8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                   ----------

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): October 17, 2003

                        Sanchez Computer Associates, Inc.
             ------------------------------------------------------
               (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Pennsylvania                             0-21705               23-2161560
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(State or Other Jurisdiction           (Commission           (I.R.S. Employer
  of Incorporation)                    File Number)         Identification No.)

40 Valley Stream Parkway, Malvern, PA                             19355
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)                        (Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (610) 296-8877




Item 7. Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits.

      (a) Financial Statements.

          None

      (b) Pro Forma Financial Information.

          None

      (c) Exhibits

          99.1 Press Release dated October 17, 2003

Item 12. Results of Operations and Financial Condition

      On October 17, 2003, Sanchez Computer Associates, Inc. issued a press
      release announcing its preliminary results for the third quarter ended
      September 30, 2003. A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit
      99.1 to this Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

      The press release attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form
      8-K includes both financial measures in accordance with accounting
      principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, as
      well as non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures are
      the earnings from operations excluding the non-cash impairment charge
      incurred in the third fiscal quarter of 2003. This financial measure is
      presented because management believes that such non-GAAP financial measure
      is a meaningful indicator of the Company's operating performance and
      useful for investors in assessing such performance because it excludes an
      amount that is not necessarily related to normal operating results.
      Similarly, management uses this non-GAAP measure in connection with
      evaluating ongoing operations, projecting future performance and
      internally comparing the results from this period to results from other
      periods. You should not consider this financial measure in isolation from,
      or as a substitute for, other financial data prepared in accordance with
      GAAP.


                                      -2-



      SIGNATURE

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Dated: October 17, 2003                Sanchez Computer Associates, Inc.

                                       By:    /s/ Todd A. Pittman
                                           ---------------------------------
                                           Todd A. Pittman,
                                           Sr. Vice President
                                           and Chief Financial Officer


                                      -3-



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

         DOCUMENT

99.1     Press Release dated October 17, 2003


                                      -4-

EX-99.1

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

 Impairment Charge on Wealth Management Unit Forces Sanchez Third Quarter Loss;
           Excluding Charge, Company's Operating Earnings Break Even



    MALVERN, Pa., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sanchez Computer
Associates Inc. (Nasdaq: SCAI) today announced the company expects to report a
loss of approximately $0.33 per share for 2003's third quarter ended
Sept. 30, which includes the impact of the company taking a non-cash
impairment charge of approximately $9.5 million related to the July 2002
acquisition of Spectra Securities Software, now Sanchez's Wealth Management
Division.  Excluding the impairment charge, the company expects third quarter
earnings from operations to break even.  Further, the company expects to
generate revenues of approximately $25 million, which reaches the low-end of
the company's forecasted revenue range for the third quarter.

    Sanchez acquired the Canadian-based provider of wealth management software
solutions on July 3, 2002, for approximately $29 million in cash and stock.
The company's annual goodwill impairment test resulted in taking a non-cash
charge on the Wealth Management Division in the third quarter.

    "Market demand for brokerage and wealth management solutions has yet to
rebound.  However, we remain committed to the longer-term, strategic value of
delivering integrated banking and brokerage solutions to marketplace," said
Frank R. Sanchez, CEO of the company.


    Fourth Quarter Restructuring Charge

    The company also has begun implementing plans to reduce the company's cost
base by approximately $8 million.  The cost reductions are targeted for
completion by the end of the year.  The company expects to achieve these cost
savings primarily through a reduction in its workforce and broad-based salary
reductions.  The company expects to take a restructuring charge of
approximately $1.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.

    "Large financial institutions continue to defer decisions to invest in
core processing solutions," said Sanchez.  "However, we expect our fourth
quarter cost-reduction efforts, combined with client-focused,
revenue-generation activities, to provide the company with the ability to
enhance its profitability in 2004, regardless of the timing of the sector's
recovery."

    The company will report fully its 2003 third quarter operating results and
provide additional details regarding its cost-cutting initiatives and the
anticipated impact such efforts will have on the company's future operating
results after the close of the financial markets on Tuesday, Oct. 28.  The
company has scheduled a conference call on that day at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time (EST) to discuss the results and the company's expectations for future
performance.

    For listen-only access to the conference call, please call the toll-free
conference number, 800-223-9488 by 4:50 p.m. EST, and reference the conference
ID - "Sanchez."  Alternatively, to listen to the call on the Web, go to the
Sanchez Web site, http://www.sanchez.com, and click on the link provided on
the home page.  Please do this at least 15 minutes prior to the call (4:45
p.m. EST) to register, download and install any necessary audio software.  For
those who cannot listen to the Web broadcast, it will be posted on the
company's Web site two hours after the call is completed and will remain on
the site through Nov. 30.  A telephone replay also will be available two hours
after the conference call through Nov. 12, and can be accessed by calling toll
free: 800-839-4198.  In addition, a transcript will be available 48 hours
later and will be posted on the company's Web site.


    About Sanchez

    Sanchez Computer Associates Inc. (Nasdaq: SCAI), headquartered in Malvern,
Pa., is a global leader in developing software and services that provide
banking, securities, customer integration, wealth management, and outsourcing
solutions to nearly 400 financial institutions in 22 countries.  For more
information, visit www.sanchez.com.


    This news release contains forward-looking statements about Sanchez and
may include, without limitation, statements concerning Sanchez's expectations
of the impact of 2003's third quarter impairment charge on the company's
performance and the expected benefit of the cost-reduction plans.  When used
in this news release, the words "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend,"
"plan," "project" and variations of these words and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Such statements are subject
to risks and uncertainties.  Actual outcomes could differ materially from
those expressed in any such forward-looking statement due to a variety of
factors including those identified in the company's Form 10-K for 2002, which
was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2003, and other Sanchez filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.  The company assumes no obligation to
update any forward-looking statements.  Sanchez and Sanchez Profile are
trademarks of Sanchez Computer Associates Inc.  All other company and product
names may be trademarks of their respective organizations.


     Contacts: Todd Pittman                       Greg Ryan
               Chief Financial Officer            Investor Relations Officer
               Tel: 1-610-578-4100                Tel: 1-610-578-4252
               Fax 1-610-296-7371                 Fax 1-610-296-7371
               todd.pittman@sanchez.com           greg.ryan@sanchez.com


SOURCE  Sanchez Computer Associates, Inc.
    -0-                             10/17/2003
    /CONTACT:  Todd Pittman, Chief Financial Officer, +1-610-578-4100,
+1-610-296-7371, fax, todd.pittman@sanchez.com, or Greg Ryan, Investor
Relations Officer, +1-610-578-4252, greg.ryan@sanchez.com, both of Sanchez
Computer Associates, Inc./
    /Web site:  http://www.sanchez.com /
    (SCAI)

CO:  Sanchez Computer Associates, Inc.
ST:  Pennsylvania
IN:  CPR FIN STW MLM
SU:  CCA ERP