90% of our
revenues were generated from our consulting business. As a result of the sales
of assets, we resemble a development stage company since our planned principal
operations are underway, but have not yet generated significant revenues.

         Netplex paid us $3.0 million in cash and issued us 643,770 shares of
Netplex preferred stock, having a then market value of approximately $1.0
million. We used certain of the cash proceeds from the sale to pay (1) $551,062
of long-term debt, (2) $565,094 of shareholder loans, including interest, and
(3) expenses attributable to the sale. The net gain from the consulting assets
sale was $2,998,453. In conjunction with the consulting asset sale, viaLink
entered into an earn-out agreement with Netplex. Under the earn-out agreement,
we are entitled to receive a cash payment equal to the lesser of $1.5 million or
50% of any net profits generated from the consulting and systems integration
assets until March 31, 2000. We recorded and received a September 1998 earn-out
payment of $132,770, which we recorded as other income. A receivable for
$207,900 for the earn-out payment for the fourth quarter of 1998 is included in
Other Receivables on the balance sheet at December 31, 1998 which was received
on March 12, 1999. We also have entered into a remarketing and relicensing
agreement with Netplex to sell CHAINLINK, our proprietary communications
software product. Under the remarketing and relicensing agreement, we have
agreed to cease our own marketing and selling of CHAINLINK. Beginning January 1,
2002, Netplex has the irrevocable right to purchase CHAINLINK from us.





                                       21
<PAGE>   22

         On December 31, 1998, we sold our wholly-owned subsidiary, ijob to DCM
Company, a corporation wholly-owned by David C. Mitchell, the President and a
member of the board of directors of ijob at the time of the sale. ijob is an
Internet-based, human resource screening and acquisition Company. We had
incurred substantial losses in connection with ijob and had provided significant
cash support for its operations. The sale of ijob enables us to focus on
developing our Item Catalog service and other viaLink services. DCM purchased
all of the outstanding stock of ijob for a collateralized, ten-year $800,000
secured promissory note that accrues interest at 8%. A gain on the sale of ijob
of $462,000 has been deferred at December 31, 1998, due to the highly leveraged
nature of DCM. On March 11, 1999, we received $800,000 plus accrued interest
from DCM in full payment of the promissory note we were issued by DCM upon our
sale of ijob. We have released all security interests which we held pursuant to
a security and pledge agreement in the fixed assets, contract rights, accounts
receivable and general intangibles of ijob. Accordingly, the deferred gain on
the sale of $462,000 was recognized in the consolidated statement of operations
in the first quarter of 1999.


RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

         The following table sets forth, for the periods illustrated, certain
statements of operations data expressed as a percentage of total revenues.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                                    THREE MONTHS ENDED
                                                    YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31,              MARCH 31,
                                                -------------------------------     -------------------
                                                  1998        1997        1996        1999        1998
                                                -------     -------     -------     -------     -------

<S>                                             <C>         <C>         <C>         <C>         <C>
Revenues ....................................     100.0%      100.0%      100.0%      100.0%      100.0%
Expenses:
  Direct cost of sales ......................      19.0        24.5        27.0          --        12.2
  Salaries and benefits .....................      63.9        68.4        54.4       463.5        57.7
  Selling, general and administrative .......      23.9        30.0        21.1     1,063.8        18.0
  Interest expense, net .....................       2.0         0.8         2.3       586.5         1.2
  Depreciation and amortization .............      11.2         9.2         6.2       165.3         8.0
     Total expenses .........................     120.0       132.9       111.0     2,279.1        97.1
Loss from operations ........................     (20.0)      (32.9)      (11.0)    (2,179.1)       2.9
  Gain on sale of assets and other
    income ..................................     (40.6)         --          --       679.5          --
Income (loss) before income taxes ...........      20.6       (32.9)      (11.0)    (1,499.7)       2.9
  Provision (benefit) for income taxes ......      12.8       (12.3)       (3.9)         --         1.1
Net income (loss) ...........................       7.8       (20.6)       (7.1)    (1,499.7)       1.8
  Other comprehensive loss ..................       3.8          --          --     1,338.4          --
Comprehensive income (loss) .................       4.0%      (20.6)%      (7.1)%    (161.2)%       1.8%
</TABLE>



FIRST QUARTER 1999 COMPARED TO FIRST QUARTER 1998

     Introduction

         The sale of our consulting and systems integration business to Netplex
was effective September 1, 1998, and the sale of ijob was effective December 31,
1998. Consequently, our results of operations for the three months ended March
31, 1999 do not include the sales, expenses and results of operations related to
the consulting and systems integration operations and for the operations of
ijob. Our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 1998
include the sales, expenses and results of operations related to the consulting
and systems integration assets and the ijob assets. Therefore, the results of
operations for the three months ended March 31, 1999 are not comparable to the
three months ended March 31, 1998.

     Results of Operations

         Revenues. Prior to the sale of our consulting and systems integration
business and ijob, revenues consisted primarily of management consulting and
system integration fees as well as sales of proprietary software licenses and
hardware and the ijob services. Therefore, without those revenue sources, our
total revenues decreased 97%, or $3.0 million to $108,000 in the three months
ended March 31, 1999, from $3.1 million for the three months ended March 31,
1998.




                                       22
<PAGE>   23


         Direct Cost of Sales. Direct cost of sales, which consist of purchased
hardware and software for resale, and costs associated with viaLink's
proprietary software products have been eliminated in 1999 with the sale of our
consulting business in 1998.

         Salaries and Benefits Expense. Salaries and benefits expense consists
of direct payroll costs for salaries and wages, benefits, employment taxes and
contract programmers. With the sale of our consulting business effective
September 1, 1998, and the sale of ijob effective December 31, 1998, our
employee count has decreased from a staff of approximately 146 at the end of the
first quarter of 1998 to approximately 45 at the end of the first quarter of
1999. Therefore, overall salaries, wages, taxes and benefits expense decreased
by 72%, or $1.3 million to $501,000 in the three months ended March 31, 1999.

         Selling, General and Administrative Expense. SG&A increased 106%, or
$590,000, to $1.2 million in the first quarter 1999, from $559,000 in the first
quarter of 1998. The increase in SG&A is primarily attributable to increased
expenses for recruiting and staffing and professional fees associated with the
Hewlett-Packard financing arrangement and regulatory filings. Professional
recruiting fees were $223,000 in the first quarter of 1999 compared to only
$11,000 in the first quarter of 1998. Also included in professional fees in the
first quarter of 1999 is approximately $189,000 for trade show and marketing
expenses that were not incurred in the first quarter of 1998.

         Interest Expense, Net. Interest expense, net, increased 1657%, or
$598,000, to $634,000 for the three months ended March 31, 1999, from $36,000
for the same period in 1998. This increase was due to the February 5, 1999
Hewlett-Packard promissory note and borrowing of $6,000,000 at 11.5% interest,
plus the accounting for the beneficial conversion feature of the proceeds as
more fully discussed in Note 5 to the unaudited financial statements for the
quarter ended March 31, 1999 contained elsewhere in this prospectus. We will
record a non-cash interest charge of approximately $1,000,000 per quarter until
the conversion date of August 5, 2000. Monthly interest expense is offset by
interest income on short-term investments.

         Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense
decreased $70,000, or 28%, to $179,000 for the three months ended March 31,
1999, compared to $249,000 for the same period in 1998. This decrease was due to
the sale of the consulting division and ijob assets in 1998.

         Gain on Sale of Assets and Other Income. On March 11, 1999, DCM paid
the note receivable of $800,000 plus accrued interest in full and we recognized
the deferred gain of $462,000 during the first quarter of 1999. We have also
recorded $273,000 of income under the earn-out agreement with Netplex.

         Tax Provision (Benefit). SFAS 109, Accounting for Income Taxes,
requires, among other things, the separate recognition, measured at currently
enacted tax rates, of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities for the
tax effect of temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax
reporting bases of assets and liabilities, and net operating loss and tax credit
carryforwards for tax purposes. A valuation allowance must be established for
deferred tax assets if it is "more likely than not" that all or a portion will
not be realized. Prior to the third quarter of 1998, we had recorded a tax
benefit of $1.0 million related to the pre-tax losses incurred in prior years,
and no valuation allowance had been established prior to the third quarter of
1998. As a result of the net gain on the consulting business sale, the deferred
tax asset of $1.0 million was realized and a valuation allowance of $190,000 was
established for the remaining net deferred tax asset as of September 30, 1998.
The deferred tax asset, generated by losses recorded in the fourth quarter of
1998, was offset by a full valuation allowance. We will continue to provide a
full valuation allowance for future and current net deferred tax assets until
such time as management believes it is more likely than not that the asset may
be realized.

         Other Comprehensive Income. Due to the increase in the market value at
March 31, 1999, of the common stock of Netplex underlying the 643,770 shares of
preferred stock received as consideration of the sale of our consulting assets,
we have recorded other comprehensive income of $1.4 million. Reporting of
comprehensive income in the current period is a result of the adoption of SFAS
130 in 1998.

1998 COMPARED TO 1997

         The sale of our consulting business was effective as of September 1,
1998. Consequently, our results of operations in 1998 do not include the sales,
expenses and results of operations related to the consulting and systems









                                       23
<PAGE>   24



integration operations for September through December 1998. Our results of
operations in 1997 include the sales, expenses and results of operations related
to the consulting and systems integration assets. Therefore, the results of
operations in 1998 compared to 1997 are not comparable. Prior to the sale of our
consulting business, we were operating under very restricted cash flow
capabilities and much of the decrease in expenses was due to this restriction on
cash flow.

         Revenues. Prior to the sale of our consulting business, revenues
consisted of management consulting and system integration fees as well as sales
of proprietary software licenses and hardware. Revenues decreased 9%, or
$792,000, to $8.2 million in 1998, from $9.0 million in 1997. This decrease in
gross revenues was primarily attributable to the reduction in revenues resulting
from the consulting business sale. Hardware and product sales, including
commissions received on referral of such sales, decreased a total of 37%, or
$1.1 million, to $1.8 million in 1998, compared to $2.8 million in 1997. These
decreases were offset by an overall combined increase of $271,000 in all other
revenue areas.

         Direct Cost of Sales. Direct cost of sales consisted of purchased
hardware and software for resale, and costs associated with viaLink's
proprietary software products. Direct cost of sales decreased 29%, or $648,000,
to $1.6 million in 1998, from $2.2 million in 1997. This decrease corresponded
with the decrease in hardware and product sales, offset by the increase in
solution sales in 1998. As a result of the consulting business sale, we will no
longer be a reseller of hardware and software and will no longer incur these
expenses.

         Salaries and Benefits Expense. Salaries and benefits expense consists
of direct payroll costs of salaries and wages, benefits, and employment taxes as
well as contract programmers. Salaries and benefits expense decreased by 15%, or
$918,000, to $5.3 million in 1998, from $6.2 million in 1997. These decreased
expenses were due to the consulting business sale.

         Selling, General and Administrative Expense. SG&A decreased 27%, or
$744,000, to $2.0 million in 1998, from $2.7 million in 1997. Virtually every
area of SG&A decreased from 1997 to 1998 as a result of the overall concentrated
effort of management, due to cash flow restrictions, to better control and
reduce these expenses, and to some degree to the consulting business sale.
Travel and training expenses decreased 30%, or $183,000, from 1997 to 1998,
primarily due to the consulting business sale, as the majority of travel related
to the consulting business. Advertising and promotion, primarily as a result of
cash flow restrictions, decreased in 1998 by $129,000 from 1997, as did supplies
and resources, decreasing a total of $148,000 in 1998 for the same reason.
Professional fees decreased $126,000 in 1998 to $373,000, from $499,000 in 1997,
primarily the result of extraordinary level of expenditures in 1997, not
recurring in 1998, and to cash flow restrictions.

         Interest Expense, Net. Interest expense, net, increased 119%, or
$88,000, to $161,000 in 1998, from $74,000 in 1997. This increase was due to
increased borrowing under our line of credit in 1998. We currently have no line
of credit, but expect to incur interest expense under our $6.0 million note with
Hewlett-Packard, which bears interest at a rate of 11.5% per annum.

         Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense
increased $98,000, or 12%, to $925,000 in 1998, compared to $827,000 in 1997.
This increase was due to $1.1 million of total capital asset expenditures during
1997 and does not include depreciation and amortization related to the assets
sold in the consulting business sale from the date of sale.

         Gain on Sale of Consulting Business and Other Income. As a result of
the consulting business sale, we incurred a one-time net gain of $3.0 million.
Other income received or accrued under the earn-out agreement with Netplex
totaled $341,000 for 1998.

         Tax Provision (Benefit). SFAS 109, Accounting for Income Taxes,
requires, among other things, the separate recognition, measured at currently
enacted tax rates, of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities for the
tax effect of temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax
reporting bases of assets and liabilities, and net operating loss and tax credit
carryforwards for tax purposes. A valuation allowance must be established for
deferred tax assets if it is "more likely than not" that all or a portion will
not be realized. Prior to the third quarter of 1998, we had recorded a tax
benefit of $1.0 million related to the pre-tax losses incurred in prior years,
and no valuation allowance had been established prior to the third quarter of
1998. As a result of the net gain on the consulting business sale in the third
quarter of 1998, the deferred tax assets of $1.0 million was realized and a







                                       24
<PAGE>   25


valuation allowance of $190,000 was established for the remaining net deferred
tax asset as of September 30, 1998. Losses were recorded in the fourth quarter
of 1998, which no net deferred tax asset was recorded. We will not record any
further tax benefits and deferred tax assets until such time as management
believes it is more likely than not that viaLink will be profitable in the
future.

         Other Comprehensive Loss. Other comprehensive loss of $316,000 is the
result of the write-down to market value at December 31, 1998 of the Netplex
preferred stock received in connection with the consulting business sale to
Netplex. As of December 31, 1998, the Netplex preferred stock is carried on the
books at a value of $684,000. As of March 19, 1999, the market value of the
643,770 common shares of Netplex underlying the preferred stock owned was $1.8
million. Reporting of comprehensive loss in the current year is a result of the
adoption of SFAS 130.

1997 COMPARED TO 1996

         Revenues. Revenues decreased 5%, or $485,000, to $9.0 million in 1997,
from $9.5 million in 1996. Solutions and license revenues decreased 87%, or
$866,000, to $132,000 in 1997 from $997,000 in 1996. This decrease was due
primarily to a $898,000 single sale of our RSA product that occurred in 1996.
Management consulting and system integration and customer support fees decreased
$491,000, or 9%, to $5.0 million in 1997 from $5.5 million in 1996. This
decrease was due, in part, to the completion of several large consulting
projects in the first and second quarters of 1997. Revenues from network
services and network based computer applications increased 439%, or $817,000, to
$1.0 million in 1997 from $186,000 in 1996. Of this increase, $568,000 was
generated from ijob, and the remainder was derived from Web site maintenance and
hosting fees and Item Catalog service fees. Hardware and product sales decreased
4%, or $120,000, to a total of $2.7 million in 1997, from $2.8 million in 1996.

         Direct Cost of Sales. Direct cost of sales decreased 14%, or $359,000,
to $2.2 million in 1997 from $2.6 million in 1996. This decrease was due to
decreases sales of product and hardware and solutions and licenses in 1997.

         Salaries and Benefits. Salaries and benefits increased 19%, or $1.0
million, to $6.2 million in 1997 from $5.2 million in 1996. Direct payroll costs
of salaries, wages, benefits and employment taxes increased 14%, or $677,000, to
$5.6 million in 1997 from $4.9 million in 1996. This increase was due primarily
to the addition of 21 new employees in 1997. Contract labor expenses totaled
$489,000 in 1997 compared to $85,000 in 1996, an increase of 477%, or $404,000.
Start-up costs and expenses from ijob accounted for $135,000 of the contract
labor expense increase. During 1997, we significantly increased our use of
contract programmers for client engagements. Previously, we had rarely used
contract programmers. These cost increases were offset by an increase of 31%, or
$174,000, in capitalized software development costs, which consist of salaries,
wages and benefits expended to further develop and enhance the viaLink services,
to a total of $743,000 in 1997 from $569,000 in 1996.

         Selling, General and Administrative. SG&A increased 35%, or $700,000,
to $2.7 million in 1997 from $2.0 million in 1996. Over half of the increase in
SG&A was due to the start-up costs and ongoing operations of ijob. Professional
fees increased 104%, or $254,000, to $499,000 in 1997 from $244,000 in 1996.
ijob accounted for $138,000 of the increase in professional fees and the
remainder was attributable to development of our Item Catalog service.
Advertising and promotion expenses increased $147,000 to $217,000 in 1997 from
$70,000 in 1996. ijob accounted for $54,000 of the increase in advertising and
promotional expenses and the balance was due to increased sales and marketing
promotion activities of the Item Catalog service. During 1997, we intensified
our marketing and sales activities related to our Item Catalog service,
resulting in increased travel, long distance, advertising and promotion
expenses. Occupancy expenses and insurance increased 25%, or $119,000, to
$599,000 in 1997 from $481,000 in 1996. ijob accounted for $52,000 of this
increase, and the remainder was primarily due to the continued development of
our Item Catalog service. Telecommunications expense increased 68%, or $106,000,
to $261,000 in 1997 from $155,000 for 1996. ijob accounted for $52,000 of this
increase, and the remaining increase was due to the expansion of communication
systems and Web site hosting services related to our Item Catalog service.






                                       25
<PAGE>   26



         Interest Expense, Net. Interest expense, net decreased 66%, or
$146,000, to $74,000 in 1997 from $219,000 for 1996. This decrease was generally
due to the repayment of outstanding bank debt in the fourth quarter of 1996.

         Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense
increased 40%, or $236,000, to $827,000 in 1997 from $591,000 in 1996. This
increase was due to capital asset expenditures made during 1997 and 1996
totaling $333,000 and $626,000, respectively, and capitalized software
development costs of $752,000 and $655,000, respectively. Of the total
capitalized costs in 1997, $104,000 of the costs were associated with the
development of ijob.

         Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes. We recorded a tax benefit of $1.1
million related to the pre-tax loss of $3.0 million in 1997 and a tax benefit of
$367,000 related to the pre-tax loss of $1.0 million in 1996. These tax benefits
were the results of net operating loss carryforwards totaling $4.5 million
which, if not utilized, will expire in 2011 and 2012. The cumulative net
deferred tax asset at December 31, 1997 was $1.0 million.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

         On March 11, 1999 we received $800,000 plus accrued interest from DCM
in full payment of the promissory note we were issued by DCM in connection with
our sale of ijob.

         Due to the sale of our consulting business to Netplex in the third
quarter of 1998, we anticipate that future revenues will be substantially less
than historical revenues and that cash requirements in connection with
developing, selling and marketing will be substantial. On February 4, 1999, we
completed the financing agreements with Hewlett-Packard, under which
Hewlett-Packard provided us with $6.0 million in financing through a
collateralized, subordinated promissory note, bearing interest at 11.5%. As of
March 19, 1999, we had cash and cash equivalents totaling approximately $6.2
million.

         Our working capital position was significantly enhanced as a result of
the consulting business sale. On December 31, 1998, we had $2.2 million in
current assets and $1.1 million in current liabilities, with working capital of
approximately $1.1 million. During 1998, net cash increased $635,000. Net cash
used in operating activities in 1998 was $450,000, compared to net cash used in
operating activities in 1997 of $743,000. For the next six to nine months, we do
not expect significant cash flow to be generated from operations. Therefore, we
must use our current cash, cash equivalents and collection of accounts
receivable to operate the business and/or obtain additional financing.

         During 1998, we invested $42,000 in various fixed assets and $617,000
for software development costs, compared to total expenditures of $333,000 and
$752,000, respectively, for the same items in 1997. As of February 28, 1999, we
had no material firm cash commitments for capital expenditures other than
capitalized internal staff costs for further development of our viaLink
services, but expect our cash requirements for capital expenditures for 1999 to
be substantial.

         During 1998, financing activities used net cash of $864,000, which
consisted primarily of payments on the shareholder notes in the principal amount
of $482,830, plus the repayment in full of the outstanding balance on the line
of credit. Payments on our capital lease obligations of $132,000 offset receipts
of $265,000 from the exercise of stock options and purchases under our stock
purchase plan and stock bonus plan.

         We currently do not have any available working capital borrowing or
credit facility available for additional borrowings. We have borrowed $6.0
million from Hewlett-Packard, under a five year secured subordinated promissory
note, bearing interest at 11.5%, with interest and principal payable at maturity
in February 2004. We have incurred operating losses and negative cash flow in
the past and expect to incur operating losses and negative cash flow in the
future. We anticipate that we will fund our operations for the next 12 months
from the cash we received in the Hewlett-Packard financing and cash we may
receive upon exercise of our outstanding redeemable warrants expiring in
November 1999, which will enable us to meet our working capital and capital
expenditure requirements throughout 1999 and into 2000. After that time, our
future capital requirements will depend on our revenue growth, profitability,
working capital requirements and level of investment in long term assets.
Increases in





                                       26
<PAGE>   27


these capital requirements or a lack of revenues due to delayed or lower market
acceptance of our viaLink services would accelerate our use of our cash and cash
equivalents.

YEAR 2000 PLAN

         Many currently installed computer systems and software products are
coded to accept only two-digit entries in the date code field. These date code
fields will need to accept four-digit entries to distinguish 21st century dates
from 20th century dates. This problem could result in system failures or
miscalculations causing disruptions of business operations. As a result, in
approximately one year, computer systems and/or software used by many companies
may need to be upgraded to comply with such "Year 2000" requirements.
Significant uncertainty exists in the software industry concerning the potential
effects associated with such compliance.

         Our vendors, customers, suppliers and service providers are under no
contractual obligation to provide Year 2000 information to us. Generally, we
believe our key internal software systems are either compliant, or the problems
can be corrected by purchasing small amounts of hardware, software or software
upgrades, where necessary. We are also continuing our assessment of the
readiness of external entities, such as subcontractors, suppliers, vendors, and
service providers that interface with us.

         Based on our assessments and current knowledge, we believe we will not,
as a result of the Year 2000 issue, experience any material disruptions in
internal processes, information processing or services from outside
relationships. We presently believe that the Year 2000 issue will not pose
significant operational problems and that we will be able to manage our total
Year 2000 transition without any material effect on our results of operations or
financial condition. The most likely risks to us from Year 2000 issues are
external, due to the difficulty of validating all key third parties' readiness
for Year 2000. We have sought and will continue to seek confirmation of such
compliance and seek relationships which are compliant.

         We currently anticipate that all of our internal systems and equipment
will be Year 2000 compliant by the end of the second quarter of 1999 and that
the associated costs will not have a material adverse effect on our results of
operations and financial condition. However, the failure to properly assess or
timely implement a material Year 2000 problem could result in a disruption in
our normal business activities or operations. Such failures, depending on the
extent and nature, could materially and adversely effect our operations and
financial condition. We are currently developing a contingency plan and expect
to have such a plan in place by June 30, 1999.

         Under the terms of the sale of our consulting business to Netplex, we
retain the liability and responsibility for software programs developed and
installed in customer sites by us prior to September 1, 1998. We are unable to
determine at this time the extent to which potential liability for Year 2000
requirements from those previous installations may exist. We could incur
substantial costs, which would potentially have a material adverse effect on our
business, financial condition and operating results.

         We do not believe that the costs of our Year 2000 program have been or
are material to our financial position or results of operations. All expenses
have been charged against earnings as incurred, and we intend to continue to
charge such costs against earnings as the costs are incurred.

         In the ordinary course of business we test and evaluate our own
software products on a continuous basis. We believe that our own developed
software products are generally Year 2000 compliant, meaning that the use or
occurrence of dates on or after January 1, 2000 will not materially affect the
performance of our software and network services products with respect to four
digit date dependent data or the ability of such products to correctly create,
store, process and output information related to such date data. Notwithstanding
such belief by management, the products being tested for compliance include all
of the services and systems included in the viaLink services. Since these are
network database systems, there is not an issue of earlier versions which will
require upgrade to be Year 2000 compliant.

         The estimates and conclusions set forth herein regarding Year 2000
compliance contain forward-looking statements and are based on management's
estimates of future events and information provided by third parties. There can
be no assurance that such estimates and information provided will prove to be
accurate. Risks to completing the Year 2000 project include the availability of
resources, our ability to discover and correct potential






                                       27
<PAGE>   28


Year 2000 problems and the ability of suppliers and other third parties to bring
their systems into Year 2000 compliance.


RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

         In October 1997, the AICPA Accounting Standards Executive Committee
issued Statement of Position 97-2, Software Revenue Recognition ("SOP 97-2"),
which supercedes Statement of Position 91-1, Software Revenue Recognition. SOP
97-2 focuses on when and in what amounts revenue should be recognized for
licensing, selling, leasing, or otherwise marketing computer software and is
effective for transactions entered into in fiscal years beginning after December
15, 1997. In March 1998, the AICPA Accounting Standards Executive Committee
issued Statement of Position 98-4, Deferral of the Effective Date of Provision
of SOP 97-2, Software Revenue Recognition ("SOP 98-4"). SOP 98-4 defers for one
year specific provisions of SOP 97-2. In December of 1998, the AICPA Accounting
Standards Executive Committee issued Statement of Position 98-9, Modification of
SOP 97-2, Software Revenue Recognition, with respect to Certain Transactions
("SOP 98-9"). SOP 98-9, also amends specific provisions of SOP 97-2 and extends
the deferral of the application of certain provisions of SOP 97-2 as amended by
SOP 98-4 through fiscal years beginning on or before March 15, 1999. We do not
believe that the adoption of SOP 97-2, including the effects of these
amendments, will have a material impact on its financial position and results of
operations.



                                       28
<PAGE>   29

                                    BUSINESS


GENERAL

     Overview

         We provide a set of subscription-based electronic commerce services,
designed specifically for the food and consumer packaged goods industries. The
viaLink Item Catalog service provides a secure, low-cost, consistent way for the
participants in the retail supply chain -- manufacturers, wholesalers
distributors and retailers -- to communicate item and pricing information. Item
Catalog manages all of the complexity of the trading relationship, including new
and deleted items, costs and promotions. On-network data translations allow
seamless electronic connections directly into the subscribers' systems.

         Our viaLink services allow subscribers to more efficiently manage
information flows to and from their trading partners through a single interface.
Instead of making many electronic data interchange, or EDI, connections to reach
many trading partners, each participant only makes one electronic connection to
the viaLink services, in EDI or some other convenient format. Retailers can
reduce costs by avoiding time-intensive, error-prone manual entry of item and
cost data. Wholesalers avoid the cost of creating multiple interfaces to
retailer systems. Distributors are assured of timely and accurate flow of new
and updated product information. Manufacturers have a consistent and
cost-effective way of communicating with their entire supply chain.

     Company Background and Development

         We were formed in 1985 as Applied Intelligence Group, Inc. From
inception until the sale of our consulting business in 1998, our operations
consisted primarily of consulting services related to the planning, designing,
building and installation of computerized information management systems and
computerized checkout or point-of-sale systems in the retail and distribution
industry.

         In 1993, we began the design and development of viaLink, an
Internet-based subscription service. We introduced the viaLink Item Catalog
service in January 1997. Since the introduction of Item Catalog and the related
viaLink services, we have made the strategic decision to shed all other non-core
assets in order to permit us to focus exclusively on the development, marketing
and implementation of our viaLink services.

         We sold our consulting business to Netplex in September 1998 and
changed our name to The viaLink Company in October 1998. In December 1998, we
sold our ijob subsidiary to a company controlled by David C. Mitchell, the
President of ijob. On March 11, 1999, we received payment in full plus accrued
interest on the $800,000 promissory note which was issued to us by DCM upon our
sale of ijob.

         Historically, our consulting business had provided substantially all of
our revenues. As a result of the sale of these assets, we resemble a development
stage company since our planned principal operations are underway, but have not
yet generated significant revenues. This fundamental change in our business is
extremely risky, and there can be no assurance that our strategic decision to
shift our focus from our historical businesses to the viaLink services
ultimately will be successful. For more information on our development and the
sale of our consulting business and ijob, please see "--Purchase and Sale of
Significant Assets" below.

INDUSTRY BACKGROUND AND LIMITATIONS OF HISTORICAL APPROACHES

         The food and consumer packaged goods industries are among the last
industries to become fully automated and have only begun to take advantage of
the Internet. These industries are looking for ways to support a greater number
of services and increase margins and turnover. Currently there is no established
universal, low-cost method for manufacturers, wholesalers, and other suppliers
serving the food and consumer packaged goods industries to share data easily and
efficiently with their retail customers, or for retail headquarters to share
this data with their stores.




                                       29
<PAGE>   30

         Retailers in both the food and consumer packaged goods industries,
consisting primarily of convenience and grocery stores, order their inventory
from a large number of manufacturers, wholesalers and direct store delivery
companies. For example, a convenience store may have up to 5,000 items in
inventory supplied by up to 50 suppliers, and a grocery store may have up to
50,000 items in inventory supplied by up to 75 suppliers. Despite each
retailer's large number of suppliers, and the large number of inventory items
each store has on hand, retail organizations have generally continued to utilize
a paper-based order and supply chain. The inefficiencies of the paper system are
time consuming and often result in operational and administrative errors,
increasing cost for all parties in the supply chain. This provides a significant
challenge to paper intensive and data challenged industries in which better,
faster and more accurate information sharing could help to reduce costs, and
increase margins and turnover.

         One of the most significant challenges facing a retail organization is
maintenance of its "pricebook." The pricebook typically contains descriptions of
each item in a store's inventory, along with the item's universal product code
(UPC), purchase cost, retail sales price and any discounts to be received from
the item supplier. Because many retail organizations do not communicate
electronically with their supply chain, managers operating retail stores must
maintain their pricebook by manually keying item and price information from
suppliers' reports, catalogs, e-mails and faxes into their pricebook. A retail
organization may have hundreds of suppliers, and each supplier may have
different prices on the items it supplies to different stores operated by the
same retail organization, depending upon the location of the store. For
instance, an item supplied to a store in New York City may have a higher price
than the same item supplied to a store in Macon, Georgia, even though the two
stores are operated by the same organization. The large number of items and
variability of pricing makes pricebook maintenance extremely difficult, and
manual pricebook maintenance produces a high number of errors. According to the
National Association of Convenience Stores, pricebook maintenance often poses
the most significant challenge to computerization of the retail store's
purchases and sales.

         Although electronic data interchange, or EDI, technology has been
available, many retail organizations have found it technologically and
financially unreasonable to create hundreds of point-to-point EDI connections to
their numerous distributors and suppliers. In the traditional EDI model, each
participant creates, or "maps", an EDI conversation with every one of its supply
chain partners. The result of this is that a tiny fraction of the core business
interactions are conducted electronically, and virtually all advanced supply
chain applications have been inaccessible to these organizations. Furthermore,
even if retail organizations found it feasible to electronically link to each of
their suppliers, many of their suppliers are not electronically linked to their
manufacturers. Therefore, communication among manufacturers, suppliers and
retailers have remained paper intensive.

         Moreover, the unavailability of basic electronic commerce capabilities,
such as timely electronic distribution of product and pricing information, has
impeded the deployment of more advanced supply chain concepts, such as
Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment and Scan-Based-Trading.
For example, while each store may and often does have automatic scanning
capabilities at check-out, the data from the check-out is usually deleted, and
the communication among the manufacturers, suppliers and retailers remains
largely paper driven. Only a small percentage of the information captured from a
retail sale in a grocery store ever finds its way back up the supply chain to
the manufacturers.

         As a result, retailers desiring to implement point-of-sale, in-store
technologies and other inventory, pricing and purchasing applications generally
are confronted with:

         o     The need for substantial additional investments in computer
               hardware, software, training and technological obsolescence;

         o     The challenge of managing information related to up to tens of
               thousands of product items from hundreds of suppliers and
               distributors;

         o     Technological and system operation complexities, demanding
               additional personnel resources, training, skills and technical
               expertise;

         o     The lack of industry standards for information sharing among
               retailers and their suppliers and distributors;






                                       30
<PAGE>   31


         o     The difficulty in obtaining information from suppliers and
               distributors and maintaining such information on a current basis;
               and

         o     The lack of a scalable shared industry network.

THE VIALINK SOLUTION

         We offer a set of subscription-based electronic commerce services
designed specifically for the food and consumer packaged goods industries. The
viaLink Item Catalog service provides a secure, low-cost, consistent way for
participants in the retail supply chain to communicate about items and costs.
This service allows subscribers to efficiently manage information flows to and
from their trading partners through a single interface. Instead of making many
EDI connections to reach many trading partners, each participant only makes one
electronic connection to the viaLink services, in EDI or some other convenient
format. The viaLink Item Catalog service manages all of the complexity of the
trading relationship, including new and deleted items, costs and promotions.
On-network data translations allow seamless electronic connections directly into
the subscribers' systems.

         We believe that our services offer significant benefits to every
participant in the grocery supply chain. With the use of a personal computer,
commonly available software and a Web browser, viaLink enables its subscribers
to improve management of information flow, reduce errors and invoice
discrepancies, enhance the accounts receivable collection process and reduce
redundant information processing. Retailers avoid the cost and hassle of manual
entry of item and cost data. Wholesalers avoid the cost of creating multiple
interfaces to retailer systems. Distributors receive a timely and accurate flow
of new and updated product information. Manufacturers have a consistent and
cost-effective way of communicating with their entire supply chain.

         Our viaLink services have the following key features and benefits:

     Key Features

         o     Subscription-Based. Through our partner Hewlett-Packard, we will
               serve as the database host and provide the viaLink services on a
               subscription basis, so that each subscriber's technology and
               capital investments are minimized.

         o     Single Interface. Allows retailers and suppliers to share and
               manage information on a real-time basis through one,
               easy-to-learn, industry-standard Web browser interface.

         o     EDI Capabilities. For those suppliers who utilize EDI, the
               viaLink services can map to whatever format is needed to download
               into the existing system, while adhering to EDI standards.

         o     Secured Network. Information is protected from unauthorized users
               with a series of firewalls and passwords.

     Benefits

         o     Reduced Invoice Errors. Having the correct pricing information
               before the product arrives alleviates invoice discrepancies.

         o     More Efficient Promotions. Promotion information can be delivered
               on a timely basis.

         o     Reduced Workload. Moving information electronically eliminates
               redundant data entry for all trading partners using the system,
               allowing resources to be reallocated.

         o     Faster Product Introductions. Information on new products is
               available to existing systems before the products arrive at the
               back door allowing them to be placed on the selling floor
               immediately upon receipt.



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<PAGE>   32


THE VIALINK SERVICES

         Our viaLink services consist of the following components:

         Item Catalog. The viaLink Item Catalog allows retailers and suppliers
to exchange product, price, and promotion information electronically. This
Web-accessible shared database and multiple interface formats, make real
electronic commerce available to the grocery supply chain.

         The viaLink Item Catalog service offers subscribers the following key
advantages:

         o     Shared Database. Shared database provides more accurate data.
               Because product description, UPC and case make-up is stored in
               our database, all users share the same copy of the item data.
               This reduces the number of in-store and delivery errors caused by
               incorrect or incomplete product information.

         o     Single Interface. Allows retailers and suppliers to exchange
               product information through a single interface. Suppliers can use
               EDI or proprietary batch files, or simply log on to our Web site
               and key in the information. Retailers can choose one of several
               output formats, including direct interfaces to many of the most
               popular retail software systems. All data is transferred in a
               single format, regardless of the formats chosen by trading
               partners. This eliminates the time required to establish specific
               formats with each trading partner.

         o     Cost Maintenance. Provides flexibility to simplify the task of
               delivering and receiving cost and promotion information. This
               reduces time spent correcting delivery and receiving errors,
               researching disputed invoices and locating late or missing
               promotion information.

         ItemXpress. The viaLink ItemXpress can provide subscribers with the
foundation for a strong pricebook in less than a week. viaLink ItemXpress
dramatically reduces the time and cost associated with the initial item setup of
a retailer's pricebook, while increasing data accuracy. Item information can be
extracted from our extensive database to create a custom load for each
retailer's system.

         The principal advantages the viaLink ItemXpress service offers
subscribers are:

         o     Shorter Set-up Time. Enables retailers to begin using their
               pricebooks as early as one week after implementation. Traditional
               approaches to building item files often take six months or longer
               and require several cycles of requesting information, researching
               and correcting errors.

         o     Fewer Staff Hours. Allows retailers to load thousands of items
               into their pricebook, often in 50 or fewer staff hours. Retailers
               currently typically spend thousands of hours of their staff's
               valuable time compiling item information and entering it into
               their pricebook.

         o     Increased Accuracy. Allows retailers to use an extensive database
               of pre-verified item data to produce a custom download of items.
               This product information is accurate and ready-to-use. Exchange
               Manager. The viaLink Exchange Manager allows companies to
               exchange order and invoice transactions through a single
               interface, regardless of the number of trading partners. Built on
               the viaLink Item Catalog, Exchange Manager verifies order and
               invoice information against the Item Catalog and creates
               exception reports.

         Exchange Manager offers the following principal advantages over the
traditional method of exchanging electronic orders and invoices:

         o     Exception Reporting. Identifies items that are not authorized in
               the catalog, as well as costs that are different from those
               already in the catalog. These exception reports allow retailers
               and suppliers to take corrective action before the order or
               shipment is processed, eliminating operational problems.





                                       32
<PAGE>   33



         o     Retrieval and Reporting. Stores orders and invoices in the
               viaLink database for easy retrieval and reporting. This shared
               database gives retailers and suppliers a similar view of the
               information.

         o     Historical Reporting. Allows retailers and suppliers to access a
               history of previous purchases. This common-view feature aids
               joint projects and refines merchandising and operational
               programs.

         o     On-line Interface. Available via the Web, the on-line interface
               allows retailers and suppliers to access their order and invoice
               information with only a minor investment in technology.

     Pricing

         We have recently changed our pricing model to begin pricing our
services based on a flat monthly rate with a variable component based on usage.
We calculate the variable portion of each subscriber's monthly service fee based
on the service and amount of service the subscriber uses. For example, for use
of our Item Catalog service, retailers pay based on the number of suppliers from
whom they receive data; suppliers pay based on the number of retailers that
download their data; and manufacturers pay based on the number of retailers that
subscribe to the service. We price our other services based on the number of
stores supported or the amount of data stored and retrieved.

     Security

         To minimize the security risks associated with a shared network on the
Internet, we have implemented extensive security protocols in our services. The
services provide encryption protection of confidential information as it passes
through the Internet. We also have constructed a double "firewall" between our
services and the Internet, which is intended to restrict unauthorized use and
prevent security breaches. We believe that the relocation of our services to the
Hewlett-Packard database platform will enable us to further improve our system
security and customer data integrity.

         Although we have implemented numerous security measures, our service
remains vulnerable to break-ins and similar security breaches that jeopardize
the security of the information stored in and transmitted through the computer
systems of our users, which may result in significant liability to us and also
deter potential customers. Moreover, the security and privacy concerns of
potential customers, as well as concerns related to computer viruses, may
inhibit the marketability of our services. Although we maintain insurance to
protect against these risks, there can be no assurance that such insurance will
remain available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that any
claims against us would not exceed the coverage.


STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS

         We believe that forming relationships with significant industry leaders
will be critical to achieving market penetration and acceptance of our services.
We believe that leveraging such relationships will enable us to more quickly
penetrate our target market. To date, we have formed relationships with
Hewlett-Packard and Ernst & Young. In February 1999, we created the position of
Vice President of Strategic Development to further develop the Hewlett-Packard
and Ernst & Young relationships and to pursue additional relationships.

     Hewlett-Packard

         In addition to financing in the form of a $6.0 million convertible
note, Hewlett-Packard has agreed to provide us with the database platform to
host Item Catalog and our other services. To evidence that the viaLink services
reside on a Hewlett-Packard database, we have agreed that our Web-based user
interface will display a "Powered by HP" icon. Hewlett-Packard also may provide
us with co-marketing and consulting support from time to time. The terms of our
loan from Hewlett-Packard contemplates that we will use up to 50% of the loan
amount to purchase Hewlett-Packard products and services. In addition,
Hewlett-Packard may have an advisor present at our board meetings.



                                       33
<PAGE>   34



         Beginning in August 2000, the $6.0 million note we issued to
Hewlett-Packard becomes convertible into shares of our common stock at a price
of $7.00 per share.

     Ernst & Young

         On May 3, 1999 we entered into a strategic relationship with Ernst &
Young pursuant to which Ernst & Young has agreed to provide us with marketing
and sales support and consulting and integration services in connection with the
deployment of our Item Catalog service. This strategic relationship consists of
four agreements: an Alliance Agreement, a Warrant Agreement, a Master Services
Agreement and a Registration Rights Agreement.

         Alliance Agreement. The Alliance Agreement is a non-exclusive agreement
by which Ernst & Young will provide us with its consulting services, including
services related to general systems integration, implementation, project
management and training in connection with our Item Catalog service and other
viaLink services.

         We have agreed to pay Ernst & Young a royalty for a period of two years
beginning on the date of the agreement which may be extended in perpetuity upon
the achievement of certain milestones. This royalty will be equal to 7% of our
revenues from our subscription services which we provide to suppliers and
retailers of food and consumer packaged goods. Ernst & Young will not receive
any royalties for services we provide to clients for which Ernst & Young serves
as the principal independent auditor and which are subject to the SEC's periodic
reporting requirements.

         During this two-year term, if at least ten "significant clients"
subscribe to our services, we will be required to continue the royalty payment
in perpetuity. A significant client is defined to mean any present or future
client of Ernst & Young reasonably considered (upon the mutual agreement of
Ernst & Young and us) to be "Tier 1" clients based on sales, revenues, income,
market capitalization and stature in the industry and markets for suppliers and
retailers of consumer packaged goods for food, grocery, drug store, convenience
store and mass merchandise chains and food service operators. However, a
significant client shall not include any client for which Ernst & Young serves
as the principal independent auditor and which are subject to the SEC's periodic
reporting requirements.

         Warrant. In connection with the Alliance Agreement, we issued a warrant
to Ernst & Young pursuant to which it may purchase up to 250,000 shares of our
common stock at a price of $8.00 per share. Shortly after the date of this
prospectus, Ernst & Young must purchase an initial tranche equal to 62,500 of
these shares or the right to purchase that initial tranche will expire.

         Master Services Agreement. Under the Master Services Agreement, Ernst &
Young has agreed to provide professional services to us to further the
implementation of our viaLink services. We may pay for Ernst & Young's services
either in cash or in shares of our common stock. If we pay with our common
stock, we will receive a substantial discount from the standard rates Ernst &
Young charges for such services. Our common stock will be valued at 85% of the
average closing bid prices for the five trading days prior to the date the
invoice for these services is rendered to us by Ernst & Young. However, if Ernst
& Young is the beneficial owner of more than 9.99% of the voting power of our
common stock on a fully-diluted basis, we will not have the option to pay for
such services with our common stock.

         Initially, we may request up to $500,000 in value of Ernst & Young's
services pursuant to this agreement. At such times as we enter into binding
agreements for our services with an aggregate of one, five and ten significant
clients of Ernst & Young, we may request an additional $500,000 in value of
Ernst & Young's services, up to a total of $2 million in the aggregate.




                                       34
<PAGE>   35

CUSTOMERS

         Our viaLink services have been operational for over a year, and as of
June 30, 1999 had more than 250 subscribers. The following is a representative
list of the retailer and supplier customers of our viaLink services as of the
date of this prospectus:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

         SUPPLIERS                                                RETAILERS
         ---------                                                ---------

<S>                                                              <C>
         Buffalo Rock Pepsi of Newnan                             Andronico's Market
         Charles E. Brown Beverage Co.                            Baker's Supermarkets
         Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated                          Gas America
         Dryer's/Edy's Grand Ice Cream                            NOCO Express Shops
         Fleming Companies of Altoona                             Schnuck Markets, Inc.
         Frito-Lay, Inc. (Corporate)                              Store 24 Companies, Inc.
         Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Co.                      Texaco Refining & Marketing, Inc.
         J. T. Davenport & Sons, Inc.                             The Spinx Company, Inc.
         McKee Foods Corporation
         Pepsi Cola Marketing Group
         S. J. McCullagh, Inc.
         Tom's Foods, Inc.
         Tony's Pizza Service
</TABLE>

         We also currently provide Web hosting activities unrelated to our
viaLink services. We intend to continue to provide Web hosting for some of our
customers until such time, if ever, as we can begin to generate substantial
revenue from our viaLink services. After the sale of our consulting business and
of ijob, our Web hosting services for two customers, UROCOR and the National
Association of Convenience Stores, account for approximately 80% of our current
revenues.

         Historically, due primarily to our consulting business which we sold in
1998, we had significant customer concentration. In 1998, 1997 and 1996, three
customers individually accounted for 13%, 11% and 11%, 20%, 13% and 10%, and
17%, 14% and 10% of our total revenues, respectively. In 1998, 1997 and 1996,
approximately 49%, 57% and 57%, respectively, of our total revenues were
attributable to five clients. Due to the sale of our consulting business, we
believe that our historic customer concentration levels are no longer relevant
to an understanding of our business. However, we lost 90% of our historical
revenue sources with the sale. We are unable at this time to predict whether
customer concentration in our viaLink services will develop in the future.

SALES AND MARKETING

         We market our services to food and consumer packaged goods
manufacturers, suppliers and retailers directly through our sales and marketing
support group and senior staff members and indirectly through our partners,
particularly Ernst & Young, if such agreement is consummated. As of June 30,
1999, our sales and marketing support group consisted of only four full-time
employees. We intend to substantially expand our sales and marketing team in
1999 and attempt to further leverage our relationships with Ernst & Young and
Hewlett-Packard.

         Our sales and marketing team is responsible for sales-lead generation,
follow-up on customer referrals, and providing input into our ongoing viaLink
services and product development efforts based on customer feedback and market
data. We generate sales and marketing leads through trade advertising, customer
referrals, public relations, trade shows and strategic relationships. We also
utilize a variety of other consulting and contractor relationships to help
develop and promote our viaLink services. We believe that forming indirect sales
and co-marketing relationships, such as with Ernst & Young, will allow us to
leverage the resources of these parties and more rapidly penetrate our target
market.

         We intend to significantly expand our sales and marketing operations in
1999, including a significant increase in staff, and to expend significant
capital resources in doing so. Our failure to locate and hire qualified sales
and marketing personnel or to obtain the funds from internally generated
revenues or financings to support the growth in our sales and marketing
organization would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial
condition and operating results.





                                       35
<PAGE>   36

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND ENHANCEMENT

         We initially introduced Item Catalog in 1997 and intend to continue to
make significant investments in product development and enhancement to continue
to improve and extend our viaLink services. Currently, the dynamic nature of the
information technology industry places large research and development demands on
businesses that desire to remain competitive. To compete with larger firms with
substantially greater capital resources, we have devoted significant portions of
available resources to stay abreast of industry developments and to offer
competitive products and services.

         In addition to internally developed product developments and
enhancements, we intend to seek acquisition of complementary businesses,
products and technologies, or enter into joint venture or license agreements to
broaden our product offerings and provide more comprehensive solutions to the
grocery supply chain.

         During 1999, we intend to expend significant development resources to
reestablish our services in an HP environment, then move our service to the
Hewlett-Packard database hosting facility, where it will be operated and managed
by Hewlett-Packard. In addition, our product development staff will be working
on product enhancements and extensions, including a significant commitment to
Scan-Based Trading initiatives.

         As of June 30, 1999, our product development staff, technical support
and operations staff consisted of 21 full-time employees. As a result of the
sale of our consulting business, we do not believe that our past expenditures on
research and development activities are relevant to an understanding of our
current business.

         We expect that we will require significant additional resources to fund
our product development and enhancement efforts. A failure to receive such funds
from internally generated revenues or financings could have a material adverse
effect on our business, financial condition and operating results, as well as
the prospects of our viaLink services.

COMPETITION

         The environment within which we operate is intensely competitive and
subject to rapid change. We currently compete principally on the basis of the
specialized nature of our services. Due to their unique nature and the early
stage of development of the market for our services, our services have
encountered little direct competition. However, we believe that several large
groups, possibly including major consulting organizations, are attempting to
develop an electronic commerce utility which, if successful, may perform
functions similar to our services. Many of our potential competitors have
substantially greater resources than we do. Any failure by us to achieve rapid
market penetration or to successfully address the risks posed by expected
competition would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial
condition and operating results.

PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

         Our success and ability to compete are dependent upon our ability to
develop and maintain the proprietary aspects of our technology and operate
without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We rely primarily on a
combination of copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, confidentiality
procedures and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights. Because
the software development industry is characterized by rapid technological
change, we believe that factors such as the technological and creative skills of
our personnel, new product developments, frequent product enhancements, name
recognition and reliable product maintenance are more important to establishing
and maintaining a technology leadership position than the various legal
protections available for our technology. We have no patents or patent
applications pending. Instead, we attempt to protect our products through a
combination of copyright, trademark and trade secret laws. viaLINK(R) is our
registered trademark.

         We also require employee and third-party non-disclosure and
confidentiality agreements. We seek to protect our software, documentation and
other written materials under trade secret and copyright laws, which afford only
limited protection. We cannot be certain that others will not develop
technologies that are similar or superior to our technology or design around the
copyrights and trade secrets owned by us. We license our viaLink services






                                       36
<PAGE>   37


primarily under licenses included as part of our subscription agreements. We
believe, however, that these measures afford only limited protection. Despite
these precautions, it may be possible for unauthorized parties to copy portions
of our software products, reverse engineer, or obtain and use information that
we regard as proprietary.

         We are not aware that we are infringing any proprietary rights of third
parties. There can be no assurance, however, that third parties will not claim
infringement by us of their intellectual property rights. We expect that
software product developers will increasingly be subject to infringement claims
as the number of products and competitors in our industry segment grows and the
functionality of products in different industry segments overlaps. Any such
claims, with or without merit, could be time consuming to defend, result in
costly litigation, divert management's attention and resources, cause product
shipment delays or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements. In
the event of a successful claim of product infringement against us, should we
fail or be unable to either license the infringed or similar technology or
develop alternative technology on a timely basis, our business, operating
results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

         We rely upon software that we license from third parties, including
software that is integrated with our internally developed software and is used
in our products to perform key functions. There can be no assurance that these
third-party software licenses will continue to be available to us on
commercially reasonable terms. The loss of or inability to maintain any such
software licenses could result in shipment delays or reductions until equivalent
software could be developed, identified, licensed and integrated which could
materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial
condition.

EMPLOYEES

         As of June 30, 1999, we had 60 full-time employees and three part-time
employees. Of the 60 full-time employees, four were employed in sales and
marketing, 21 were employed in product research and development, technical
support and operations, 17 were employed in implementation, customer support and
service, and 18 were employed in human resources, administration, finance and
accounting. None of our employees are represented by a labor union. We have not
experienced any work stoppages and consider our relations with our employees to
be good.

PURCHASE AND SALES OF SIGNIFICANT ASSETS

     Sale of Consulting Services

         From our inception, we had been engaged in the business of providing
management consulting and technology systems integration services. However,
consistent with our effort to focus on the development of our viaLink services,
we sold the assets related to those operations, granted a nonexclusive license
to use, copy and distribute worldwide our CHAINLINK software product, and sold
our rights to use the name "Applied Intelligence Group" to Netplex in September
1998. As consideration for these assets, Netplex paid us $3.0 million in cash
and issued us 643,770 shares of Netplex Class B Preferred Stock which we have
converted into 643,770 shares of Netplex common stock. Prior to this sale, these
consulting assets accounted for substantially all of our revenues.

         In connection with the sale, we entered into an earn-out agreement with
Netplex. Pursuant to this earn-out agreement, during each of the seven fiscal
quarters beginning with the quarter ending September 30, 1998 and ending with
the quarter ending March 31, 2000, Netplex will pay us the lesser of 50% of the
net profit earned by the consulting business as operated by Netplex or up to an
aggregate of $1.5 million. Additionally, if the aggregate net profit earned by
the consulting business for the ten fiscal quarters beginning with the quarter
ending September 30, 1998 and ending with the quarter ending December 31, 2000
exceeds $5.0 million, we would receive up to 643,770 additional shares of
Netplex preferred stock.

         The shares of Netplex common stock issued to us upon conversion of the
preferred stock have been registered for resale under the Securities Act and
Netplex has agreed to keep that registration statement effective until the
shares may be sold pursuant to Rule 144. However, unless a registration
statement is filed which allows for the sale of such shares we may receive in
connection with the earn-out agreement, we may only sell these Netplex






                                       37
<PAGE>   38


shares pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act. Rule 144 provides for holding
periods which would inhibit our ability to dispose of these shares in the near
term.

         Effective with this sale, Robert Barcum resigned as our president and
Chief Executive Officer but remains Chairman of the Board. Additionally, David
North resigned as Vice President of Consulting and Larry Davenport resigned as
Vice President of Marketing and Sales upon the closing of this sale. Dr. Lewis
Kilbourne, an outside director, was elected Chief Executive Officer of viaLink.
Robert Baker was elected as our President and Chief Operating Officer.

     Sale of ijob, Inc.

         On December 31, 1998, we sold our ijob subsidiary to DCM, a corporation
wholly owned by David C. Mitchell, the President and a member of the board of
directors of ijob at the time of the sale. Our ijob subsidiary operated our
Web-based human resources application asset. The sale of ijob represents another
step in our effort to shed non-core assets and focus on the development of our
viaLink services.

         DCM purchased all of the outstanding stock of ijob for a secured,
ten-year, $800,000 promissory note that accrued interest at a rate of 8% per
annum and was secured by the fixed assets, contract rights, accounts receivable
and general intangibles of ijob. On March 11, 1999, we received $800,000 plus
accrued interest from DCM in full payment of the promissory note we were issued
by DCM upon our sale of ijob. We have released all security interests which we
held pursuant to a security and pledge agreement in the fixed assets, contract
rights, accounts receivable and general intangibles of ijob.

         We organized ijob in April 1997 to operate ijob.com, a human resources
recruiting application. In June 1997, ijob acquired assets of Human
Technologies, Inc., including several software programs, in exchange for options
to purchase 50,000 shares of viaLink common stock at an exercise price of $3.50
per share.

     Vantage Capital Resources Inc. Acquisition

         On June 12, 1996, Vantage Capital Resources, Inc., a company controlled
by John Simonelli and Larry E. Howell, merged with and into viaLink pursuant to
an agreement and plan of merger dated May 8, 1996. In consummation of the
merger, we exchanged 610,000 shares of our common stock, on a one-for-one basis,
for the outstanding common stock of Vantage. We accounted for the Vantage merger
in a manner similar to the pooling of interests method of accounting. Pursuant
to an exchange agreement dated October 14, 1996, Messrs. Simonelli and Howell
each exchanged the 180,000 shares of viaLink common stock they received in
connection with the Vantage merger for options to purchase viaLink common stock
for $5.00 per share, exercisable before November 30, 2001.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

         There are no material legal proceedings pending or, to our knowledge,
threatened against us.




                                       38
<PAGE>   39

                                   MANAGEMENT


EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

         Set forth below is certain information with respect to each of our
executive officers and directors as of June 30, 1999

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

Name                                            Age    Position
- ----------------------------------------------  ---    ----------------------------------------------------------

<S>                                             <C>    <C>
Robert L. Barcum..............................  50     Chairman of the Board and Director (Class II)
Lewis B. Kilbourne, Ph.D......................  52     Chief Executive Officer and Director (Class I)
Robert N. Baker...............................  47     President, Chief Operating Officer and Director (Class II)
Robert I. Noe.................................  47     Executive Vice President of Business Development
J. Andrew Kerner..............................  40     Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Stephen G. Conover............................  48     Vice President of Strategic Projects
John M. Duck..................................  57     Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary
David Lloyd...................................  48     Vice President of Human Resources
Craig Smith...................................  37     Vice President of Operations
Sue Hale......................................  54     Director (Class I)
Jimmy M. Wright...............................  45     Director (Class III)
</TABLE>


         Robert L. Barcum is one of our co-founders and has served as a director
since our formation in 1985 and as an executive officer from 1985 to 1998. Mr.
Barcum currently serves as Chairman of the Board. In connection with the sale of
our consulting business, Mr. Barcum resigned as our President and Chief
Executive Officer and accepted a position with The Netplex Group, Inc. Since
1991, he has served as an outside director of Duckwall-ALCO Stores, Inc., a
publicly-held retailer. Since 1993, he has served as an outside director of
Commercial Distributing Inc., a private distributor of automotive products in
the automobile after-market. Since 1995, he has served on the Business Advisory
Council of Oklahoma Christian University of Science and Arts, and since 1996 he
has served as a member of the Advisory Board of Kent State University. Mr.
Barcum has more than 25 years of experience in management information systems
for retail organizations.

         Lewis B. "Bucky" Kilbourne, Ph.D. has served as a director and a member
of the audit committee of the board of directors since December 1997 and was
elected as our Chief Executive Officer on October 1, 1998. Dr. Kilbourne has 20
years of financial experience in the retail, restaurant and banking business.
Dr. Kilbourne is a Professor of Finance and Economics at Oklahoma City
University. Dr. Kilbourne also has also served as President of Kilbourne and
Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm located in Oklahoma City that
works with regional firms experiencing earnings and cash flow problems in the
retail and restaurant industry, since May 1997. From January 1994 to May 1997,
Dr. Kilbourne served as Chief Financial Officer of Sonic Corporation, a national
restaurant chain. Dr. Kilbourne has a B.A. in political science and economics
from Louisiana State University and a M.A. and Ph.D., both in economics, from
the University of Pennsylvania.

         Robert N. Baker is one of our co-founders and has served as a director
since our formation in 1985 and as a Vice President until November 1998. Mr.
Baker has served as our President and Chief Operating Officer, since November
1998 and is responsible for developing the viaLink services. Mr. Baker has over
20 years of experience in management, technical support and systems development
within the retail industry. He graduated magna cum laude from Oklahoma Christian
University of Science and Arts with a B.S. in mathematics.

         Robert I. Noe serves as our Executive Vice President of Business
Development and is responsible for marketing, sales, customer relations and
services. Mr. Noe joined us in April 1999. Prior to that time, Mr. Noe served as
the Vice President of Industry Solutions and in other management positions at
Electronic Data Systems, a publicly traded professional services company, since
1985. Mr. Noe received his B.S. in business administration from Central Michigan
University.

         J. Andrew Kerner joined us in April 1999 as Vice President of Finance
and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Kerner previously served as Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer of Cameron Ashley Building








                                       39
<PAGE>   40



Products, a publicly-traded building products distributor from April 1998 to
April 1999. Mr. Kerner also served in several senior financial management
positions with PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division in the United States and Europe from
November 1987 to April 1998. Mr. Kerner received a B.A. in economics and an
M.B.A. in finance from The University of Texas at Austin.

         Steven G. Conover joined us in March 1999 as Vice President of
Strategic Projects, and is currently in charge of the Scan Based Trading project
for viaLink. Mr. Conover has over 25 years experience in retail and supply chain
management. Prior to joining viaLink, Mr. Conover served as Senior Group Manager
of Supply Chain Innovation for Frito-Lay from March 1996 to March 1999. He also
served as Senior Group Manager of Finance and Marketing for Frito-Lay from March
1994 to March 1996. Mr. Conover received his B.S. from Purdue University in
industrial engineering and his M.B.A. in finance from the University of West
Florida.

         John M. Duck joined us as Director of Finance and Administration in
1991 and currently serves as Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. From April
1996 to April 1999 Mr. Duck also served as our Chief Financial Officer. From
January 1990 to July 1991, Mr. Duck served as Chief Financial Officer of Griffin
Entities, Inc., a private food manufacturer and processor. From 1986 to 1990,
Mr. Duck served as Chief Financial Officer of Mr. Rooter Corporation, a public
franchise sewer and drain manufacturing and cleaning company. Mr. Duck currently
serves on the Board of Directors of the Edmond Chamber of Commerce and is a
member of the Oklahoma County Workforce Development Board. Mr. Duck is a
certified public accountant and holds a B.A. in economics from Oklahoma City
University.

         David Lloyd joined us in April 1999 as Vice President of Human
Resources. Mr. Lloyd previously served as Senior Vice President of Human
Resources and Administration for Fujitsu ICL Retail Systems, Inc., from April
1997 to April 1999. In that capacity, he handled all human resource and
administration responsibilities for United States and Europe operations,
including facilities management for all 44 Fujitsu locations in the United
States. Mr. Lloyd also served as Vice President of Human Resources for Station
Casinos, from June 1994 to April 1997, and Vice President of Human Resources and
Administration of Nikko Hotels International from April 1985 to June 1994. Mr.
Lloyd earned his B.A. in economics from Upsala College in New Jersey, and his
MBA from New York Institute of Technology.

         Craig Smith is currently the Vice President of Operations of viaLink
and is responsible for brand management and customer service. Mr. Smith joined
us in February 1995 as a consultant and was promoted to Vice President in
February 1999. Prior to joining viaLink, Mr. Smith was with Star Enterprise, a
joint venture of Texaco and Aramco, as part of the information technology
services team. Mr. Smith has been involved in selecting, implementing, building
and marketing information systems in the retail and related industries for over
15 years. He received his B.S. in computer science from the University of
Missouri at Rolla, and his M.B.A. with a concentration in marketing and finance
from the University of Houston.

         Sue Hale has served as a director of viaLink and as a member of the
compensation and audit committees of the board of directors since March 1999.
Since January 1996, Ms. Hale has served as the General Manager of Connect
Oklahoma, a statewide news and information services company. From 1989 to 1996,
she served as the Assistant Managing Editor at The Daily Oklahoman, a daily
newspaper. Ms. Hale also serves as the Chairman of the Central Oklahoma chapter
of the American Red Cross. Ms. Hale received a B.A. in English and music from
Southwestern College.

         Jimmy M. Wright has served as a director of viaLink and as a member of
the compensation and audit committees of the board of directors since February
1998. Since July 1998, Mr. Wright has served as the Chief Logistics Officer of
Amazon.com, a publicly-traded Web-based retailer. Mr. Wright is also currently
the Managing Partner with Diversified Retail Solutions, L.L.C., a supply chain
consulting business, where he has served since February 1998. In January 1998,
Mr. Wright retired as Vice President of Distribution for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
During his 12 year tenure at Wal-Mart, he was involved in all facets of
strategic planning, including supply chain management, personnel, site selection
and building design. Mr. Wright has served as an invited advisor to the Defense
Logistics Agency and has been a multi-year participant in the U.S. Army's Wise
Person summits, which advise the Deputy Chief of Staff Logistics on strategic
logistics issues and trends. Mr. Wright received his B.B.A. in management from
The University of Texas, Permian Basin.





                                       40
<PAGE>   41

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES

         Our board of directors consists of five directors divided into three
classes with each class serving for a term of three years. At each annual
meeting of shareholders, the holders of our common stock will elect directors to
succeed those directors whose terms are expiring. Dr. Kilbourne and Ms. Hale are
Class I directors whose terms will expire in 2000; Messrs. Barcum and Baker are
Class II directors whose terms will expire in 2001; and Mr. Wright is a Class
III director whose term will expire in 2002. Dr. Kilbourne served as one of our
two non-employee directors until he was elected Chief Executive Officer on
October 1, 1998. Ms. Hale and Mr. Wright are our two non-employee directors.

         Our board of directors has created a compensation committee and an
audit committee. The compensation committee makes recommendations to the board
of directors concerning salaries and incentive compensation for our officers and
employees and administers our stock plans. The members of the compensation
committee are Mr. Wright and Ms. Hale. The audit committee makes recommendations
to the board of directors regarding the selection of independent auditors,
reviews the results and scope of audits and other accounting-related services
and reviews and evaluates our internal control functions. The members of the
audit committee are Dr. Kilbourne, Mr. Wright and Ms. Hale.


DIRECTORS' COMPENSATION

         We currently pay our non-employee directors other than the Chairman of
the Board $10,000 annually for their services as members of the board of
directors. We also pay our Chairman of the Board, Mr. Barcum, an annual stipend
of $25,000. Under our 1999 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan, non-employee
directors automatically receive stock options to purchase 12,000 shares of our
common stock, provided such non-employee director has served on the board for at
least six months. Employee directors are eligible to receive stock option grants
at the discretion of the compensation committee of the board of directors under
our 1999 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan.

         In 1998, we granted options to purchase 15,000 shares of our common
stock at an exercise price of $9.00 to our non-employee directors, Messrs.
Barcum and Wright. We also granted options to purchase 200,000 shares of our
common stock to Dr. Kilbourne, 100,000 of which were granted pursuant to our
1998 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan at an exercise price of $3.00 per share,
50,000 of which were granted pursuant to our 1995 Stock Option Plan at an
exercise price of $3.00 per share and 50,000 of which were granted pursuant to
our 1998 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan at an exercise price of $3.125 per
share. We also granted options to purchase 150,000 shares of our common stock to
Mr. Baker, 100,000 of which were granted pursuant to our 1998 Non-Qualified
Stock Option Plan at an exercise price of $3.00 per share and 50,000 of which
were granted pursuant to our 1995 Stock Option Plan at an exercise price of
$3.30 per share. No option grants or awards were made to any director in 1997.


COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION

         Lewis B. Kilbourne, a director and our Chief Executive Officer, was a
member of the compensation committee of the board of directors. Prior to October
1, 1998, Dr. Kilbourne was a non-employee director.






                                       41
<PAGE>   42


EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

         Summary Compensation Table. The following table sets forth the
compensation earned by our Chief Executive Officer, former Chief Executive
Officer and our two most highly compensated executive officers other than our
Chief Executive Officers during 1998. Although Mr. Reinhardt resigned as an
executive officer and director in 1998, his compensation is listed below. No
other executive officer currently employed by us received salary and bonus in
excess of $100,000 during 1998. During 1998, these executive officers received
additional non-cash compensation, perquisites and other personal benefits.
However, the aggregate amount and value thereof did not exceed the lesser of
$50,000 or 10% of the total annual salary and bonus paid to and accrued for the
individual during the year.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>


                                                                        ANNUAL COMPENSATION
                                                                     -------------------------          LONG-TERM
                                                                                       OTHER          COMPENSATION
                                                                                       ANNUAL     ---------------------
                NAME AND PRINCIPAL                                                     COMPE-     SECURITIES UNDERLYING
                      POSITION                            YEAR         SALARY         NSATION            OPTIONS
- -----------------------------------------------------     ----       --------         --------    ---------------------

<S>                                                       <C>        <C>           <C>            <C>
Robert L. Barcum (1).................................     1998       $ 122,321     $      --              15,000
   Chief Executive Officer                                1997         169,716            --                  --
                                                          1996         169,150            --                  --

Lewis B. Kilbourne, Ph.D. (2)........................     1998          20,769        40,000(3)          200,000
   Chief Executive Officer                                1997              --            --                  --
                                                          1996              --            --                  --

Robert N. Baker......................................     1998         120,713            --             150,000
   President and Chief Operating Officer                  1997         169,940            --                  --
                                                          1996         169,159            --                  --

Russell L. Reinhardt (4).............................     1998         114,655            --                  --
   Vice President                                         1997         171,774            --                  --
                                                          1996         171,840            --                  --
</TABLE>


- ------------------
(1)      Resigned as Chief Executive Officer on September 30, 1998
(2)      Elected Chief Executive Officer on October 1, 1998
(3)      Mr. Kilbourne received $30,000 for his services in connection with the
         sale of our consulting assets to Netplex and $10,000 for his service as
         a non-employee member of the board of directors. Both of these amounts
         were earned prior to his employment with viaLink.
(4)      Resigned as executive officer and director on September 30, 1998





                                       42
<PAGE>   43

         Option Grants in 1998. The following table sets forth information
concerning stock options granted to each of the executive officers during 1998.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>


                                               NUMBER OF      % OF TOTAL
                                              SECURITIES        OPTIONS
                                              UNDERLYING      GRANTED TO   EXERCISE
                                               OPTIONS        EMPLOYEES   PRICE PER     EXPIRATION
               DATE                            GRANTED          IN 1998     SHARE          DATE
- ----------------------------------------     -----------      ----------  ----------   ------------

<S>                                          <C>              <C>        <C>          <C>
Robert L. Barcum .......................       15,000(1)          1.3%   $     9.00   10/31/2007
                                              100,000(1)          8.5          3.00   10/31/2007
                                               50,000(2)          4.3          3.00   02/28/2005
Lewis B. Kilbourne .....................       50,000(1)          4.3         3.125   10/31/2007
                                              100,000(1)          8.5          3.00   09/30/2003
Robert N. Baker ........................       50,000(2)          4.3          3.30   09/29/2003
Russell L. Reinhardt ...................           --              --            --           --
</TABLE>

- ------------------
(1)      Granted under the 1998 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan.
(2)      Granted under the 1995 Stock Option Plan.


         Year-End Option Exercises in 1998 and December 31, 1998 Option Values.
The following table sets forth, for each of the executive officers named in the
two immediately preceding tables, information concerning option exercises for
1998 and the number and value of securities underlying unexercised options held
on December 31, 1998. None of the named executive officers exercised any stock
options during 1998. We determined the value of unexercised in-the-money options
by subtracting the exercise price from the fair market value of our common stock
at December 31, 1998 ($10.125 per share), and multiplying that number by the
number of shares underlying the options.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                               NUMBER OF SECURITIES        VALUE OF UNEXERCISED
                                                                              UNDERLYING UNEXERCISED          IN-THE-MONEY
                                                                                    OPTIONS                    OPTIONS AT
                                                                               AT DECEMBER 31, 1998         DECEMBER 31, 1998
                                            SHARES ACQUIRED     VALUE      --------------------------  ----------------------------
NAME                                         ON EXERCISE(#)   REALIZED($)  EXERCISABLE  UNEXERCISABLE  EXERCISABLE   UNEXERCISABLE
- ----------------------------------------    ---------------   -----------  -----------  -------------  -----------   --------------

<S>                                         <C>               <C>          <C>          <C>            <C>           <C>
Robert L. Barcum .......................             --             --             --         15,000   $         --   $     16,875
Lewis B. Kilbourne .....................             --             --         20,000        180,000        140,000      1,278,750
Robert N. Baker ........................             --             --             --        150,000             --      1,053,750
Russell L. Reinhardt ...................             --             --             --             --             --             --
</TABLE>


STOCK PLANS

         1995 Stock Option Plan. We adopted The viaLink Company 1995 Stock
Option Plan in March 1995 and amended the 1995 Plan on April 30, 1996 and
September 1, 1998. The 1995 Plan was replaced by The viaLink Company 1999 Stock
Option/Stock Issuance Plan in May 1999. While we may no longer grant options
pursuant to the 1995 Plan, options granted under the 1995 Plan remain
outstanding. The 1995 Plan provided for the issuance of incentive stock options
and non-incentive stock options to attract, retain and motivate our management,
directors, professional employees or professional non-employee service providers
and other individuals who have benefited or could benefit us.

         As of June 30, 1999, options to purchase 646,277 shares at a weighted
average exercise price of $3.03 were outstanding. The compensation committee
appointed by the board of directors administers and interprets the 1995 Plan. In
the case of an incentive stock option, the purchase price of common stock
issuable upon exercise of the option could not be less than the fair market
value of our common stock on the date of the grant. In the case of a
non-incentive stock option, the purchase price of common stock issuable upon the
exercise of the option could not be less than 75% of the fair market value of
our common stock on the date of the grant. The purchase price may be paid in
cash, in shares of common stock valued at fair market value on the exercise date
or through a same day sale provision. Any withholding tax liability incurred in
connection with an option exercise may be satisfied by having us withhold shares
of common stock acquired upon exercise of the option. The maximum term of any
option







                                       43
<PAGE>   44


granted under the 1995 Plan is ten years. The aggregate fair market value on the
date of the grant of the common stock for which an incentive stock option is
exercisable may not exceed $100,000 in any calendar year. Options granted under
the 1995 Plan are generally non-transferable by the option holder, except by
will or the laws of descent and distribution. Option holders must generally
exercise their options during their lifetime. In the event we experience a
change in control or other significant events, all options outstanding under the
1995 Plan shall become automatically fully vested and immediately exercisable.

         1998 Non Qualified Stock Option Plan. We adopted The viaLink Company
1998 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan on February 9, 1998, and we amended the
Non-Qualified Plan effective September 1, 1998. The Non-Qualified Plan was
replaced by the 1999 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan in May 1999. Although we
may no longer grant options pursuant to the Non-Qualified Plan, options granted
under the Non-Qualified Plan remain outstanding. We adopted the Non-Qualified
Plan to attract, retain and motivate our directors, executive officers,
employees and independent contractors and consultants and other individuals who
have benefited or could benefit us by way of granting non-qualified stock
options. The purchase price of common stock issuable upon exercise of options
could not be less than 85% of the fair market value of our common stock on the
date of grant. All options granted pursuant to the Non-Qualified Plan expire
after ten years from the date of grant. The purchase price may be paid in cash
or in shares of common stock valued at fair market value on the exercise date.
The board of directors has the discretion to fix the period and the time at
which any options granted under the Non-Qualified Plan may be exercised. In the
event we are acquired, all outstanding options will become fully exercisable. As
of June 30, 1999, 541,740 stock options were outstanding at a weighted average
exercise price of $4.11 per share. All such stock options were issued at or
above fair market value at the date of grant.

         1998 Stock Grant Plan. We adopted The viaLink Company 1998 Stock Grant
Plan on February 10, 1998 to attract, retain and motivate our consultants,
independent contractors and key employees through grants of our common stock.
The Stock Grant Plan was replaced by the 1999 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan
in May 1999. Although we may no longer grant shares pursuant to the Stock Grant
Plan, shares granted under the Stock Grant Plan remain outstanding. The sale,
transfer or other disposal of shares of common stock received under the Stock
Grant Plan is restricted for a period of one year. As of June 30, 1999, we had
issued 5,033 shares of common stock under the Stock Grant Plan at a weighted
average exercise price of $3.12.

         1999 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan. At our 1999 annual meeting our
shareholders approved the adoption of The viaLink Company 1999 Stock
Option/Stock Issuance Plan to attract and retain the services of individuals
essential to our long-term growth and financial success. Our officers and other
key employees, non-employee board members and consultants and other advisors
will be eligible to receive option grants under the 1999 Plan.

         We have reserved 3,608,280 shares of our common stock for issuance over
the ten year term of the 1999 Plan, including shares initially reserved under
the predecessor plans. This share reserve will automatically be increased on the
first trading day of each calendar year, beginning with the 2000 calendar year,
by an amount equal to 1% of the shares of common stock outstanding on the last
trading day of the immediately preceding calendar year, but in no event will
such annual increase exceed 50,000 shares. As of June 30, 1999, 745,000 options
to purchase shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of
$14.37 were outstanding under the 1999 Plan. Options may be granted under the
1999 Plan at an exercise price per share not less than the fair market value per
share of common stock on the option grant date. The fair market value per share
of common stock on any relevant date under the 1999 Plan will be the average of
the highest bid and lowest asked prices per share on that date on the Nasdaq
SmallCap Market. We may permit one or more participants to pay the exercise
price of outstanding options or the purchase price of shares under the 1999 Plan
by delivering a promissory note payable in installments. We would determine the
terms of any such promissory note.

         In the event we are acquired, whether by merger or asset sale by the
shareholders of more than 50% of our total combined voting power recommended by
the board, each outstanding option which is not assumed by the successor
corporation or otherwise continued will automatically accelerate in full, and
all unvested shares will immediately vest.

         Shares may be sold under the 1999 Plan at a price per share not less
than the fair market value per share of our common stock, payable in cash or
though a promissory note payable to us. Shares may also be issued solely as a
bonus for past services or upon attainment of specified performance goals. These
issued shares may either be







                                       44
<PAGE>   45
immediately vested upon issuance or subject to a vesting schedule tied to the
performance of service or the attainment of performance goals.

         Employee Stock Purchase Plan. We established The viaLink Company
Employee Stock Purchase Plan on April 1, 1997. At our 1999 annual meeting our
shareholders approved the adoption of the 1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
which replaced the predecessor Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of July 1, 1999.
The 1999 Stock Purchase Plan provides eligible employees of viaLink with the
opportunity to acquire a proprietary interest in viaLink through participation
in a payroll-deduction based employee stock purchase plan designed to operate in
compliance with Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. We have authorized and
reserved 200,000 shares of common stock for issuance under the Stock Purchase
Plan. As of June 30, 1999, employees had purchased 6,122 shares of common stock
at a weighted average price of $2.75.

         The Stock Purchase Plan is administered by the compensation committee
of the board of directors. The committee administers and interprets the Stock
Purchase Plan and has the authority to establish, adopt or revise rules and
regulations with respect to the Stock Purchase Plan.

         Under the stock purchase plan, shares will be issued through a series
of successive offering periods, each of a duration of twenty-four months. The
first offering period will run from July 1, 1999 to the last business day in
July 2001. The next offering period is scheduled to commence on August 1, 2001.

         Each offering period will be comprised of up to four six-month purchase
periods. Purchase periods will run from the first business day in February to
the last business day in July each year and from the first business day in
August each year to the last business day in January of the following year.
However, the first purchase period will run from July 1, 1999 to the last
business day in January 2000.

         Any individual who customarily works for us for more than 20 hours per
week for more than five months per calendar year will be eligible to participate
in the stock purchase plan. However, if employees own or would own, assuming the
exercise of all stock options held by them, five percent or more of our total
combined voting power, they are not eligible to participate in the stock
purchase plan. Stock purchase plan participants may authorize payroll deductions
in any multiple of 1% of his or her cash earnings, up to a maximum of 10%. The
option price is equal to 85% of the lower of (i) the fair market value per share
of common stock on the employee's entry date for the offering period during
which the purchase date occurs, or (ii) the fair market value per share of
common stock on that purchase date. A participant is not permitted to purchase
more than 750 shares of common stock on any one purchase date. The participants
may not assign, encumber or otherwise transfer their stock options except by
will or under laws of inheritance.

         Should viaLink be acquired by merger or asset sale during an offering
period, all outstanding purchase rights will be automatically exercised
immediately prior to the effective date of such acquisition.

         Other Stock Options. In connection with a transaction with Vantage
Capital Resources, Inc., we issued John Simonelli and Larry E. Howell options to
purchase a total of 360,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of
$5.00 per share . In connection with the sale of our ijob subsidiary, we issued
Ronald Beasley and David C. Mitchell options to purchase a total of 50,000
shares of common stock with an exercise price of $3.50 per share.

         As of June 30, 1999, we had issued, through all of our incentive plans
and other stock option arrangements, options to purchase a total of 2,347,017
shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $7.20. Of the
options issued, options to purchase 502,900 shares of common stock were
exercisable at a weighted average exercise price of $4.60 per share.


PROFIT SHARING PLAN

         In 1985, we adopted The viaLink Company Profit Sharing Plan. All of our
employees who have completed at least one year of service with us may enroll in
the Profit Sharing Plan. We may, at our discretion, make an annual contribution
to the Profit Sharing Plan on behalf of employees. If made, our contribution
begins to vest for each employee's account after the employee has completed two
years of service. Thereafter, each employee's account


                                       45
<PAGE>   46

vests ratably as to 20% of the employee's account following each subsequent year
of completed service with us. We will distribute vested contributions to an
employee upon:

         o        The employee's retirement;

         o        The employee's death or disability;

         o        The termination of the employee's employment; or

         o        The termination of the Profit Sharing Plan.

We did not make any contributions to the Profit Sharing Plan for the fiscal
years ended December 31, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

         In 1993, we amended the Profit Sharing Plan to include a 401(k)
deferred compensation feature. Under the 401(k) feature, eligible participants
may elect to defer up to 15% of their salaries, not to exceed the annual
statutory limits, pursuant to a voluntary salary reduction agreement. We may
determine matching levels of contributions from time to time, at the discretion
of the administrative committee. We did not make any matching contributions
during 1995, 1996, 1997 or 1998. All 401(k) employee contributions are fully
vested.


EMPLOYMENT ARRANGEMENTS

         On October 1, 1998, we entered into employment contracts with Lewis B.
Kilbourne and Robert N. Baker. Under the contracts, we will pay an annual base
salary of $150,000 to Dr. Kilbourne and $175,127 to Mr. Baker. Dr. Kilbourne and
Mr. Baker are each also eligible to receive an annual bonus equal to 50% of his
then current annual salary.

         Under the contracts, we granted to each of Dr. Kilbourne and Mr. Baker
incentive stock options for the purchase of 50,000 shares of common stock under
the 1995 Plan and non-qualified stock options for the purchase of 100,000 shares
of common stock under the 1998 Non-Qualified Plan. Both the incentive stock
options and non-qualified stock options vest and become exercisable over a three
year period. The options granted to Dr. Kilbourne have an exercise price of
$3.00 per share. The incentive stock options granted to Mr. Baker are
exercisable for $3.30 per share and the non-qualified stock options are
exercisable for $3.00 per share. Dr. Kilbourne's incentive stock options expire
on February 28, 2005 and his non-qualified stock options expire on October 31,
2007. Mr. Baker's incentive stock options expire on September 29, 2007 and his
non-qualified stock options expire September 30, 2003. In the event the
contracts with Dr. Kilbourne or Mr. Baker are terminated or specific corporate
reorganization events occur, any non-exercisable options will become fully
exercisable.

         Each employment contract has a term of three years and is subject to
automatic renewal on a year-to-year basis, unless either party provides
six-months prior written notice of termination. If we terminate the contracts
for any reason other than for "cause" (as defined in the agreement), or if Dr.
Kilbourne or Mr. Baker terminate their contract for any reason other than an
uncured breach, Dr. Kilbourne or Mr. Baker will be entitled to:

         o        The continuation of his then current salary and the benefits
                  provided pursuant to the agreement;

         o        A one time payment in the amount of the greater of:

                    (A)    the bonus due; or

                    (B)    15% of the salary payable for such quarter; and

         o        A lump sum payment of $400,000.



                                       46
<PAGE>   47

KEY MAN LIFE INSURANCE

         We maintain a key man life insurance policy for Mr. Baker in the amount
of $1.25 million. We will receive any proceeds from this policy.


DIRECTOR LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION

         The Oklahoma General Corporation Act and our certificate of
incorporation limit the liability of each of our directors to us or our
shareholders for monetary damages for a breach of their fiduciary duty as
directors. These provisions do not eliminate the liability of a director for:

         o        Breach of the director's duty of loyalty to us or our
                  shareholders;

         o        Acts or omissions by a director not in good faith or which
                  involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

         o        Unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases
                  or knowing violation of the law; or

         o        Any transaction from which the director derived an improper
                  personal benefit.

In addition, these provisions do not eliminate liability of a director for
violations of federal securities laws, nor do they limit our rights or those of
our shareholders, in appropriate circumstances, to seek equitable remedies such
as injunctive or other forms of non-monetary relief.

         Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that we shall
indemnify our directors and officers against expense or liability to the full
extent permitted by the Oklahoma General Corporation Act. In addition, we are
also a party to indemnification agreements with each of our directors.


INSIDER TRADING POLICY AND NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION DISCLOSURE

         We have adopted policies relating to insider trading to prevent the
misuse of material and non-public information by our officers, directors and
employees as well as the disclosure of non-public information to any person
outside of viaLink. Under this policy, our officers, directors and employees are
prohibited from engaging in transactions in our securities when that person
possesses material information which has not previously been made public.
Material information is information that would affect an investor's decision to
purchase or sell our securities or those of another publicly-held corporation.
In addition, our officers, directors and employees are prohibited from
disclosing any non-public information to any person outside of viaLink if that
information has been obtained as a result of or in connection with that person's
position as an officer, director or employee of us. Our officers, directors and
employees are also prohibited from using such information in connection with
transactions in our securities or the securities of any other publicly-held
company. These policies also provide guidelines regarding the maintenance of the
confidentiality of non-public information so as to avoid dissemination of that
information prior to public disclosure.



                                       47
<PAGE>   48

                              CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS


ijob SALE

         On December 31, 1998, we sold our wholly-owned subsidiary, ijob, to DCM
Corporation in exchange for an $800,000 promissory note. David C. Mitchell is
the sole shareholder of DCM and was the president of ijob. On March 11, 1999, we
received $800,000 plus all accrued interest from DCM in full payment of the
promissory note.


NOTES PAYABLE TO SHAREHOLDERS AND OFFICERS

         On October 15, 1996, we redeemed 22,500 shares of our common stock from
David B. North, a shareholder and formerly one of our executive officers. We
issued Mr. North a promissory note for $39,375, bearing interest at the rate of
10% per annum, with a maturity date of November 15, 1997. We later extended
maturity of the note to November 15, 2000.

         As of September 30, 1998, Robert L. Barcum, Robert N. Baker and Russell
L. Reinhardt had loaned viaLink, in the aggregate, $443,055. In return, we
issued these individuals promissory notes, bearing interest at rates of 8.5% to
11.5% per annum, with maturity dates commencing March 8, 1999 through December
21, 2001. We believe that the terms of these loans were at least as favorable as
we could have obtained from unaffiliated third-party lenders.

         On October 16, 1998, we repaid the promissory notes to Messrs. North,
Barcum, Baker and Reinhardt from proceeds of the consulting assets sale.


PAYMENTS AND OPTION GRANTS TO OFFICERS

         On October 16, 1998, we paid Dr. Kilbourne $30,000 for his services
associated with the consulting assets sale. On October 1, 1998, the board of
directors elected Dr. Kilbourne as our Chief Executive Officer, and he signed an
employment agreement with us. For details regarding Dr. Kilbourne's employment
contract, please see "Management-Employment Arrangements." Prior to becoming our
Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kilbourne served on the board of directors. In
1998, we paid Dr. Kilbourne $20,769 in salary for his service as Chief Executive
Officer, $10,000 in director fees and granted him options to purchase 150,000
shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $3.00 per share pursuant to
his employment agreement and options to purchase 50,000 shares of common stock
at an exercise price of $3.125 per share as compensation for his service as a
director. For details regarding his employment agreement, please see
"Management--Employment Arrangements." In 1997, we paid Dr. Kilbourne $2,500 in
director fees.

         During 1998, we granted Mr. Baker options to acquire 150,000 shares of
our common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $3.10 pursuant to his
employment contract. For details regarding Mr. Baker's employment contract,
please see "Management - Employment Arrangements." We also granted John M. Duck,
our Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, options to acquire 60,000 shares of
our common stock at an exercise price of $3.00 per share and Larry R. Davenport,
our former Vice President of Marketing and Sales, options to acquire 20,000
shares of our common stock at $3.00 per share. Mr. Davenport exercised options
to purchase 12,000 shares of our common stock on February 3, 1999 and options to
purchase 8,000 shares of our common stock expired. All such options were issued
at or above their fair market value on the date of the grant.

         We have adopted a policy that any future transactions between us and
our officers, directors and five percent of greater shareholders will be subject
to approval by a majority of our disinterested independent directors and will be
on terms no less favorable than we could obtain from unaffiliated parties.


                                       48
<PAGE>   49

                       PRINCIPAL AND SELLING SHAREHOLDERS

         The following table presents certain information regarding the
beneficial ownership of our common stock as of June 30, 1999:

         o        Each person who is known by us to own beneficially more than
                  five percent of our outstanding common stock;

         o        Each of our directors and executive officers named in the
                  Summary Compensation Table;

         o        Each selling shareholder; and

         o        All of our current executive officers and directors as a
                  group.

         The percentage of outstanding shares is based on 2,907,418 shares of
our common stock outstanding as of June 30, 1999 and 3,379,918 shares of our
common stock outstanding immediately following completion of this offering. This
offering includes both the 112,500 shares registered pursuant to this prospectus
and 360,000 shares registered simultaneously hereto.

         The SEC deems a security holder the beneficial owner of a security when
that person maintains voting or investment power with respect to security,
subject to community property laws, where applicable. If stock options are
presently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of July 15, 1999, the SEC
will deem the shares underlying those options to be outstanding and beneficially
owned by their holder when computing the percentage of common stock held by that
person. However, the SEC will not deem shares underlying these options to be
outstanding when computing the percentage of common stock held by others.


CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE SELLING SHAREHOLDERS AND VIALINK

         We have had material relationships with several of the selling
shareholders in the past three years. On May 3, 1999 we formed a strategic
relationship with Ernst & Young whereby they have agreed to provide us with
marketing and sales support and consulting and integration services in
connection with the deployment of our Item Catalog service. We have agreed to
pay Ernst & Young a royalty equal to 7% of our revenues from our subscription
services for a period of two years. If certain performance objectives are
achieved, this royalty could be extended in perpetuity. For more information
concerning our relationship with Ernst & Young, please see "Business-Strategic
Relationships."

         From June 1997 to December 1998, David C. Mitchell served as president
and as a member of the board of directors of ijob, Inc., formerly our
wholly-owned subsidiary which operated ijob.com, a human resources recruiting
application. In June 1997, ijob acquired Human Technologies Inc., which was
owned by Mr. Mitchell and Ronald Beasley, in exchange for options to purchase
50,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $3.50 per share. Of these 50,000
options, 38,000 were granted to Mr. Mitchell and 12,000 were granted to Mr.
Beasley.

         On December 31, 1998 we sold ijob to DCM Company, Inc., a corporation
wholly-owned by Mr. Mitchell. For more information regarding our relationship
with David Mitchell, please see "Business-Purchase and Sale of Significant
Assets."

         Unless otherwise noted, all shareholders listed have sole voting and
investment power with respect to their shares. There are no family relationships
between our executive officers and directors.


                                       49
<PAGE>   50

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                        SHARES OWNED                                       SHARES OWNED
                                    PRIOR TO THE OFFERING                             AFTER THE OFFERING(2)
                                    ------------------------         SHARES           -----------------------
                                    NUMBER           PERCENT        OFFERED(1)        NUMBER          PERCENT
                                    ------           -------        ----------        ------          -------
<S>                               <C>                <C>           <C>             <C>              <C>
DIRECTORS, OFFICERS AND 5%
SHAREHOLDERS:
Robert L. Barcum                    559,816           19.3               --           559,816           16.3
Robert N. Baker                     554,529           19.1               --           554,529           16.2
Russell L. Reinhardt (3)            316,081           10.9               --           316,081            9.2
Lewis B. Kilbourne (4)                6,002            *                 --             6,002            *
Jimmy Wright (5)                     27,500            *                 --            27,500            *
John M. Duck (6)                     10,389            *                 --            10,389            *
Robert I. Noe                            --             --               --                --             --
J. Andrew Kerner                         --             --               --                --             --
Stephen G. Conover                       --             --               --                --             --
David Lloyd                              --             --               --                --             --
Craig Smith                              --             --               --                --             --
Sue Hale                                 --             --               --                --             --
All executive officers and
directors as a group (11
persons) (7)                      1,158,236           39.8               --         1,158,236           34.3

SELLING SHAREHOLDERS:
Ernst & Young U.S. LLP (8)           62,500             --           62,500                --             --
David Mitchell (9)                   38,000             --           38,000                --             --
Ron Beasley (10)                     12,000             --           12,000                --             --
</TABLE>

- --------------------------
*        Less than 1%

(1)      There is no assurance that the selling shareholders will sell any or
         all of these shares.

(2)      Assumes that all redeemable warrants and underwriter warrants are
         exercised and that the directors, officers and 5% shareholders and the
         selling shareholders acquire no additional shares of our common stock
         prior to the completion of this offering and that the shares of our
         common stock which are not being offered pursuant to this prospectus
         are not sold.

(3)      Mr. Reinhardt's address is 12800 Coyote Valley Road, Salida, Colorado
         81201.

(4)      Includes 5,000 shares underlying options which is exercisable within 60
         days of the date of this prospectus.

(5)      Includes 27,500 shares underlying options which will be exercisable
         within 60 days of the date of this prospectus. Mr. Wright's address is
         c/o DRS, 1913 North Walton Blvd., Suite 1, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.

(6)      Includes 10,056 shares underlying options which is exercisable within
         60 days of the date of this prospectus.

(7)      Includes 42,556 shares underlying options which will be exercisable
         within 60 days of this prospectus.

(8)      Includes 62,500 shares underlying a warrant which is exercisable within
         60 days of the date of this prospectus.

(9)      Includes 38,000 shares underlying options which are exercisable within
         60 days of the date of this prospectus.

(10)     Includes 12,000 shares underlying options which are exercisable within
         60 days of the date of this prospectus.


                                       50
<PAGE>   51

                            DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

         Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, as amended, we are
authorized to issue up to 40,000,000 shares of capital stock, consisting of
30,000,000 shares of common stock, $.001 par value, and 10,000,000 shares of
preferred stock, $.001 par value. At the 1999 annual meeting of shareholders,
our shareholders approved the reincorporation of viaLink from Oklahoma to
Delaware. The description of our securities post-reincorporation is provided
below under "Delaware Reincorporation." We will notify you by a supplement to
this prospectus upon the completion of the reincorporation. We expect to
complete the reincorporation within 30 days of the date of this prospectus.


COMMON STOCK

         Holders of common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of assets
legally available at such times and in such amounts as the board of directors
may, from time to time, determine, and upon liquidation and dissolution are
entitled to receive all assets available for distribution to the shareholders,
subject to any rights that holders of preferred stock may have. Holders of
common stock are entitled to one vote per share on matters voted upon by the
shareholders. The common stock has no preemptive rights and no subscription,
redemption or conversion privileges. The common stock does not have cumulative
voting rights, which means that holders of a majority of shares voting for the
election of directors can elect all members of the board of directors. viaLink's
certificate of incorporation provides that the provisions therein related to the
staggered or classified board of directors, the number of directors, removal of
directors, and vacancies on the board of directors may be amended, altered,
changed or repealed only by the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds of
the issued and outstanding stock having voting power, voting together as a
single class. Furthermore, the amended certificate of incorporation provides
that the bylaws may be adopted, amended, altered, changed or repealed by the
board of directors only by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of
the issued and outstanding capital stock having voting power, voting together as
a single class. In general and except as described above, a majority vote of
shares represented at a meeting of shareholders at which a quorum is present
(generally the holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote, in person
or by proxy) is sufficient for all actions that require the vote or concurrence
of shareholders. All outstanding shares of common stock are, and all shares of
common stock to be outstanding upon completion of the offering will be, validly
issued, fully paid and nonassessable.


PREFERRED STOCK

         viaLink's board of directors has the authority, without further action
by the shareholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one
or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions
thereof, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of
redemption, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares
constituting any series or the designation of such series, without any further
vote or action by shareholders. The issuance of preferred stock could also
adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and the likelihood
that such holders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation
and could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in
control of viaLink. Accordingly, the issuance of shares of preferred stock may
discourage bids for the common stock or may otherwise adversely affect the
market price of the common stock. viaLink has no present plan to issue any
shares of preferred stock.

         Pursuant to an agreement with Barron Chase Securities, Inc., the
underwriter of our initial public offering, we have agreed not to issue any
preferred stock until November 20, 1999 without their prior written consent.
This could further limit our ability to obtain additional financing.

         In connection with the filing of this prospectus, we have agreed that
we will not offer preferred stock to promoters except on the same terms as it is
offered to all other existing shareholders or new shareholders, or unless the
issuance of preferred stock is approved by the majority of our disinterested,
independent directors who have access, at our expense, to legal counsel.


                                       51
<PAGE>   52


SHAREHOLDER ACTION

         Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, with respect
to any act or action required of or by our shareholders, the affirmative vote of
the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of the common
stock entitled to vote thereon is sufficient to authorize, affirm, ratify or
consent to such act or actions, except as otherwise provided in our bylaws,
certificate of incorporation or the Oklahoma General Corporation Act. Our
certificate of incorporation requires the vote of the holders of two-thirds of
our issued and outstanding stock having voting power, voting as a single class,
to amend, repeal or adopt any provision inconsistent with provisions of our
certificate of incorporation limiting director liability and providing for
staggered terms of directors and indemnity of officers, directors, employees and
agents of viaLink. See "--Anti-Takeover Provisions -- Amended Certificate of
Incorporation and Bylaws," below.

         Pursuant to the Oklahoma General Corporation Act, shareholders may take
actions without the holding of a meeting by written consent signed by the
holders of a sufficient number of shares to approve the transaction had all of
the outstanding shares of the capital stock entitled to vote thereon been
present at a meeting. Upon completion of this offering, assuming the exercise of
all redeemable warrants, underwriter warrants and warrant underwriter warrants,
the current officers and directors, as a group, will beneficially own
approximately 40% of our outstanding common stock and will continue to have
significant voting power. See "Principal and Selling Shareholders." We are
required to provide prompt notice of any corporate action taken without a
meeting to those shareholders who have not consented in writing to such
corporate action.


ANTI-TAKEOVER PROVISIONS

         Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, and the Oklahoma General
Corporation Act include a number of provisions which may have the effect of
encouraging persons considering unsolicited tender offers or other unilateral
takeover proposals to negotiate with the board of directors rather than pursue
non-negotiated takeover attempts. We believe that the benefits of these
provisions outweigh the potential disadvantages of discouraging such proposals
because, among other things, negotiation of such proposals might result in an
improvement of their terms. The description below relating to provisions of our
certificate of incorporation and bylaws is intended as a summary only and is
qualified in its entirety by reference to our certificate of incorporation and
bylaws.

     Amended Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

         Our certificate of incorporation provides that the provisions therein
related to the staggered or classified board of directors, the number of
directors, removal of directors, and vacancies on the board of directors may be
amended, altered, changed or repealed only by the affirmative vote of the
holders of two-thirds of the issued and outstanding stock having voting power,
voting together as a single class. Furthermore, the amended certificate of
incorporation provides that the bylaws may be adopted, amended, altered, changed
or repealed by the board of directors only after the affirmative vote of the
holders of at least two-thirds of the issued and outstanding capital stock
having voting power, voting together as a single class.

         These provisions are intended to make it more difficult for
shareholders to circumvent provisions contained in viaLink's certificate of
incorporation and bylaws, such as the provision that provides for the
classification of the board of directors. See "Management -- Board of
Directors." These provisions, however, also make it more difficult for
shareholders to amend the certificate of incorporation or bylaws as to certain
matters without the approval of the board of directors, even if a majority of
shareholders deems such amendment to be in the best interests of all
shareholders.

     Classified Board of Directors

         Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that the board of
directors shall be comprised of three classes of directors, each class
constituting approximately one-third of the total number of directors with each
class serving staggered three-year terms. The classification of the directors
makes it more difficult for shareholders to change the composition of the board
of directors. We believe, however, that the longer time required to elect a
majority of a classified board of directors will help ensure continuity and
stability of our management and policies.



                                       52
<PAGE>   53

         The classification provisions may also have the effect of discouraging
a third-party from accumulating large blocks of our common stock or attempting
to obtain control of us, even though such an attempt might be beneficial to us
and our shareholders. Accordingly, shareholders could be deprived of some
opportunities to sell their shares of common stock at a higher market price than
might otherwise be the case.

     Number of Directors; Removal; Filling Vacancies

         Our certificate of incorporation provides that the number of directors
shall be fixed by the board of directors, but shall not be less than three nor
more than fifteen. Our bylaws provide that the number of directors will be fixed
by the board of directors within the limits mentioned above. The board of
directors has fixed the number of directors at five. The amended certificate of
incorporation provides that any vacancies and newly created directorships
resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors may be filled
by the affirmative vote of the directors in office, though less than a quorum,
or by the sole remaining director. Furthermore, any reduction in the number of
directors shall not have the effect of removing any director prior to the
expiration of such director's term.

         Our bylaws also provide that directors may only be removed by the
shareholders for cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than a
majority of the total voting power of all outstanding securities of viaLink then
entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a
single class.

     Preferred Stock

         Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of preferred
stock in classes, and the board of directors to set and determine the voting
rights, redemption rights, conversion rights and other rights relating to each
such class of preferred stock. In some circumstances, the preferred stock could
be issued and have the effect of preventing a merger, tender offer or other
takeover attempt which the board of directors opposes. We have agreed to not
issue any preferred stock until November 20, 1999 without the written consent of
Barron Chase Securities, Inc.

     Oklahoma Anti-Takeover Statutes

         We are subject to Section 1090.3 and Sections 1145 through 1155 of the
Oklahoma General Corporation Act (the "OGCA").

         Subject to specific exceptions, Section 1090.3 of the OGCA prohibits a
publicly-held Oklahoma corporation from engaging in a "business combination"
with an "interested shareholder" for a period of three years after the date of
the transaction in which such person became an interested shareholder, unless
the interested shareholder attained such status with approval of the board of
directors or the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner, or
certain other conditions are satisfied. A "business combination" includes
mergers, asset sales, and other transactions resulting in a financial benefit to
the interested shareholder. Subject to some exceptions, an "interested
shareholder" is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or
within the past three years did own, 15 percent or more of the corporation's
voting stock.

         In general, Sections 1145 through 1155 of the OGCA provide that shares
("interested shares") of voting stock acquired (within the meaning of a "control
share acquisition") become non-voting stock for a period of three years
following such control share acquisition, unless a majority of the holders of
non-interested shares approve a resolution reinstating the interested shares
with the same voting rights that such shares had before such interested shares
became control shares. Any person ("acquiring person") who proposes to make a
control share acquisition may, at the person's election, and any acquiring
person who has made a control share acquisition is required to, deliver an
acquiring person statement to the corporation disclosing prescribed information
regarding the acquisition. The corporation is required to present to the next
annual meeting of the shareholders the reinstatement of voting rights with
respect to the control shares that resulted in the control share acquisition,
unless the acquiring person requests a special meeting of shareholders for such
purpose and undertakes to pay the costs and expenses of such special meeting. In
the event voting rights of control shares acquired in a control share
acquisition are reinstated in full and the acquiring person has acquired control
shares with a majority or more of all voting power, all shareholders of the
corporation have dissenters' rights entitling them to receive the fair value of
their shares which will not be less than the highest price paid per share by the
acquiring person in the control share acquisition.



                                       53
<PAGE>   54

         A "control share acquisition" includes the acquisition by any person
(including persons acting as a group) of ownership of, or the power to direct
the exercise of voting power with respect to, control shares (generally shares
having more than 20% of all voting power in the election of directors of a
publicly held corporation), subject to specific exceptions including:

         o        an acquisition pursuant to an agreement of merger,
                  consolidation, or share acquisition to which the corporation
                  is a party and is effected in compliance with certain Sections
                  of the OGCA;

         o        an acquisition by a person of additional shares within the
                  range of voting power for which such person has received
                  approval pursuant to a resolution by the majority of the
                  holders of non-interested shares;

         o        an increase in voting power resulting from any action taken by
                  the corporation, provided the person whose voting power is
                  thereby affected is not an affiliate of the corporation;

         o        an acquisition pursuant to proxy solicitation under and in
                  accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
                  amended, or the laws of Oklahoma; and

         o        an acquisition from any person whose previous acquisition of
                  shares did not constitute a control share acquisition,
                  provided the acquisition does not result in the acquiring
                  person holding voting power within a higher range of voting
                  power than that of the person from whom the control shares
                  were acquired.

         The anti-takeover provisions of the OGCA may have the effect of
discouraging a third party from acquiring large blocks of the common stock of
viaLink within a short period or attempting to obtain control of viaLink, even
though such an attempt might be beneficial to viaLink and its shareholders.
Accordingly, assuming development of a market for common stock, shareholders
could be deprived of some opportunities to sell their shares of common stock at
a higher market price than might otherwise be the case.


                            DELAWARE REINCORPORATION

         At our 1999 annual meeting of shareholders, our shareholders approved
the reincorporation of viaLink from Oklahoma to Delaware. Effective upon filing
of the Agreement and Plan of Merger with the secretary of state of the states of
Delaware and Oklahoma, we will complete this reincorporation. We anticipate
completing the reincorporation shortly after November 20, 1999, the date on
which our outstanding redeemable warrants expire.

         Reincorporation in Delaware will not change our business plan,
management, assets, liabilities, net worth, capitalization or employee benefit
plans. Each outstanding share of viaLink Oklahoma's common stock will
automatically become one share of the common stock of viaLink Delaware.
Furthermore, each stock option, warrant or convertible security that would be,
or later becomes, exercisable for, or convertible into, shares of the viaLink
Oklahoma common stock will automatically be, or later become, exercisable for,
or convertible into, the same number of shares of viaLink Delaware common stock
on the same terms and conditions.


AUTHORIZED SHARES OF CAPITAL STOCK

         After the reincorporation, the authorized capital stock of viaLink
Delaware will consist of 50,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per
share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share.
viaLink Delaware will not issue any shares of stock in connection with the
reincorporation other than the shares into which the outstanding shares of
viaLink Oklahoma will convert.


                                       54
<PAGE>   55

CONVERSION OF SHARES

         As soon as the reincorporation becomes effective, viaLink Delaware will
issue a press release announcing that the transaction has occurred. At the same
time, the holders of the old shares of viaLink Oklahoma will become holders of
the new shares of viaLink Delaware. Shares of viaLink Oklahoma will
automatically convert into shares of viaLink Delaware, on these terms:

         o        The conversion will be on a one-for-one basis.

         o        Each share of viaLink Oklahoma common stock outstanding at the
                  effective date will become one share of viaLink Delaware
                  common stock.

         o        Each share of viaLink Oklahoma common stock held in the
                  treasury of viaLink Oklahoma will become a share held in the
                  treasury of viaLink Delaware.

         This means that, beginning on the effective date, each viaLink Oklahoma
stock certificate which was outstanding just before the reincorporation will
automatically represent the same number of viaLink Delaware shares. Therefore,
shareholders of viaLink Oklahoma need not exchange their stock certificates for
new viaLink Delaware stock certificates. Likewise, shareholders should not
destroy their old certificates and should not send their old certificates to us,
either before or after the effective date.


CONVERSION OF OPTIONS AND WARRANTS

         Each stock option, warrant or convertible security that would be, or
later becomes, exercisable for, or convertible into, shares of viaLink Oklahoma
common stock will automatically be, or later become, exercisable for, or
convertible into, the same number of shares of viaLink Delaware common stock on
the same terms and conditions.


TRADING OF THE STOCK

         After the reincorporation, those who were formerly shareholders of
viaLink Oklahoma may continue to make sales or transfers using their viaLink
Oklahoma stock certificates. viaLink Delaware will issue new certificates
representing shares of viaLink Delaware common stock for transfers occurring
after the effective date. On request, viaLink Delaware will issue new
certificates to anyone who holds viaLink Oklahoma stock certificates.

         Shareholders whose shares of viaLink Oklahoma were freely tradable
before the reincorporation will own shares of viaLink Delaware that are freely
tradable after the reincorporation. Similarly, any shareholders holding shares
of viaLink Oklahoma with transfer restrictions before the reincorporation will
hold shares of viaLink Delaware which have the same transfer restrictions after
the reincorporation. For purposes of computing the holding period under Rule 144
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, those who hold viaLink Delaware stock
certificates will be deemed to have acquired their shares on the date they
originally acquired their shares in viaLink Oklahoma.

         After the reincorporation, viaLink Delaware will continue to be a
publicly held company, with its common stock tradable on the Nasdaq SmallCap
Market. viaLink Delaware will also file with the Commission and provide to its
stockholders (the Delaware term for shareholders) the same types of information
that viaLink Oklahoma has previously filed and provided.


CERTAIN FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

         The following is a brief summary of the principal federal income tax
consequences of the reincorporation under current law to holders of the viaLink
Oklahoma common stock. This summary is for general information only. It does not
address potential legislative changes that may affect these consequences, and it
does not address



                                       55
<PAGE>   56

any state, local or foreign tax consequences of the reincorporation. We have not
obtained, and does not intend to obtain, a ruling from the Internal Revenue
Service to the effect that the reincorporation is nontaxable.

         In general, neither we nor our shareholders will recognize any gain or
loss by reason of the reincorporation. The tax basis of the shares of viaLink
Delaware common stock received by a shareholder of viaLink Oklahoma through the
reincorporation will be the same as the tax basis of viaLink Oklahoma common
stock prior to the reincorporation. A shareholder of viaLink Oklahoma who holds
the stock as a capital asset should include the period he, she or it has held
the viaLink Oklahoma common stock in determining the holding period for his, her
or its viaLink Delaware shares.


COMPARISON OF OKLAHOMA AND DELAWARE CORPORATE LAWS AND DESCRIPTION OF OUR
SECURITIES AFTER THE REINCORPORATION

         Our shareholders will become stockholders of the new Delaware
corporation, viaLink Delaware. There are certain differences between the
Oklahoma General Corporation Act and the Delaware General Corporation Law that
will affect the rights of shareholders in certain respects. Some of these
differences define the particular provisions a corporation may choose to put
into its charter, and other differences may not affect us in a material way.

         The primary difference in the rights of shareholders under the OGCA and
DGCL relates to corporate action by written consent in lieu of a shareholders'
meeting. Under both the OGCA and DGCL, shareholders are permitted to take action
by the written consent of at least the minimum number of votes required to act
at a shareholders' meeting, unless the charter forbids it. However, the OGCA
also provides that, with respect to a corporation (1) with a class of voting
stock listed or traded on a national securities exchange or registered under
Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and (2) which
has 1,000 or more shareholders of record, shareholders taking action by written
consent must obtain unanimous approval for such written consent to be valid,
unless otherwise provided in the corporation's charter. viaLink Oklahoma has a
provision in its charter limiting the applicability of this requirement of
unanimous approval, and permitting actions by written consent of a majority of
the shares of common stock outstanding.


MATERIAL CHANGES IN VIALINK DELAWARE CHARTER AND BYLAWS FROM VIALINK OKLAHOMA
CHARTER AND BYLAWS

         The viaLink Delaware charter and bylaws will be in effect and will
govern the rights of stockholders after the merger of viaLink Oklahoma into
viaLink Delaware takes place. The viaLink Delaware charter is substantially
similar to the viaLink Oklahoma charter. Except for the provisions relating to
authorized stock, stockholders' ability to present proposals at stockholder
meetings and nominate directors, stockholders' ability to call special meetings
and the ability to remove directors, the differences between the two primarily
result from differences between the OGCA and the DGCL as discussed above. Set
forth below is a summary of the material changes in the viaLink Delaware charter
and bylaws from the current viaLink Oklahoma charter and bylaws. The bylaws of
viaLink Delaware and viaLink Oklahoma are substantially similar except that the
bylaws of viaLink Delaware reflect the DGCL and the provisions of the viaLink
Delaware charter, as well as certain administrative differences described below.
Copies of the charter and bylaws of viaLink Oklahoma are available for
inspection at the principal office of viaLink Oklahoma and copies will be sent
to stockholders upon request.

     Changes in Authorized Capital Stock

         The viaLink Oklahoma charter now provides that we have the authority to
issue two classes of stock, consisting of 30,000,000 shares of common stock, par
value $0.001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value
$0.001 per share. The viaLink Delaware charter authorizes 50,000,000 shares of
common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred
stock, with no change in the voting powers, qualifications, rights and
privileges of such shares. The increase in the number of shares of authorized
common stock will give us more flexibility to engage in certain future
transactions, including capital raising and acquisitions, although we currently
have no definitive plans with respect to such matters.


                                       56
<PAGE>   57

     Stockholder Proposals and Nominating Directors

         The viaLink Delaware bylaws require stockholders to provide us with
written nominations of directors and proposals to be considered at meetings of
stockholders at least 120 days in advance of the proposed record date of such
meeting. Each stockholder proposal must state (i) a brief description of the
business desired to be brought, (ii) the name and address of the stockholder
proposing such business, (iii) the class and number of our shares which are
beneficially owned by the stockholder, (iv) any material interest of the
stockholder in such business and (v) any other information that is required to
be provided by the stockholder pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, in such stockholder's capacity as a proponent
of a stockholder proposal. Neither the viaLink Oklahoma charter nor bylaws
contain any provisions regarding such notice requirements for shareholder
proposals and director nominations.

     Stockholder Ability to Call Special Meetings

         The viaLink Oklahoma bylaws permit the board of directors or the
president to call special meetings of shareholders. In addition, the viaLink
Oklahoma bylaws require the president, or in his absence, the secretary, to call
a special meeting of shareholders upon a written request setting forth the
purpose of such meeting of not less than a majority of our capital stock which
is issued and outstanding and entitled to vote.

         The viaLink Delaware bylaws state that special meetings of our
stockholders may only be called, for any purpose or purposes, by (i) the
chairman of the board of directors, (ii) the president or (iii) the board of
directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of
authorized directors. The viaLink Delaware bylaws also allow a special meeting
to be called by any permitted person or persons other than the board of
directors if the request is in writing, specifies the general nature of the
business proposed to be transacted and is delivered personally or sent by
registered mail or by telegraphic or other facsimile transmission to our
chairman of the board of directors, president or secretary.

     Ability to Remove Directors

         The viaLink Oklahoma charter permits removal of directors by
shareholders only for cause with the affirmative vote of the holders of not less
than a majority of the total voting power of all outstanding shares of our
capital stock then entitled to vote generally in the elections of directors. The
viaLink Delaware charter also will contain such a provision.


                                       57
<PAGE>   58


                         SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

         As of June 30, 1999, viaLink has 2,907,418 shares of common stock
issued and outstanding. Of these shares, 1,588,184 shares are freely tradable
without restriction under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except any
shares purchased by affiliates of viaLink, as that term is defined in Rule 144
under the 1933 Act, may generally only be sold in compliance with the
limitations of Rule 144 as described below.

         The remaining 1,319,324 shares of common stock outstanding are deemed
"restricted securities" within the meaning of Rule 144 (the "Restricted
Shares"), all of which are eligible for sale in the public market subject to the
resale limitations of Rule 144 and subject to the escrow agreement as described
in "--Promotional Shares Escrow Agreement," below.

         Pursuant to our agreement with Ernst & Young and the warrant we issued
to Ernst & Young in connection with that agreement, Ernst & Young has agreed to
purchase 62,500 shares of our common stock at a price per share of $8.00. We are
registering these securities for resale under the Securities Act with this
prospectus. Upon the effective date of this prospectus, they will become freely
tradable without restriction or further registration. An additional 187,500
shares may be purchased by Ernst & Young pursuant to this warrant. Ernst & Young
has certain registration rights in connection with these shares. For more
information regarding the Ernst & Young warrant, please see "Business --
Strategic Relationships."

         Beginning in August 2000, the $6.0 million promissory note we issued to
Hewlett-Packard becomes convertible into our common stock at a price of $7.00
per share. In the event that Hewlett-Packard elects to convert this note and
these shares are registered for resale under the Securities Act, the shares will
be available for sale. For more information regarding the convertible note we
issued to Hewlett-Packard, please see "Business -- Strategic Relationships."

         In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, a person (or persons
whose shares are aggregated), including an affiliate, who has beneficially owned
restricted securities for at least one year is entitled to sell, within any
three-month period, a number of such securities that does not exceed the greater
of (1) one percent of the then outstanding shares of such securities or (2) the
average weekly trading volume in the securities in the over-the-counter market
during the four calendar weeks preceding the date on which notice of such sale
is filed, provided that requirements concerning availability of public
information, manner of sale and notice of sale are satisfied. In addition,
affiliates must comply with the restrictions and requirements of Rule 144, other
than the one-year holding period requirement, in order to sell shares of common
stock which are not restricted securities. Under Rule 144(k), a person who is
not an affiliate and has not been an affiliate for at least three months prior
to the sale and who has beneficially owned the restricted securities for at
least two years may resell such securities without compliance with the foregoing
requirements of Rule 144. In meeting the one- or two-year holding period
described above, a holder of restricted securities can include the holding
period of a prior owner who was not an affiliate. The holding periods described
above do not begin to run until the full purchase price or other consideration
is paid by the person acquiring the restricted securities from the issuer or an
affiliate. Furthermore, the holding periods of restricted securities acquired
pursuant to merger do not begin to run until the restricted securities are
acquired from the issuer.

         No predictions can be made as to the effect, if any, that future sales
of the common stock, or the availability of shares for future sale, will have on
the prevailing market price of the common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of
common stock, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely
affect prevailing market prices of the common stock and could impair viaLink's
future ability to obtain capital through an offering of equity securities.


PROMOTIONAL SHARES ESCROW AGREEMENT

         Pursuant to a promotional shares escrow agreement dated November 19,
1996, imposed by the Administrator of the Oklahoma Department of Securities in
connection with viaLink's initial public offering and registration of the common
stock and redeemable warrants, Robert L. Barcum, Robert N. Baker, Russell L.
Reinhardt, David B. North, John Simonelli and Larry E. Howell deposited with
BankOne, Oklahoma, NA (f/k/a Liberty Bank and & Trust Company of Oklahoma City,
N.A.), as escrow agent, 1,500,000 shares of common stock and stock options
exercisable for the purchase of 360,000 shares of common stock (as well as any
shares of common



                                       58
<PAGE>   59

stock received upon exercise of stock options). The deposited securities are
held for the benefit of the holders of the common stock and redeemable warrants
that were purchased pursuant to viaLink's initial public offering. The deposited
securities will be held in escrow for a three-year period, ending November 19,
1999 to secure the depositors' agreements under the escrow agreement.

         Under the terms of the escrow agreement, the depositors agreed that
during the term of the escrow agreement, in event of a distribution of viaLink's
assets or securities to the public securityholders (including the depositors) as
a result of the dissolution, liquidation, merger, consolidation or
reorganization of viaLink or the sale or exchange of viaLink's assets or
securities (including by way of tender offer), or any other transaction or
proceeding with a person other than the depositors, the public securityholders
will initially share on a pro rata, per share basis in the distribution, in
proportion to the initial public offering prices of our securities until the
public securityholders have received, or have had irrevocably set aside for
them, an amount equal to the aggregate initial public offering prices of our
securities. Thereafter, all holders of viaLink's equity securities, including
the depositors with respect to the deposited securities, will participate on an
equal, per share basis in the remaining amount of the distribution. The
distribution may proceed on lesser terms and conditions if a majority of the
holders of our securities that are not held by depositors, officers, or
directors of viaLink, or their associates or affiliates vote, or consent by
consent procedure, to approve the lesser terms and conditions.

         During the escrow period, the deposited securities may not be
transferred, sold or otherwise disposed of by the depositors (or any
transferees), unless the proposed transferee agrees to accept the securities
subject to the escrow agreement.

         360,000 of the shares offered by the selling shareholders pursuant to
this prospectus are deposited securities pursuant to the escrow agreement. Any
purchaser of these shares must agree to be bound by the terms of the escrow
agreement.


REGISTRATION RIGHTS

         We have granted registration rights to the holders of our underwriter
warrants and warrant underwriter warrants and the shares of our common stock
issuable upon exercise of those warrants. Until November 20, 2000, the holders
of at least 50% of these registrable securities which are then outstanding may
request registration under the Securities Act of all or any part of their
registrable securities, such registration to be effective for a period of at
least nine consecutive months. The holders of these registrable securities are
entitled to request one such demand registration, the expenses of which shall be
paid for by us. In addition, the holders of these registrable securities also
have piggyback registration rights. We have also granted registration rights to
some holders of options to purchase 360,000 shares of our common stock. We
originally issued these options to John Simonelli and Larry E. Howell on October
15, 1996 in connection with our acquisition of Vantage Capital Resources, Inc.
If we propose to register any of our securities under the Securities Act (other
than by filing a registration statement on Form S-8 or Form S-4) at any time,
the option holders may request to have the securities they hold included in such
registration. Upon such request, we shall use our best efforts, providing that
it is permissible under the Securities Act to register such securities on such
registration statement, to include the option holders securities in the proposed
registration statement. However, we may determine for any reason, after
consultation with the option holders who have requested to have their securities
included in the registration statement, not to register or to delay the
registration of the option holders securities.

         In connection with our agreement with Hewlett-Packard and the
convertible note issued thereunder, we have granted registration rights to
Hewlett-Packard with respect to shares of our common stock issuable upon
conversion of the note. Hewlett-Packard may request that these securities be
registered in up to four demand registrations, however only one of these demand
registrations may be pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1, Form SB-2
or other similar forms of registration statements. We have also granted
Hewlett-Packard unlimited piggyback registration rights. Both the demand and
piggyback registration rights contain cut-back provisions under which we may not
have to register the shares requested by Hewlett-Packard if such registration,
in the opinion of the underwriters of such offering, would be imprudent.

         In connection with our agreement with Ernst & Young and the warrants
issued thereunder, we have granted registration rights to Ernst & Young with
respect to shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the



                                       59
<PAGE>   60

warrants. Ernst & Young may request that these securities be registered in up to
five demand registrations, however only two of these demand registrations may be
pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-, Form SB-2 or other similar
forms of registration statements. We have also granted Ernst & Young unlimited
piggyback registration rights. Both the demand and piggyback registration rights
contain cut-back provisions under which we may not have to register the shares
requested by Ernst & Young if such registration, in the opinion of the
underwriters of such offering, would be imprudent. In addition, pursuant to this
agreement, Ernst & Young has agreed to purchase 62,500 shares of our common
stock at a price of $8.00 per share pursuant to the warrants shortly after the
date of this prospectus.


                                       60
<PAGE>   61


                              PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

         We are registering all 472,500 shares on behalf of certain selling
shareholders. All of the shares either originally were or will be issued by us
upon exercise of options or warrants to acquire shares of our common stock. We
will receive no proceeds from this offering. The selling shareholders named in
the table above or pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors-in-interest
selling shares received from a named selling shareholder as a gift, partnership
distribution or other non-sale related transfer after the date of this
prospectus (collectively, the "Selling Shareholders") may sell the shares from
time to time. The Selling Shareholders will act independently of viaLink in
making decisions with respect to the timing, manner and size of each sale. The
sales may be made on one or more exchanges or in the over-the-counter market or
otherwise, at prices and at terms then prevailing or at prices related to the
then current market price, or in negotiated transactions. The Selling
Shareholders may effect such transactions by selling the shares to or through
broker-dealers. The shares may be sold by one or more of, or a combination of,
the following:

         o        a block trade in which the broker-dealer so engaged will
                  attempt to sell the shares as agent but may position and
                  resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the
                  transaction,

         o        purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by such
                  broker-dealer for its account pursuant to this prospectus,

         o        an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of such
                  exchange,

         o        ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the
                  broker solicits purchasers, and

         o        in privately negotiated transactions.

         To the extent required, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented
from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution. In effecting
sales, broker-dealers engaged by the Selling Shareholders may arrange for other
broker-dealers to participate in the resales.

         The Selling Shareholders may enter into hedging transactions with
broker-dealers in connection with distributions of the shares or otherwise. In
such transactions, broker-dealers may engage in short sales of the shares in the
course of hedging the positions they assume with Selling Shareholders. The
Selling Shareholders also may sell shares short and redeliver the shares to
close out such short positions. The Selling Shareholders may enter into option
or other transactions with broker-dealers which require the delivery to the
broker-dealer of the shares. The broker-dealer may then resell or otherwise
transfer such shares pursuant to this prospectus. The Selling Shareholders also
may loan or pledge the shares to a broker-dealer. The broker-dealer may sell the
shares so loaned, or upon a default the broker-dealer may sell the pledged
shares pursuant to this prospectus.

         Broker-dealers or agents may receive compensation in the form of
commissions, discounts or concessions from Selling Shareholders. Broker-dealers
or agents may also receive compensation from the purchasers of the shares for
whom they act as agents or to whom they sell as principals, or both.
Compensation as to a particular broker-dealer might be in excess of customary
commissions and will be in amounts to be negotiated in connection with the sale.
Broker-dealers or agents and any other participating broker-dealers or the
Selling Shareholders may be deemed to be "underwriters" within the meaning of
Section 2(11) of the Securities Act in connection with sales of the shares.
Accordingly, any such commission, discount or concession received by them and
any profit on the resale of the shares purchased by them may be deemed to be
"underwriters" within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act, the
Selling Shareholders will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of
the Securities Act. In addition, any securities covered by this prospectus which
qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act may
be sold under Rule 144 rather than pursuant to this prospectus. The Selling
Shareholders have advised us that they have not entered into any agreements,
understandings or arrangements with any underwriters or broker-dealers regarding
the sale of their securities. There is no underwriter or coordinating broker
acting in connection with the proposed sale of shares by Selling Shareholders.

         The shares will be sold only through registered or licensed brokers or
dealers if required under applicable state securities laws. In addition, in
certain states the shares may not be sold unless they have been registered or



                                       61
<PAGE>   62

qualified for sale in the applicable state or an exemption from the registration
or qualification requirement is available and is complied with.

         Under applicable rules and regulations under the Exchange Act, any
person engaged in the distribution of the shares may not simultaneously engage
in market making activities with respect to our common stock for a period of two
business days prior to the commencement of such distribution. In addition, each
Selling Shareholder will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act
and the associated rules and regulations under the Exchange Act, including
Regulation M, which provisions may limit the timing of purchases and sales of
shares of our common stock by the Selling Shareholders. We will make copies of
this prospectus available to the Selling Shareholders and have informed them of
the need for delivery of copies of this prospectus to purchasers at or prior to
the time of any sale of the shares.

         We will file a supplement to this prospectus, if required, pursuant to
Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act upon being notified by a Selling
Shareholder that any material arrangement has been entered into with a
broker-dealer for the sale of shares through a block trade, special offering,
exchange distribution or secondary distribution or a purchase by a broker or
dealer. Such supplement will disclose:

         o        the name of each such Selling Shareholder and of the
                  participating broker-dealer(s),

         o        the number of shares involved,

         o        the price at which such shares were sold,

         o        the commissions paid or discounts or concessions allowed to
                  such broker-dealer(s), where applicable,

         o        that such broker-dealer(s) did not conduct any investigation
                  to verify the information set out or incorporated by reference
                  in this prospectus, and

         o        other facts material to the transaction.

         In addition, upon being notified by a Selling Shareholder that a donee
or pledgee intends to sell more than 500 shares, we will file a supplement to
this prospectus.

         We will bear all costs, expenses and fees in connection with the
registration of the shares. The Selling Shareholders will bear all commissions
and discounts, if any, attributable to the sales of the shares. The Selling
Shareholders may agree to indemnify any broker-dealer or agent that participates
in transactions involving sales of the shares against certain liabilities,
including liabilities arising under the Securities Act. The Selling Shareholders
have agreed to indemnify certain persons, including broker-dealers and agents,
against certain liabilities in connection with the offering of the shares,
including liabilities arising under the Securities Act.


                                  LEGAL MATTERS

         The validity of issuance of the shares of common stock offered by the
Selling Shareholders pursuant to the offering will be passed upon for us by
Dunn, Swan & Cunningham, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.


                                     EXPERTS

         The consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 1998 and 1997 and
the consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity, and cash flows
for each of three years in the period ended December 31, 1998, included in this
prospectus, have been included herein in reliance on the report of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent accountants, given on the authority of
that firm as experts in accounting and auditing.


                                       62
<PAGE>   63

                    WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

         We are subject to the information requirements of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and therefore must file annual, quarterly and
special reports, proxy materials and other information with the SEC. You can
inspect and copy any document we file at the SEC's public reference room, 450
Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20549, or at its regional offices located at
500 West Madison, Suite 1400, Chicago, Illinois 60661, and at 7 World Trade
Center, Suite 1300, New York, New York 10048. Please call the SEC at
1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference rooms. The SEC
maintains a web site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and
information statements and other information regarding registrants that file
electronically with the SEC.

         Statements made in this prospectus as to the contents of any document
referred to are not necessarily complete. With respect to each document filed as
an exhibit to this registration statement, you should refer to the exhibit for a
more complete description of the matter involved. You may inspect the
registration statement, including the exhibits and schedules, at the SEC's
public reference facilities at Room 1024, Judiciary Plaza, 450 Fifth Street,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may also obtain copies of the registration
statement or any portion of it from such office at prescribed rates.

         We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act"), as a "small business issuer"
as defined under Regulation S-B promulgated under the 1933 Act. In accordance
with the 1934 Act, we file reports and other information with the Commission
(File No. 000-21729). Such reports and other information can be inspected and
copied at, and copies of such materials can be obtained at prescribed rates
from, the Public Reference Section of the Commission in Washington, D.C.

         We have recently filed the following documents with the SEC under the
Exchange Act:

         o        our Definitive Proxy Statement for the annual meeting of
                  shareholders to be held on May 21, 1999;

         o        our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December
                  31, 1998;

         o        our Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the fiscal quarter
                  ended March 31, 1999;

         o        our Current Reports on Form 8-K dated October 16, 1998,
                  December 31, 1998, February 4, 1999, and May 3, 1999;

         o        the description of our common stock contained in our
                  registration statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC under
                  the Exchange Act; and

         o        the description of our redeemable warrants contained in our
                  registration statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC under
                  the Exchange Act.

         We distribute to our shareholders annual reports containing financial
statements audited by our independent public accountants and, upon request,
quarterly reports for the first three quarters of each fiscal year containing
unaudited consolidated financial information. You should direct requests for
such information to Shareholder Relations, The viaLink Company, 13800 Benson
Road, Edmond, Oklahoma 73013, (405) 936-2500.



                                       63
<PAGE>   64

                   INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


<TABLE>
<S>                                                                                                          <C>
UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE VIALINK COMPANY

     The viaLink Company Unaudited Balance Sheets as of March 31, 1999.........................................F-2

     The viaLink Company Unaudited Statements of Income for the Three Months Ended March 31, 1999
          and 1998.............................................................................................F-3

     The viaLink Company Unaudited Statements of Stockholders' Equity for the Three Months Ended
          March 31, 1999.......................................................................................F-4

     The viaLink Company Unaudited Statements of Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended March 31,
          1999 and 1998........................................................................................F-5

     The viaLink Company Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements...............................................F-6


Financial Statements of The viaLink Company

     Report of Independent Accountants.........................................................................F-9

     The viaLink Company Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 1998 and 1997.........................F-10

     The viaLink Company Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 998,
          1997 and 1996.......................................................................................F-11

     The viaLink Company Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity for the Years Ended
          December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996....................................................................F-12

     The viaLink Company Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31,
          1998, 1997 and 1996.................................................................................F-13

     The viaLink Company Notes to Financial Statements........................................................F-14


Unaudited Pro Forma Consolidated Statement of Operations of The viaLink Company

     The viaLink Company Unaudited Pro Forma Consolidated Statement of Operations for the year ended
          December 31, 1998...................................................................................F-23
</TABLE>


                                      F-1
<PAGE>   65


         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                           CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
                              AS OF MARCH 31, 1999
                                   (UNAUDITED)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                 March 31, 1999
                                                                 --------------
<S>                                                              <C>
                                     ASSETS

      Current assets:
   Cash and cash equivalents                                       $  3,333,977
   Short-term investments                                             2,646,284
   Accounts receivable--trade, net of allowance for
     doubtful accounts of $7,841 at March 31, 1999                       91,684
   Other receivables                                                    546,426
   Prepaid expenses                                                     111,527
   Marketable securities, available-for-sale                          2,132,183
   Deferred offering costs                                              134,127
                                                                   ------------
     Total current assets                                             8,996,208

Furniture, equipment and leasehold improvements, net                    732,960
Software development costs, net                                       1,372,934
Note receivable, net of deferred gain on sale                                --
Other assets                                                             49,631
                                                                   ------------
     Total assets                                                  $ 11,151,733
                                                                   ============

                      LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Current liabilities:
   Accounts payable and accrued liabilities                        $  1,136,040
   Current portion of capital lease obligation                           24,138
                                                                   ------------
     Total current liabilities                                        1,160,178

Convertible debt                                                        592,322
                                                                   ------------
     Total liabilities                                                1,752,500

Stockholders' equity:
   Common stock, $.001 par value; 30,000,000 shares
     authorized; 2,874,342 shares issued and outstanding
     at March 31, 1999                                                    2,874
   Additional paid-in capital                                        10,850,613
   Accumulated deficit                                               (2,586,437)
   Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)                      1,132,183
                                                                   ------------
     Total stockholders' equity                                       9,399,233
                                                                   ------------
     Total liabilities and stockholders' equity                    $ 11,151,733
                                                                   ============
</TABLE>

              The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
                       consolidated financial statements.


                                      F-2
<PAGE>   66

         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
               for the Three Months Ended March 31, 1999 and 1998
                                   (unaudited)


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                        1999             1998
                                                    -----------      -----------
<S>                                                 <C>              <C>
Revenues                                            $   108,178      $ 3,098,404

Expenses:
   Direct cost of sales                                      --          377,068
   Salaries and benefits                                501,358        1,787,430
   Selling, general and administrative                1,150,822          558,599
   Interest expense, net                                634,498           36,116
   Depreciation and amortization                        178,834          248,452
                                                    -----------      -----------
     Total expenses                                   2,465,512        3,007,665
                                                    -----------      -----------
Income (loss) from operations                        (2,357,334)          90,739

Gain on sale of assets                                  462,041               --
Other income                                            273,000               --
                                                    -----------      -----------
Income (loss) before income taxes                    (1,622,293)          90,739

Provision for income taxes                                   --           34,481
                                                    -----------      -----------
Net income (loss)                                    (1,622,293)          56,258

Other comprehensive income:
   Unrealized gain on securities                      1,447,856               --
                                                    -----------      -----------
Comprehensive income (loss)                         $  (174,437)     $    56,258
                                                    ===========      ===========

Weighted average shares outstanding--Basic            2,866,802        2,729,521
                                                    ===========      ===========
Net income (loss) per common share--Basic           $    (0.57)      $      0.02
                                                    ===========      ===========
Weighted average shares outstanding--Dilutive         2,866,802        2,779,665
                                                    ===========      ===========
Net income (loss) per common share--Dilutive        $     (0.57)     $      0.02
                                                    ===========      ===========
</TABLE>

              The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
                       consolidated financial statements.


                                      F-3
<PAGE>   67

         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                       STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
                    for the Three Months Ended March 31, 1999
                                   (unaudited)


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                 Accumulated
                                                                 Additional                          Other
                                                                  Paid-in       Accumulated      Comprehensive
                                   Shares          Amount         Capital      (  Deficit)       Income (Loss)
                                  ---------     -----------     -----------     -----------      -------------
<S>                               <C>           <C>             <C>             <C>              <C>
Balance, December 31, 1998        2,826,613     $     2,827     $ 4,763,569     $  (964,144)     $  (315,673)

  Exercise of stock options          47,633              47          86,090              --               --

  Stock issued under
   Employee Stock Purchase
   Plan                                  96              --             954              --               --

  Proceeds from
   Hewlett-Packard Note                  --              --       6,000,000              --               --

  Net income (loss)                      --              --              --      (1,622,293)              --

  Unrealized gain on
   Securities Available
   for Sale                              --              --              --              --        1,447,856
                                  ---------     -----------     -----------     -----------      -----------
Balance, March 31, 1999           2,874,342     $     2,874     $10,850,613     $(2,586,437)     $ 1,132,183
                                  =========     ===========     ===========     ===========      ===========
</TABLE>

              The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
                       consolidated financial statements.


                                      F-4
<PAGE>   68


         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                            STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
               for the Three Months Ended March 31, 1999 and 1998
                                   (unaudited)


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                    1999             1998
                                                                                 -----------      -----------
<S>                                                                              <C>              <C>
Cash flows from operating activities:
   Net income (loss)                                                             $(1,622,293)     $    56,258
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in)
   operating activities:
   Depreciation and amortization                                                     178,834          248,452
   Gain on sale of ijob                                                             (462,041)              --
   Deferred income tax provision                                                          --           34,481
   Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable                                         66,433         (411,569)
   Decrease in other receivables                                                      39,352              685
   Increase in inventory                                                                  --           (1,825)
   Increase in prepaid expenses                                                      (94,811)         (79,819)
   Increase in other assets                                                          (11,067)          (3,500)
   Increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities                               69,767          444,098
   Decrease in deferred revenue                                                           --         (101,294)
                                                                                 -----------      -----------
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities                               (1,835,826)         185,967

Cash flows from investing activities:
   Capital expenditures                                                              (97,814)         (21,771)
   Capitalized expenditures for software development                                (126,775)        (198,202)
   Collection on note receivable from ijob                                           800,000               --
                                                                                 -----------      -----------
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities                                  575,411         (219,973)

Cash flows from financing activities:
   Decrease in book overdraft                                                             --          (23,619)
   Payment of deferred offering costs                                               (134,127)              --
   Purchase of short-term investments                                             (2,646,284)              --
   Proceeds from convertible debt                                                  6,000,000          616,864
   Proceeds from exercise of stock options, stock bonus
     and stock purchase plans                                                         87,091            2,649
   Payments of capital lease obligations                                             (20,056)         (36,523)
   Payments on long-term debt                                                             --         (490,000)
   Non-cash interest on convertible debt                                             592,322               --
                                                                                 -----------      -----------
Net cash provided by financing activities                                          3,878,946           69,371
                                                                                 -----------      -----------
Net increase in cash                                                               2,618,531           35,365
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period                                     715,466           80,769
                                                                                 -----------      -----------
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period                                       $ 3,333,977      $   116,134
                                                                                 ===========      ===========
</TABLE>


              The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
                       consolidated financial statements.


                                      F-5
<PAGE>   69


         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                     NOTES TO UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
                                 March 31, 1999


1.       DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

         The viaLink Company provides a business-to-business electronic commerce
         solution for the food and consumer packaged goods industries. We have
         developed a cost-effective, Internet-accessible shared database, the
         viaLink(TM) Item Catalog, that enables subscribing manufacturers,
         suppliers and retailers to exchange product, pricing and promotional
         information. Our solution offers a single interface solution for
         retailers to receive product information from all their suppliers,
         regardless of the technological capabilities of the retailer or the
         supplier. Suppliers and manufacturers are able to efficiently
         communicate product and pricing information to their customers,
         significantly reducing the operational and administrative costs of
         supply chain management. Product, pricing and promotional information
         contained in the viaLink database is secured with firewalls and
         password protections. With the use of a personal computer and commonly
         available software and a Web browser, viaLink enables its subscribers
         to improve management of information flow, reduce errors and invoice
         discrepancies, enhance the accounts receivable collection process and
         reduce redundant information processing.

         Our strategy is to invest in new network information systems to
         facilitate our plan to build recurring network service revenues with
         higher profit margins. In order to implement this strategy, we believe
         that we will need significant additional capital resources and we are
         seeking additional financing sources and negotiating with other
         potential technology, strategic or marketing partners. There can be no
         assurance, however, that these efforts will be successful or that we
         will be able to obtain additional financing or agreements with other
         partners on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Our failure to
         successfully negotiate such arrangements would have a material adverse
         affect on our operations and business, financial condition and results
         of operations, including our viability as an enterprise. As a result of
         the high level of expenditures for investment in technology
         development, implementation, customer support services, and selling and
         marketing expenses, we expect to incur losses in the foreseeable future
         periods until such time, if ever, as the recurring revenues from these
         systems are sufficient to cover the expenses.

         Our clients and customers range from small, rapidly growing companies
         to large corporations and are geographically dispersed throughout the
         United States.

2.       BASIS OF PRESENTATION

         Reference is made to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the
         year ending December 31, 1998.

         We have prepared the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial
         statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
         for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form
         10-QSB. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and
         footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for
         complete financial statements. In the opinion of our management, the
         accompanying unaudited financial statements contain all adjustments
         (consisting solely of normal recurring adjustments) considered
         necessary to present fairly our financial position and results of
         operations and cash flow. These interim unaudited consolidated
         financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited
         consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our
         Annual Report on Form 10-KSB, for the year ended December 31, 1998, as
         filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 1999.

         Operating results for the three month period ended March 31, 1999 are
         not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the
         full year ending December 31, 1999.

3.       DIVESTITURES

         On December 31, 1998, we sold our wholly-owned subsidiary, ijob, Inc.
         to DCM Company ("DCM"), a corporation wholly-owned by David C.
         Mitchell, the President and a member of the Board of Directors of ijob
         at the time of the sale. DCM purchased all of the outstanding stock of
         ijob for a collateralized, ten-year $800,000 promissory note that
         accrues interest at 8%. The promissory note was collateralized by


                                      F-6
<PAGE>   70

         substantially all of ijob's fixed assets, contract rights, accounts
         receivable and general intangibles. The net gain of $462,041 on the
         sale was deferred and netted against the $800,000 promissory note at
         December 31, 1998, as DCM was considered to be a highly leveraged
         entity. On March 11, 1999, the promissory note and accrued interest was
         paid in full. Accordingly, we have recognized the gain on the sale of
         $462,041 in the consolidated statement of operations for the three
         months ending March 31, 1999.

         Effective September 1, 1998, we sold the assets related to our
         management consulting and systems integration services (including our
         proprietary Retail Services Application software) to The Netplex Group,
         Inc (the "Consulting Assets Sale"). Netplex paid us $3.0 million in
         cash and issued us 643,770 shares of Netplex preferred stock, with a
         market value of $1.0 million on the date of the sale. In conjunction
         with the sale of our consulting assets, we entered into an earn-out
         agreement that may provide us with quarterly cash payments up to $1.5
         million generated from the assets sold to Netplex until March 31, 2000.
         We used the cash proceeds from the sale to repay (i) $551,062 of
         long-term debt, (ii) $565,094 of shareholder loans including interest
         and (iii) expenses attributable to the Consulting Assets Sale. The net
         gain from the Consulting Assets Sale was $2,998,453. As of March 31,
         1999, the market value of the 643,770 shares of Netplex preferred stock
         was $2,132,183, yielding an unrealized gain of $1,447,856, which has
         been included in comprehensive income in our consolidated statement of
         operations for the three months ended March 31, 1999.

         Accordingly, our consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 1999 and
         the consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended
         March 31, 1999, do not include the assets and operations of the
         consulting and systems integration business, nor do they include the
         assets and operations of ijob, which are included in the comparable
         period of 1998. Therefore, the periods presented are not comparable.

         We expect to report losses from operations throughout 1999. We expect
         to continue our high level of expenditures for investment in
         technology, development, implementation, customer support services, and
         sales and marketing of, our viaLink services. The extent of our
         quarterly losses will depend on revenues from network services and
         application products, which have

4.       RECONCILIATION FOR BASIC AND DILUTIVE EARNINGS PER SHARE ("EPS")

         For the Three Months Ended March 31, 1998

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                INCOME        SHARES      PER SHARE
                                              (NUMERATOR)  (DENOMINATOR)    AMOUNT
                                              -----------  -------------  ---------
<S>                                           <C>          <C>           <C>
Basic EPS
   Income available to common shareholders     $  56,258     2,729,521      $0.02
                                                                            =====
Effect of Dilutive Securities Options                 --        50,144
                                               ---------     ---------
Dilutive EPS
   Income available to common shareholders
     plus assumed conversions                  $  56,258     2,779,665      $0.02
                                              ==========     =========      =====
</TABLE>

         Options to purchase 360,000, 50,000 and 102,500 shares of common stock
         at $5.00, $3.50 and $3.875, respectively, per share, and warrants to
         purchase 920,000 and 180,000 shares of common stock at $5.00 and $6.00,
         respectively per share, were outstanding during the first quarter of
         1998, but were not included in the computation of diluted EPS because
         the exercise prices were greater than the average market price of the
         common shares. The options, which expire on November 30, 2001 through
         March 1, 2007, respectively, were still outstanding at March 31, 1998.


         At March 31, 1999, options to purchase 1,579,958 shares at an average
         price of $3.63, warrants to purchase 920,000 and 180,000 shares of
         common stock at $5.00 and $6.00, respectively, and 857,143 shares of
         common stock to be issued upon the conversion of the Hewlett-Packard
         note, were outstanding during the three month period ending March 31,
         1999, but were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per
         share because the effect of these outstanding options, warrants and
         stock issuable upon conversion of debt would be antidilutive.


                                      F-7
<PAGE>   71

5.       CONVERTIBLE DEBT


         On February 4, 1999, we entered into a financing agreement and note
         purchase agreement with Hewlett-Packard pursuant to which
         Hewlett-Packard purchased from viaLink a $6.0 million secured
         subordinated promissory note. This note bears interest at 11.5 % per
         annum, with interest payments deferrable to maturity in February 2004.
         Subject to authorization and approval by our shareholders to issue the
         common stock underlying the convertible note to be issued to
         Hewlett-Packard, which we are seeking at our 1999 annual meeting of
         shareholders, the note will be exchanged for a subordinated secured
         convertible promissory note, convertible into our common stock at a
         conversion price of $7.00 per share. The closing of the purchase of the
         note occurred on February 5, 1999 (the "Effective Date").


         The Emerging Issues Task Force ("EITF") has issued EITF issue number
         98-5 "Accounting for Convertible Securities with Beneficial Conversion
         Features or Contingently Adjustable Conversion Ratios", which addresses
         issues surrounding convertible debt securities with a nondetachable
         conversion feature that is in-the-money at the commitment date (a
         "beneficial conversion feature"). The task force reached a tentative
         conclusion that beneficial conversion features present in convertible
         securities should be recognized and measured by allocating a portion of
         the proceeds equal to the intrinsic value of that feature to additional
         paid-in capital. The intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion
         feature was approximately $20,000,000 at the commitment date. However,
         the value is limited to the $6,000,000 proceeds based on the prescribed
         accounting. Accordingly, we have allocated the full amount of proceeds
         to the beneficial conversion feature and recorded $6,000,000 as
         additional paid-in capital as of March 31, 1999, and recognized an
         additional non-cash interest charge of $592,322 for interest expense
         from February 5, 1999 through March 31, 1999, through establishing
         long-term debt in the same amount.

6.       TAX PROVISION


         SFAS 109, Accounting for Income Taxes, requires, among other things,
         the separate recognition, measured at currently enacted tax rates, of
         deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities for the tax effect of
         temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax reporting
         bases of assets and liabilities, and net operating loss and tax credit
         carryforwards for tax purposes. A valuation allowance must be
         established for deferred tax assets if it is "more likely than not"
         that all or a portion will not be realized. At March 31, 1998, we had
         recorded a tax benefit of $970,000 related to the pre-tax losses
         incurred in prior years, and no valuation allowance had been
         established. As a result of the net gain on the consulting business
         sale, the deferred tax asset was realized. The deferred tax asset at
         December 31, 1998 and March 31, 1999, generated by losses recorded in
         the fourth quarter of 1998 and the first quarter of 1999, respectively,
         was offset by a fall valuation allowance. We will continue to provide a
         full valuation allowance for future and current net deferred tax assets
         until such time as management believes it is more likely than not that
         the asset may be realized.



                                      F-8
<PAGE>   72


                        REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS



To the Board of Directors
The viaLink Company (formerly Applied Intelligence Group, Inc.)

In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related
consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity and of cash flows
present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of The viaLink
Company (formerly Applied Intelligence Group, Inc.) at December 31, 1998 and
1997, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the
three years in the period ended December 31, 1998, in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles. These consolidated financial statements are the
responsibility of the Company's management; our responsibility is to express an
opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We
conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with generally accepted
auditing standards which require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material
misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting
the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the
accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and
evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.


                                                      PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
February 22, 1999



                                      F-9
<PAGE>   73

         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                           CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                           December 31, 1998 and 1997

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                         1998             1997
                                                                     -----------      -----------
<S>                                                                  <C>              <C>
Current assets:
    Cash and cash equivalents                                        $   715,446      $    80,769
    Accounts receivable - trade, net of allowance for doubtful
    accounts of $7,841 in 1998 and $1,724 in 1997                        158,117        1,337,322
    Other receivables                                                    585,778           44,893
    Inventory                                                                 --            8,707
    Current portion of deferred tax asset                                     --           44,502
    Prepaid expenses                                                      16,716           51,634
    Marketable securities, available-for-sale                            684,327               --
                                                                     -----------      -----------
         Total current assets                                          2,160,384        1,567,827

Furniture, equipment and leasehold improvements, net                     719,910        1,462,575
Software development costs, net                                        1,340,230        1,735,420
Deferred tax asset, net                                                       --        1,004,938
Note receivable, net of deferred gain on sale                            337,958               --
Other assets                                                              38,564           33,393
                                                                     -----------      -----------
         Total assets                                                $ 4,597,046      $ 5,804,153
                                                                     ===========      ===========

                     LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Current liabilities:
    Book overdraft                                                   $        --      $    23,619
    Accounts payable and accrued liabilities                           1,066,273        1,507,018
    Deferred revenue                                                          --          236,134
    Current portion of capital lease obligations                          44,194          132,422
                                                                     -----------      -----------
         Total current liabilities                                     1,110,467        1,899,193

Capital lease obligations, net of current portion                             --           44,194
Long-term debt                                                                --          490,000
Notes payable to shareholders                                                 --          482,830
                                                                     -----------      -----------
         Total liabilities                                             1,110,467        2,916,217

Commitments (Note 10)

Stockholders' equity:
    Common stock, $.001 par value; 30,000,000 shares authorized;
    2,826,613 and 2,729,509 shares issued and outstanding
    at December 31, 1998 and 1997, respectively                            2,827            2,730
    Additional paid-in capital                                         4,763,569        4,498,988

    Accumulated deficit                                                 (964,144)      (1,613,782)
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss                                (315,673)              --
                                                                     -----------      -----------
         Total stockholders' equity                                    3,486,579        2,887,936
                                                                     -----------      -----------
             Total liabilities and stockholders' equity              $ 4,597,046      $ 5,804,153
                                                                     ===========      ===========
</TABLE>


              The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
                       consolidated financial statements.


                                      F-10
<PAGE>   74


         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
              For the years ended December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                             1998              1997              1996
                                                         ------------      ------------      ------------
<S>                                                      <C>               <C>               <C>
Revenues                                                 $  8,230,628      $  9,022,842      $  9,507,370

Expenses:
    Direct cost of sales                                    1,563,757         2,211,956         2,570,840
    Salaries and benefits                                   5,256,247         6,174,503         5,167,571
    Selling, general and administrative                     1,964,180         2,708,351         2,007,999
    Interest expense, net                                     161,355            73,581           219,089
    Depreciation and amortization                             925,134           827,396           591,205
                                                         ------------      ------------      ------------
         Total expenses                                     9,870,673        11,995,787        10,556,704
                                                         ------------      ------------      ------------
Loss from operations                                       (1,640,045)       (2,972,945)       (1,049,334)

Gain on sale of assets                                      2,998,453                --                --
Other income                                                  340,670                --                --
                                                         ------------      ------------      ------------
Income (loss) before income taxes                           1,699,078        (2,972,945)       (1,049,334)

Provision (benefit) for income taxes                        1,049,440        (1,112,127)         (366,925)

Net income (loss)                                             649,638        (1,860,818)         (682,409)

Other comprehensive loss:
    Unrealized loss on securities                            (315,673)               --                --
                                                         ------------      ------------      ------------
Comprehensive income (loss)                              $    333,965      $ (1,860,818)     $   (682,409)
                                                         ============      ============      ============


Weighted average common shares outstanding - Basic          2,741,041         2,727,438         1,838,522
                                                         ============      ============      ============
Net income (loss) per common share - Basic               $        .24      $       (.68)     $       (.37)
                                                         ============      ============      ============
Weighted average common shares outstanding - Diluted        3,102,443         2,727,438         1,838,522
                                                         ============      ============      ============
Net income (loss) per common share - Diluted             $        .21      $       (.68)     $       (.37)
                                                         ============      ============      ============
</TABLE>


              The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
                       consolidated financial statements.


                                      F-11
<PAGE>   75

         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
              For the years ended December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                      Accumulated          Retained
                                             Common Stock             Additional          Other            Earnings
                                      --------------------------        Paid-In       Comprehensive      (Accumulated
                                        Shares         Amounts         Capital             Loss            Deficit)
                                      ---------      -----------      -----------     -------------     -------------
<S>                                   <C>            <C>              <C>             <C>               <C>
    Balance,
    December 31, 1995                 1,500,000      $     1,500      $    66,484      $        --      $   929,445

    Vantage Capital
    Resources, Inc., merger             610,000              610          394,317               --               --

    Stock redemptions                  (383,500)            (383)         (40,742)              --               --

    Initial public offering           1,000,000            1,000        4,071,167               --               --

    Net loss                                 --               --               --               --         (682,409)
                                      ---------      -----------      -----------      -----------      -----------

    Balance,
    December 31, 1996                 2,726,500            2,727        4,491,226               --          247,036

    Exercise of stock options               444               --              279               --               --

    Stock issued under Employee
    Stock
    Purchase Plan                         2,565                3            7,483               --               --

    Net loss                                 --               --               --               --       (1,860,818)
                                      ---------      -----------      -----------      -----------      -----------
    Balance (Deficit),
    December 31, 1997                 2,729,509            2,730        4,498,988               --       (1,613,782)

    Exercise of stock options            88,610               89          240,303               --               --

    Stock issued under Employee
    Stock
    Purchase Plan                         3,461                3            8,555               --               --

    Stock issued under Employee
    Stock
    Bonus Plan                            5,033                5           15,723               --               --

    Net Income                               --               --               --               --          649,638

    Unrealized loss on
    securities available for
    sale                                     --               --               --         (315,673)              --
                                      ---------      -----------      -----------      -----------      -----------
    Balance (Deficit),
    December 31, 1998                 2,826,613      $     2,827      $ 4,763,569      $  (315,673)     $  (964,144)
                                      =========      ===========      ===========      ===========      ===========
</TABLE>


              The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
                       consolidated financial statements.


                                      F-12
<PAGE>   76

         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
              For the years ended December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                    1998              1997             1996
                                                                                 -----------      -----------      -----------
<S>                                                                              <C>              <C>              <C>
Cash flows from operating activities:
   Net income (loss)                                                             $   649,638      $(1,860,818)     $  (682,409)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating
activities:
   Depreciation and amortization                                                     925,134          827,396          591,205
   Deferred income tax provision (benefit)                                         1,049,440       (1,112,127)        (241,730)
   Gain on sale of assets                                                         (2,998,453)              --               --
   Loss on disposal of fixed assets                                                   12,694               --            5,720
   Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable                                      1,054,162          672,515          363,680
   Decrease (increase) in other receivables                                         (540,885)         269,981          (95,995)
   Decrease (increase) in inventory                                                    8,707           19,452           (5,767)
   Decrease (increase) in prepaid expenses                                            34,918           24,630           19,974
   Decrease (increase) in other assets                                               (11,218)          83,748          (68,698)
   Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities                  (397,899)         428,512         (184,601)
   Increase (decrease) in deferred revenue                                          (236,134)         (96,315)         207,986
                                                                                 -----------      -----------      -----------
Net cash used in operating activities                                               (449,896)        (743,026)         (90,635)
                                                                                 -----------      -----------      -----------

Cash flows from investing activities:
   Proceeds from sale of assets, net of cost                                       2,607,731               --               --
   Capital expenditures                                                              (41,785)        (332,987)        (625,893)
   Capitalized expenditures for software development                                (617,180)        (752,158)        (655,248)
                                                                                 -----------      -----------      -----------
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities                                1,948,766       (1,085,145)      (1,281,141)
                                                                                 -----------      -----------      -----------

Cash flows from financing activities:
   Increase (decrease) in book overdraft                                             (23,619)        (261,141)         115,294
   Proceeds from long-term debt                                                    3,522,639        1,270,000        5,609,000
   Proceeds from shareholder notes                                                        --            6,455           39,375
   Proceeds from exercise of stock options, stock bonus                              264,678            7,765               --
   and stock purchase plan
   Proceeds from sale of stock                                                            --               --        4,425,969
   Payments of capital lease obligations                                            (132,422)        (135,153)        (111,347)
   Payments of shareholder notes                                                    (482,830)         (20,000)              --
   Payments on long-term debt                                                     (4,012,639)        (780,000)      (6,904,000)
                                                                                 -----------      -----------      -----------
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities                                 (864,193)          87,926        3,174,291
                                                                                 -----------      -----------      -----------

Net increase (decrease) in cash                                                      634,677       (1,740,245)       1,802,515

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period                                      80,769        1,821,014           18,499
                                                                                 -----------      -----------      -----------
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period                                       $   715,446      $    80,769      $ 1,821,014
                                                                                 ===========      ===========      ===========
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
   Cash paid for interest                                                        $   220,553      $   123,778      $   251,967
                                                                                 ===========      ===========      ===========
   Cash paid for income taxes, net of cash received for income taxes             $    26,454      $   114,852      $   (10,000)
                                                                                 ===========      ===========      ===========

Supplemental disclosures of noncash investing and financing activities:
     Capital lease obligation incurred                                           $        --      $        --      $   205,938
                                                                                 ===========      ===========      ===========
</TABLE>


        Effective December 31, 1998, the Company sold its investment in its
    wholly-owned subsidiary, ijob, Inc., for a $800,000 note receivable. The net
    gain on the sale of $462,042 has been deferred and netted against the note.


              The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
                       consolidated financial statements.


                                      F-13
<PAGE>   77

         THE VIALINK COMPANY (formerly Applied Intelligence Group, Inc.)

                   NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


1.       SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:

         General Description of Business The viaLink Company (the "Company")
         provides business-to-business electronic commerce solutions for the
         grocery and convenience store industries. The Company has developed a
         cost-effective, Internet-accessible shared database, the viaLink Item
         Catalog, that enables subscribing manufacturers, suppliers and
         retailers to exchange product, pricing and promotional information. The
         Company's solution offers a single interface solution for retailers to
         receive product information from all their suppliers, regardless of the
         technological capabilities of the retailer or the supplier. Suppliers
         and manufacturers are able to efficiently communicate product and
         pricing information to their customers, significantly reducing the
         operational and administrative costs of supply chain management.
         Product, pricing and promotional information contained in the viaLink
         database is secured with state-of-the-art firewalls and password
         protections. With the use of a personal computer and commonly available
         software and a Web browser, viaLink enables its subscribers to improve
         management of information flow, reduce errors and invoice
         discrepancies, enhance the accounts receivable collection process and
         reduce redundant information processing.

         The Company's clients and customers range from small, rapidly growing
         companies to large corporations and are geographically dispersed
         throughout the United States.

         Basis of Presentation The consolidated financial statements include the
         accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, ijob, Inc.,
         which was formed June 30, 1997. All material intercompany balances and
         transactions have been eliminated. On December 31, 1998 ijob, Inc. was
         sold and, therefore, is not included in the Company's December 31, 1998
         balance sheet (see Note 2).

         Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity
         with generally accepted accounting principles requires the use of
         management's estimates and assumptions in determining the carrying
         values of certain assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent
         assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the
         reported amounts for certain revenues and expenses during the reporting
         period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

         Cash and Cash Equivalents For purposes of the statement of cash flows,
         the Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of
         three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents.

         Marketable Securities The Company classifies its marketable securities
         as available-for-sale in accordance with SFAS No. 115, "Accounting for
         Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities." The Company's
         securities are carried at fair market value, with the unrealized gains
         and losses reported as a separate component in stockholders' equity
         until realized.

         Risks from Concentrations Financial instruments, which potentially
         subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk, consist
         principally of temporary cash investments, notes receivable and
         accounts receivable. The Company places its temporary cash investments
         with high credit quality financial institutions. Concentrations of
         credit risk with respect to accounts receivable are limited due to the
         size of customers and their dispersion across different regions. The
         Company does not believe a material risk of loss exists with respect to
         its financial position due to concentrations of credit risk.

         The Company, through the sale of its management consulting and systems
         integration services, received 643,770 shares of preferred stock
         convertible into common shares of the Netplex Group, Inc. which are
         classified as available-for-sale marketable securities and are subject
         to fluctuations in value due to market conditions.

         The Company's revenues were in part dependent on large license fees and
         systems integration contracts from a limited number of customers. In
         1998, 1997 and 1996 three customers individually accounted for 13, 11,
         and 11 percent, 20, 13, and 10 percent, and 17, 14, and 10 percent of
         the Company's total revenues, respectively. In 1998, 1997 and 1996,
         approximately 49, 57 and 57 percent, respectively, of the Company's
         total revenues were attributable to five clients. During 1998 the
         Company sold its wholly owned subsidiary, ijob, Inc., and the assets
         underlying its management consulting and systems integration services
         (see Note 2). Historically, approximately 90% of the Company's revenues
         were generated from


                                      F-14
<PAGE>   78

         assets sold pursuant to these sales. As a result of the sales, the
         Company resembles a development stage company since its planned
         principal operations are underway, but have not yet generated
         significant revenues.

         Furniture, equipment and leasehold improvements Furniture, equipment
         and leasehold improvements are stated at cost. Expenditures for repairs
         and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred. Upon disposition,
         the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the
         accounts and the resulting gain or loss is reflected in operations for
         the period. The Company depreciates furniture and equipment using the
         straight-line method over their estimated useful lives ranging from 5
         to 10 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lease term
         using the straight-line method.

         Revenue Recognition The Company recognizes revenues as the services are
         provided. Revenues collected in advance are deferred and recognized as
         earned. Revenues for fixed-price contracts are recognized using the
         percentage of completion method. Accounts receivable included unbilled
         amounts of $193,355 at December 31, 1997. As of December 31, 1998 there
         were no unbilled amounts.

         Direct Cost of Sales Direct Cost of sales represents the cost of
         hardware and certain point-of-sale software acquired for resale,
         including royalty payments required for sale of the Company's
         proprietary software products.

         Earnings Per Share The Company presents basic and diluted earnings per
         share ("EPS") as required under Statement of Accounting Standard No.
         128, "Earnings Per Share," ("SFAS 128"). SFAS 128 simplifies the
         standards for computing earnings per share by replacing the
         presentation of primary earnings per share with a presentation of basic
         earnings per share and by simplifying the calculation of diluted
         earnings per share. A reconciliation of the numerator and the
         denominator used in the calculation of earnings per share is as
         follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                   For the Year Ended December 31, 1998
                                                  Income         Shares              Per
                                               (Numerator)    (Denominator)         Share
                                               -----------    -------------     -------------
<S>                                            <C>                <C>           <C>
Basic EPS
   Income available to common shareholders     $  649,638         2,741,041     $        0.24
                                                                                =============
   Effect of dilutive securities options               --           361,402
                                               ----------         ---------
Dilutive EPS
   Income available to common shareholders
          plus assumed conversions             $  649,638         3,102,443     $        0.21
                                               ==========     =============     =============
</TABLE>

         At December 31, 1998, options to purchase 360,000 and 30,000 shares of
         common stock at $5.00 and $9.00 per share, respectively, and warrants
         to purchase 920,000 and 180,000 shares of common stock at $5.00 and
         $6.00, respectively, were outstanding, but were not included in the
         computation of diluted EPS because the exercise price of the options
         and warrants was greater than the average market price of the common
         shares.

         At December 31, 1997, options to purchase 583,078 shares at an average
         exercise price of $4.19 and warrants to purchase 920,000 and 180,000
         shares of common stock at $5.00 and $6.00, respectively, were
         outstanding, but were not included in the computation of diluted EPS
         because the exercise price of the options and warrants was greater than
         the average market price of the common shares.

         At December 31, 1996, options to purchase 435,208 shares at an average
         exercise price of $4.32 and warrants to purchase 920,000 and 180,000
         shares of common stock at $5.00 and $6.00, respectively, were
         outstanding, but were not included in the computation of diluted EPS
         because the exercise price of the options and warrants was greater than
         the average market price of the common shares.

         Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with
         Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, "Accounting for
         Income Taxes" ("SFAS 109"). SFAS 109 requires deferred tax liabilities
         or assets to be recognized for the anticipated future tax effects of
         temporary difference that arise as a result of the differences in the
         carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities, and for loss
         carryforwards and tax credit carryforwards.



                                      F-15
<PAGE>   79

         Costs of Product Development The Company incurred costs and expenses of
         approximately $1,827,000, $1,875,000, and $1,204,000 for product
         development in 1998, 1997, and 1996, respectively. A substantial
         portion of these costs relates to development of a network subscription
         service that the Company made available to subscribers in January of
         1997. Certain of these costs are capitalized as Software Development
         Costs (See Note 4).

         Comprehensive Income In 1998, the Company adopted SFAS 130, "Reporting
         Comprehensive Income." SFAS 130 establishes new rules for reporting of
         comprehensive income and its components. Comprehensive income consists
         of unrealized loss on the fair market value of marketable securities
         and is presented as a separate component of stockholders' equity. Prior
         years' financial statements have been presented to conform to these
         requirements.

         Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In October 1997, the AICPA
         Accounting Standards Executive Committee issued Statement of Position
         97-2, Software Revenue Recognition ("SOP 97-2"), which supercedes
         Statement of Position 91-1, Software Revenue Recognition. SOP 97-2
         focuses on when and in what amounts revenue should be recognized for
         licensing, selling, leasing, or otherwise marketing computer software
         and is effective for transactions entered into in fiscal years
         beginning after December 15, 1997. In March 1998, the AICPA Accounting
         Standards Executive Committee issued Statement of Position 98-4,
         Deferral of the Effective Date of Provision of SOP 97-2, Software
         Revenue Recognition ("SOP 98-4"). SOP 98-4 defers for one year certain
         provisions of SOP 97-2. In December of 1998, the AICPA Accounting
         Standards Executive Committee issued Statement of Position 98-9,
         Modification of SOP 97-2, Software Revenue Recognition, with respect to
         Certain Transactions ("SOP 98-9"). SOP 98-9, also amends certain
         provisions of SOP 97-2 and extends the deferral of the application of
         certain provisions of SOP 97-2 as amended by SOP 98-4 through fiscal
         years beginning on or before March 15, 1999. The Company does not
         believe that the adoption of SOP 97-2, including the effects of these
         amendments, will have a material impact on its financial position and
         results of operations.


2.       DIVESTITURES:

         On December 31, 1998, the Company sold its wholly-owned subsidiary,
         ijob, Inc. to DCM Company ("DCM"), a corporation wholly-owned by David
         C. Mitchell, the President and a member of the board of directors of
         ijob at the time of the sale. DCM purchased all of the outstanding
         stock of ijob for a collateralized, ten-year $800,000 promissory note
         that accrues interest at 8%. DCM is required to pay the promissory note
         in full upon the occurrence of certain events, including the date upon
         which David C. Mitchell owns less than 51% of DCM. The promissory note
         is collateralized by principally all of the fixed assets, contract
         rights, accounts receivable and general intangibles of ijob. The net
         gain of $462,042 on the sale has been deferred and netted against the
         $800,000 promissory note, as DCM is considered to be a highly leveraged
         entity.

         Effective September 1, 1998, the Company sold the assets related to its
         management consulting and systems integration services (including the
         Company's proprietary Retail Services Application ("RSA") software) to
         Netplex Group, Inc ("Consulting Asset Sale"). Netplex paid the Company
         $3.0 million in cash and issued the Company 643,770 shares of Netplex
         preferred stock, with a market value of approximately $1.0 million. The
         Company used the cash proceeds from the sale to repay (i) $551,062 of
         long-term debt, (ii) $565,094 of shareholder loans including interest
         and (iii) expenses attributable to the Consulting Asset Sale. The net
         gain from the Consulting Assets Sale was $2,998,453. As of December 31,
         1998, the market value of the 643,770 shares of Netplex preferred stock
         was $684,327, yielding an unrealized loss of $315,673, which has been
         included in comprehensive loss. The following represents condensed
         unaudited results of operations related to the management consulting
         and systems integration services:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                              August 31, 1998        December 31, 1997
                                             ----------------       ------------------
<S>                                          <C>                    <C>
                     Revenues                $      6,831,916       $        7,544,678
                     Expenses                       5,045,104                7,335,395
                                             ----------------       ------------------
                     Income before Taxes     $      1,786,812       $          209,283
                                             ================       ==================
</TABLE>


                                      F-16
<PAGE>   80

3.       FURNITURE, EQUIPMENT AND LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS:

         Furniture, equipment and leasehold improvements at December 31, 1998
         and 1997 consists of the following:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                             1998             1997
                                                         -----------      -----------
<S>                                                      <C>              <C>
Furniture and fixtures                                   $   286,583      $   482,818
Computer equipment                                         1,432,776        2,029,864
Computer software                                            492,790          657,498
Leasehold improvements                                        49,669           55,779
                                                         -----------      -----------

                                                           2,261,818        3,225,959
Less:  accumulated depreciation and amortization          (1,541,908)      (1,763,384)
                                                         -----------      -----------

Furniture, equipment and leasehold improvements, net     $   719,910      $ 1,462,575
                                                         ===========      ===========
</TABLE>

         Included in furniture and fixtures in 1997 was $125,886 of assets under
         a capital lease. In 1998 the capital lease was paid in full and the
         Company obtained ownership of the related furniture and fixtures.
         Included in computer equipment in 1998 and 1997 was $321,840 of assets
         under capital leases. The accumulated depreciation for all assets under
         capital leases at December 31, 1998 and 1997 was $282,245 and $195,177,
         respectively.


4.       SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT COSTS:

         The Company capitalizes certain costs, including interest, that are
         directly related to the development of software. In accordance with
         Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 86, capitalization of
         costs begins when technological feasibility has been established and
         ends when the product is available for customers. Capitalized software
         development costs are amortized using the straight-line method over the
         estimated useful life of five years. Amortization of capitalized
         software costs for December 31, 1998, 1997, and 1996 was $466,875,
         $324,837, and $176,756, respectively. Accumulated amortization at
         December 31, 1998 and 1997 was $763,755 and $841,826, respectively.

         The Company continually assesses whether the unamortized capitalized
         cost of software development is impaired. This assessment is based on
         the future cashflows expected to be generated by the related product.
         If impairment is determined, the amount of such impairment is
         calculated based on the estimated net realizable value of the related
         asset. No write-offs were made in 1998 and 1997.

         Total interest costs for the years ended December 31, 1998, 1997, and
         1996 were $168,946, $116,183, and $291,089, respectively, of which
         $54,423 was capitalized in 1996. No interest was capitalized in 1998
         and 1997.


5.       LONG-TERM DEBT:

         On July 19, 1995, the Company entered into a revolving credit agreement
         (the "Agreement") with a bank whereby the Company could borrow, under
         two separate notes, up to the lesser of $3,000,000 or the borrowing
         base as defined in the agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the
         revolving credit agreement, upon successful completion of the Company's
         initial public offering, the working capital note of $800,000 was paid
         in full on November 27, 1996, and in October 1997, and December 1997,
         the terms of the remaining note were renegotiated to a credit line of
         $500,000. Interest on the note was prime plus 0.5% at December 31,
         1997, which was 9%.

         During the first quarter of 1998, the Company completed a new credit
         facility with a commercial lender that replaced the revolving credit
         agreement with the bank. Under the new credit facility the Company
         could borrow up to $1,000,000; however, amounts borrowed were limited
         to 75% of the Company's accounts receivable as defined by the new
         facility. The facility was collateralized by accounts receivable and
         all tangible assets of the Company and was guaranteed by three
         principal officers of the Company. The interest rate on the new
         facility was prime plus 3%. The promissory note under this agreement
         was paid in full on October 16, 1998. During the first quarter of 1998,
         the Company obtained a credit facility including a large sale financing
         option with IBM Credit Corp., whereby the Company could finance
         directly with IBM Credit Corp. large sales of hardware or software. As
         of December 31,1998, there were no amounts outstanding on this credit
         facility and in February of 1999, the Company terminated its
         arrangement under


                                      F-17
<PAGE>   81

         this credit facility. The Company no longer has any available working
         capital borrowings or credit facility available for borrowings.

         On February 4, 1999, the Company entered into a financing agreement
         with Hewlett-Packard Company. Hewlett-Packard provided the Company $6.0
         million pursuant to a Subordinated Secured Promissory Note bearing
         interest at a rate of 11.5% per annum. The Company received such funds
         on February 5, 1999. No principal or interest payments are due on the
         Hewlett-Packard Note until February 2004. This Note is collateralized
         by a lien on our viaLink services, including the underlying source
         code. Upon receipt of shareholder approval, which the Company intends
         to seek at the 1999 annual meeting of shareholders, this initial Note
         would be exchanged for a substantially similar note which would be
         convertible beginning in August 2000 into the Company's common stock at
         a price of $7 per share. In connection with the financing,
         Hewlett-Packard will provide the technological platform to host the
         Company's Item Catalog and other services, co-marketing and consulting
         services. The Hewlett-Packard loan agreement also provides that up to
         50% of the loan proceeds are intended to be used to purchase
         Hewlett-Packard products and services.

         The carrying values of financial instruments included in long-term debt
         approximate their fair values due to the nature and terms of the
         instruments involved.


6.       NOTES PAYABLE TO SHAREHOLDERS:

         In October 1998, the Company repaid all shareholder notes in the
         principal amount of $482,830, plus accrued interest of $82,264. Notes
         payable to shareholders at December 31, 1997, totaled $482,830 and
         included interest at rates ranging from 8.5% to 11.5%.

         Interest expense for 1998 and 1997 related to the notes payable to
         shareholders was $38,293 and $46,473, respectively.


7.       STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:

         The Company established The viaLink Company Employee Stock Purchase
         Plan (the "Employee Stock Purchase Plan" or "Plan") in April 1997,
         which was approved by the shareholders at the 1997 annual meeting of
         shareholders. The Employee Stock Purchase Plan provides the opportunity
         for employees to purchase the Company's stock through payroll
         deductions, to encourage participation in the ownership and economic
         progress of the Company. Plan participants may contribute up to $20 per
         pay period into their account to purchase whole shares of the common
         stock of the Company at pre-determined calendar quarter grant dates or
         exercise dates. The price will be 85 percent of the per share fair
         market value on the granting date or the exercise date, whichever is
         the lesser, of the purchase period. The number of shares of common
         stock authorized and reserved for issuance under the Plan is 100,000
         shares. For each of the years ended December 31, 1998 and 1997, 3,461
         and 2,565 shares, respectively, shares of common stock have been
         purchased by Employees of the Company, and are included in the total
         outstanding shares as of December 31, 1998.


8.       STOCK OPTION PLANS:

         In 1995, the Company created the 1995 Stock Option Plan (the "Plan").
         The Plan provides for incentive stock options and non-incentive stock
         options to key management, directors, key professional employees or key
         professional non-employee service providers of the Company. In April
         1996, the Company amended the Plan to authorize and reserve up to
         300,000 shares of common stock for issuance of options under the Plan,
         and again amended the Plan on September 1, 1998 to increase the number
         of authorized shares under the Plan to 800,000. The Plan permits the
         issuance of qualified and nonqualified stock options. During 1998, the
         Company issued 670,750 options at an average exercise price of $3.04.

         In conjunction with the Company's merger with Vantage Capital
         Resources, Inc. in 1996 the Company issued 360,000 options exercisable
         at $5.00 per share. Such options become exercisable after 2 years and
         expire after 5 years from the original grant date.

         On February 9, 1998, the board of directors of the Company adopted the
         1998 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan (the "Non-Qualified Stock Plan" or
         "Plan"), to attract, retain and motivate directors, executive officers,
         key employees and independent contractors of the Company and its
         subsidiaries by way of granting non-qualified stock options with stock
         appreciation rights attached. The Non-Qualified Stock Plan,



                                      F-18

<PAGE>   82



         as amended on September 1, 1998, authorizes and reserves up to 800,000
         shares of common stock for issuance and options under the Plan. The
         option price shall not be less than 85 percent of the fair market value
         of the common stock on the date of grant. All options pursuant to the
         Plan expire after ten years from the date of grant. The board of
         directors has the discretion to fix the period and the time at which
         any options granted under the Plan may be exercised. During 1998 the
         Company issued 501,857 options at an average exercise price of $3.38
         pursuant to the Plan.

         On February 10, 1998, the board of directors of the Company adopted the
         1998 Stock Grant Plan (the "Stock Grant Plan" or "Plan") to attract,
         retain and motivate consultants, independent contractors and key
         employees of the Company and its subsidiaries by way of granting shares
         of stock in the Company. The Stock Grant Plan authorizes and reserves
         up to 150,000 shares of common stock of the Company for issuances under
         the Plan. Shares of common stock received pursuant to the Stock Grant
         Plan restrict the sale, transfer or other disposal of said shares for a
         period of one year. During 1998, 5,033 shares of common stock have been
         issued pursuant to the Plan at an average price of $3.12.

         Pro forma information regarding net income and earnings per share is
         required by FAS No. 123 and has been determined as if the Company had
         accounted for its stock options under the fair value method defined by
         FAS No. 123. The fair value for these options was estimated at the date
         of grant using a Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following
         weighted-average assumptions for fiscal year 1998, 1997 and 1996,
         respectively: interest rates (zero-coupon U.S. government issued with a
         remaining life equal to the expected term of the options) of 4.52%,
         6.47%, and 6.10%; dividend yields of 0.0%; volatility factors of
         expected market price of the Company's common stock of 65%; and
         weighted-average expected life of the options of 6.7, 5.9, and 3.5
         years.

         The Company applies APB Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to
         Employees, and related interpretations in accounting for its employee
         stock options. APB No. 25 requires compensation expense be recorded for
         any difference between the option price and market value on the
         measurement date. Accordingly, based on the fact that all option's
         exercise price equals the market price at date of grant, no
         compensation cost has been recognized in 1998, 1997 and 1996.

         The Black-Scholes option valuation model was developed for use in
         estimating the fair value of traded options, which have no vesting
         restrictions and are fully transferable. In addition, option valuation
         models require the input of highly subjective assumptions including the
         expected stock price volatility. Because the Company's stock options
         have characteristics significantly different from those of traded
         options, and because changes in the subjective input assumptions can
         materially affect the fair value estimate, in management's opinion, the
         existing models do not necessarily provide a reliable single measure of
         the fair value of its stock options.

         The Company's pro forma information is as follows for December 31:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                           1998              1997             1996
                                                      -------------     --------------   -------------
<S>                                                   <C>               <C>              <C>
Net income (loss),  as reported                       $     649,638     $  (1,860,818)   $    (682,409)
Pro forma                                             $     112,172     $  (2,393,944)   $    (780,194)
Earnings (loss) per shares-diluted, as reported       $         .21     $        (.68)   $        (.37)
Pro forma                                             $         .04     $        (.88)   $        (.42)
</TABLE>






                                      F-19
<PAGE>   83


         A summary of the Company's stock option activity and related
information follows as of December 31:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                     Weighted
                                     Number of        Average
                                       Shares      Exercise Price
                                   ------------    --------------

<S>                                <C>             <C>
Outstanding at December 31, 1995         45,513    $       0.63
   Granted                              396,238            4.69
   Exercised                                 --              --
   Canceled                              (6,543)           0.80
                                   ------------

Outstanding at December 31, 1996        435,208            4.32
   Granted                              167,500            3.76
   Exercised                               (444)           0.63
   Canceled                             (19,186)           3.31
                                   ------------

Outstanding at December 31, 1997        583,078            4.19
   Granted                            1,172,607            3.18
   Exercised                            (88,610)           2.71
   Canceled                             (44,453)           3.44
                                   ------------

Outstanding at December 31, 1998      1,622,622    $       3.56
                                   ============
</TABLE>

         The following table summarizes information about stock options
outstanding at December 31, 1998:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                      Options Outstanding                          Options Exercisable
                       ------------------------------------------------      ------------------------------
                                            Weighted          Weighted                           Weighted
                                             Average           Average                            Average
Range of Exercise       Outstanding         Exercise          Remaining       Exercisable        Exercise
      Prices            at 12/31/98           Price             Life          at 12/31/98          Price
- -------------------    -------------   -----------------    -----------      ------------       -----------


<S>                     <C>            <C>                  <C>               <C>              <C>
$0.63 to $1.80              34,410             $0.92           7 years            34,410           $0.92

$3.00 to $3.88           1,198,212             $3.07           6 years           150,595           $3.45

$5.00 to $9.00             390,000             $5.31           9 years           360,000           $5.00

$0.63 to $9.00           1,622,622             $3.56           6 years           545,005           $4.31
</TABLE>




9.       INCOME TAXES:

         The components of the provision (benefit) for income taxes for the
         years ended December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996 are as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                    1998            1997            1996
                                               -------------   -------------    -------------

<S>                                            <C>             <C>              <C>
Current                                        $          --   $          --    $    (125,195)

Deferred                                           1,049,440      (1,112,127)        (241,730)
                                               -------------   -------------    -------------
Provision (benefit) for income taxes           $   1,049,440   $  (1,112,127)   $    (366,925)
                                               =============   =============    =============
</TABLE>


         The difference in federal income taxes at the statutory rate and the
         provision for income taxes for the years ended December 31, 1998, 1997,
         and 1996 are as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                 1998             1997               1996
                                                             -------------   -------------    -------------

<S>                                                          <C>             <C>              <C>
Income tax expense (benefit) at federal statutory rate       $     577,687   $  (1,010,801)   $    (356,773)

State income taxes                                                  67,963        (118,918)         (41,973)

Change in valuation allowance                                      401,302              --               --

Revision of prior year estimate                                         --              --           14,273

Other
                                                                     2,488          17,592           17,548
                                                             -------------   -------------    -------------
Provision (benefit) for income taxes                         $   1,049,440   $  (1,112,127)   $    (366,925)
                                                             =============   =============    =============
</TABLE>





                                      F-20
<PAGE>   84


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

Deferred tax assets (liabilities) are comprised of the following:          December 31,
                                                                    --------------------------
                                                                        1998           1997
                                                                    -----------    -----------

<S>                                                                 <C>            <C>
Deferred tax assets:
  Allowance for doubtful accounts                                   $     2,980    $       655
  Compensated absences                                                   17,583         43,847
  Tax carryforwards                                                      24,985         24,969
  Unrealized loss on marketable securities                              119,956             --
  Net operating loss carryforward                                       781,387      1,730,999
                                                                    -----------    -----------
                                                                        946,891      1,800,470
Deferred tax liabilities:
  Intangible assets                                                    (508,763)      (659,460)
  Depreciation and amortization                                         (36,826)        91,570)
                                                                    -----------    -----------

Net deferred tax asset, before valuation allowance                      401,302      1,049,440

Valuation allowance                                                    (401,302)            --

Net deferred tax asset                                              $        --    $ 1,049,440
                                                                    ===========    ===========
</TABLE>

         At December 31, 1998, the Company had net operating loss ("NOL")
         carryforwards for Federal and State purposes of approximately
         $2,000,000 and $2,400,000, respectively, and other carryforwards of
         approximately $66,000. The Federal and State NOL carryforwards begin to
         expire in 2011.

         SFAS 109 requires that the Company record a valuation allowance when it
         is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax
         assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of the deferred
         tax asset depends on the Company's ability to generate sufficient
         taxable income in the future. If the Company achieves sufficient
         profitability to utilize the NOL, the valuation allowance will be
         reduced resulting in a reduction of future income tax expense.

         The ability of the Company to utilize the NOL carryforward to reduce
         future taxable income taxes may be limited upon occurrence of certain
         capital stock transactions during any three-year period resulting in an
         aggregate ownership change of more than 50%.

10.      LEASES:

         The Company leases its office and storage space under operating leases.
         The terms range from month-to-month up to ten years and include options
         to renew. The Company also leases office equipment under various
         noncancelable lease agreements. Total rental expense in 1998, 1997 and
         1996 for all leases was $410,669, $455,369 and $333,225, respectively.

         Future minimum lease payments under noncancelable leases at December
31, 1998 follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                             Capital   Operating
                                             Leases      Leases
                                          -----------  ----------

<S>                                       <C>          <C>
1999                                      $   46,018   $  445,446
2000                                              --      402,158
2001                                              --      332,211
2002                                              --      330,000
2003                                              --      330,000
Thereafter                                        --    1,136,000
                                          ----------   ----------

Future minimum lease payments                 46,018   $2,975,815
                                                       ==========

Less amount representing interest              1,824
                                          ----------

Present value of minimum lease payments   $   44,194
                                          ==========
</TABLE>



         Future minimum lease payments have not been reduced by future minimum
         sub-lease rentals of approximately $1.4 million under operating leases.





                                      F-21
<PAGE>   85

11.      RETIREMENT PLAN:

         The Company has a profit sharing plan (the "Plan") for certain eligible
         employees who have attained the age of 18 and completed one year of
         service. Under the Plan, employer contributions are made at
         management's discretion. Participants may contribute up to 6% of
         earnings as eligible contributions and up to 15% of earnings in total
         for any Plan year. The Company's discretionary matching percentage is
         equal to each participant's share of total eligible contributions for a
         year. The Company made no contributions in 1998, 1997, and 1996.

                                      F-22

<PAGE>   86



         THEVIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
            UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

         The unaudited pro forma financial information for the three months
ended March 31, 1999 is not required.

         The accompanying unaudited pro forma consolidated statement of
operations is provided to illustrate the effect of the sale of the consulting
business of The viaLink Company to The Netplex Group, Inc. and the sale of the
viaLink's wholly-owned subsidiary, ijob, Inc., to DCM Company, Inc. on the
historical financial statements of viaLink, as if these sales had occurred, for
statement of operations purposes on January 1, 1998. The unaudited pro forma
consolidated statement of operations is not necessarily indicative of operating
results which would have been achieved had the sales been consummated as of the
beginning of the period presented and should not be construed as representative
of future operations. The unaudited pro forma adjustments described in the
accompanying notes are based on available information and certain assumptions
that viaLink believes are reasonable. These unaudited pro forma financial
statements should be read in conjunction with viaLink's Annual Report on Form
10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 1998.



                                      F-23

<PAGE>   87


         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
                 PRO FORMA CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
                 FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998
                                   (UNAUDITED)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                               PRO FORMA
                                                              ADJUSTMENTS        PRO FORMA        PRO FORMA         PRO FORMA
                                             DECEMBER 31,     CONSULTING          DECEMBER       ADJUSTMENTS         DECEMBER
                                                 1998        BUSINESS SALE        31, 1998        ijob SALE          31, 1998
                                             ------------    -------------       ------------    ------------       ------------

<S>                                          <C>             <C>                <C>             <C>                <C>
Revenues                                     $  8,230,628    $  6,831,916(a)    $  1,398,712    $    666,125(j)    $    732,587
Expenses:
   Direct cost of sales                         1,563,757      (1,563,757)(b)             --              --                 --
   Salaries and benefits                        5,256,247         130,000(c)       2,822,971        (535,570)(k)      2,287,401
                                                               (2,563,276)(d)

   Selling, general and administrative          1,964,180        (662,505)(e)      1,036,675        (269,196)(l)        767,479
                                                                                                                       (265,000)(f)
   Interest expense, net                          161,355        (161,355)(g)             --              --                 --
   Depreciation and amortization                  925,134        (255,569)(h)        669,565         (56,553)(m)        613,012
                                             ------------    ------------       ------------    ------------       ------------
     Total expenses                             9,870,673      (5,341,462)         4,529,211        (861,319)         3,667,892
                                             ------------    ------------       ------------    ------------       ------------
Loss from operations                           (1,640,045)     (1,490,454)        (3,130,499)       (195,194)        (2,935,305)
Gain on sale of assets                          2,998,453              --          2,998,453              --          2,998,453
Other income                                      340,670        (766,000)(i)      1,106,670              --          1,106,670
                                             ------------    ------------       ------------    ------------       ------------
Income (loss) before income taxes               1,699,078         724,454            974,624        (195,194)         1,169,818
Provision (benefit) for income taxes            1,049,440              --          1,049,440              --          1,049,440
                                             ------------    ------------       ------------    ------------       ------------
Net income (loss)                                 649,638         724,454            (74,816)       (195,194)           120,378
Other comprehensive income (loss):
   unrealized loss on securities                 (315,673)             --           (315,673)             --           (315,673)
                                             ------------    ------------       ------------    ------------       ------------
Comprehensive income (loss)                  $    333,965    $    724,454       $   (390,489)   $   (195,194)      $   (195,295)
                                             ============    ============       ============    ============       ============
Weighted average shares
   outstanding-- Basic                          2,741,041                          2,741,041                          2,741,041
                                             ============                       ============                       ============
Net income (loss)
   per common share-- Basic                  $       0.24                       $      (0.03)                      $       0.04
                                             ============                       ============                       ============
Weighted average common
   shares outstanding-Diluted                   3,102,443                          2,741,041                          3,102,443
                                             ============                       ============                       ============
Net income (loss) per
   common share-Diluted                      $       0.21                       $      (0.03)                      $       0.04
                                             ============                       ============                       ============
</TABLE>


               The accompanying notes are an integral part of this
                  pro forma consolidated financial statement.


                                      F-24

<PAGE>   88


         THE VIALINK COMPANY (FORMERLY APPLIED INTELLIGENCE GROUP, INC.)
             NOTES TO PRO FORMA CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
                                   (UNAUDITED)

                                DECEMBER 31, 1998


(a)      This adjustment eliminates the revenue directly related to the
         consulting business of the Company which was acquired by The Netplex
         Group, Inc. on September 1, 1998.

(b)      This adjustment eliminates the direct cost of revenue associated with
         the product and solutions revenue of our consulting business.

(c)      This adjustment accrues the estimated salary for our new CEO.

(d)      This adjustment eliminates the direct and indirect payroll, taxes and
         benefits and contract labor expenses associated with our consulting
         business.

(e)      This adjustment eliminates the direct and indirect selling, general and
         administrative expenses associated with our consulting business.

(f)      This adjustment reduces selling, general and administrative expenses
         for amounts that Netplex would have paid to viaLink under the Sub-lease
         and the Administrative Services Agreement had the sale of our
         consulting business been effective January 1, 1998.

(g)      This adjustment eliminates interest expense because the proceeds of the
         sale would have paid the our credit facility and shareholder notes at
         January 1, 1998.

(h)      This adjustment eliminates the depreciation and amortization of the
         fixed assets and capitalized software development costs that were
         acquired by Netplex in the purchase of our consulting business.

(i)      This adjustment records the income that would have been received under
         the earn-out agreement with Netplex effective January 1, 1998.

(j)      This adjustment eliminates the revenue directly related to ijob, Inc.
         which was acquired by DCM Company, Inc. on December 31, 1998.

(k)      This adjustment eliminates the direct and indirect payroll, taxes and
         benefits and contract labor expenses associated with ijob, Inc.

(l)      This adjustment eliminates the direct and indirect selling, general and
         administrative expenses associated with ijob, Inc.

(m)      This adjustment eliminates the depreciation and amortization of the
         fixed assets and capitalized software development costs that were
         associated with ijob, Inc.

                                      F-25



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