QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise vs. Sage 300

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is a widely-used accounting package designed for small to mid-sized businesses. It is the top of the QuickBooks line. Pricing starts at $3,000 for five users, and goes up depending on the number of additional users. They also offer an Advanced Inventory module for $999 / year.
$1,703
per year per user
Sage 300
Score 6.9 out of 10
N/A
Sage 300 (formerly Sage 300 ERP) is a business management solution that includes strong accounting and financials, as well as multi-currency and multi-language capabilities. Built on accounting best practices, users will be able to track, control, and plan the financial health of their business.
$1,655
Lifetime License per Seat
Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 300
Editions & Modules
Diamond
$447
per month per user
Diamond with Remote Access
$513
per month per user
Gold
2,210.00
per year per user
Platinum
2,717.00
per year per user
Gold with Remote Access
3,000.00
per year per user
Platinum with Remote Access
3,504.00
per year per user
Sage 300 ERP Standard
$1,655
Lifetime License per Seat
Sage 300 ERP Advanced
$1,665
Lifetime License per Seat
Sage 300 ERP Premium
$1,665
Lifetime License (unlimited seats)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 300
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsOur pricing is by module and by license and can range depending on what the customers requirements are. Most of our financial and operational modules are $1655.00 each, plus user license, plus an annual business care of 24%.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 300
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
I have used Financial Edge (Blackbaud) in the past and the system allows more functionalities. The downside is the cost. Quickbooks Enterprise annual service plan is 1/10th of the cost of Financial Edge.
Sage 300
Chose Sage 300
Better reports, looks professional
Chose Sage 300
Sage offers more features allowing your business to continue to grow and develop while utilizing the same software. Also, the ability to manage the users is more simplified in Sage.
Features
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 300
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.5
125 Ratings
12% above category average
Sage 300
8.0
11 Ratings
6% above category average
Pay calculation9.2118 Ratings8.111 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.971 Ratings8.16 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.0102 Ratings7.911 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.193 Ratings7.99 Ratings
Reimbursement management8.394 Ratings7.98 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
7.4
85 Ratings
2% below category average
Sage 300
5.4
11 Ratings
34% below category average
API for custom integration7.768 Ratings7.99 Ratings
Plug-ins7.277 Ratings3.010 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.8
178 Ratings
7% above category average
Sage 300
8.5
18 Ratings
4% above category average
Single sign-on capability9.1139 Ratings8.414 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.4176 Ratings8.618 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.2
197 Ratings
5% above category average
Sage 300
7.9
20 Ratings
2% above category average
Dashboards8.2167 Ratings7.99 Ratings
Standard reports8.9195 Ratings7.920 Ratings
Custom reports7.7187 Ratings7.918 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
7.9
201 Ratings
4% above category average
Sage 300
6.2
21 Ratings
20% below category average
Accounts payable8.7194 Ratings8.621 Ratings
Accounts receivable8.4194 Ratings8.620 Ratings
Cash management8.9177 Ratings7.913 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.5190 Ratings5.820 Ratings
Expense management8.1178 Ratings7.912 Ratings
Time tracking6.692 Ratings1.05 Ratings
Fixed asset management7.1135 Ratings3.06 Ratings
Multi-currency support6.665 Ratings1.010 Ratings
Multi-division support7.3107 Ratings8.410 Ratings
Regulations compliance7.377 Ratings7.99 Ratings
Electronic tax filing7.2100 Ratings4.07 Ratings
Self-service portal7.179 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Global Financial Support6.038 Ratings7.94 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.472 Ratings7.95 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting7.795 Ratings8.17 Ratings
Localizations8.354 Ratings1.04 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations9.3150 Ratings8.69 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting8.6100 Ratings7.96 Ratings
Configurable Accounting8.598 Ratings7.97 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework8.461 Ratings7.95 Ratings
Standardized Processes8.4111 Ratings7.97 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
7.6
118 Ratings
4% above category average
Sage 300
4.4
13 Ratings
50% below category average
Inventory tracking8.2114 Ratings1.012 Ratings
Automatic reordering7.760 Ratings7.97 Ratings
Location management7.575 Ratings7.911 Ratings
Manufacturing module7.259 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.1
147 Ratings
8% above category average
Sage 300
1.0
12 Ratings
153% below category average
Pricing8.3109 Ratings1.010 Ratings
Order entry8.3114 Ratings1.012 Ratings
Credit card processing7.7103 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Cost of goods sold8.7131 Ratings1.011 Ratings
Order Orchestration7.864 Ratings1.02 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility8.163 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Order exception Resolution8.149 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 300
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 6.9 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 6.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Score 7.6 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Score 7.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 300
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(207 ratings)
7.1
(21 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(26 ratings)
8.4
(2 ratings)
Usability
9.9
(13 ratings)
8.0
(5 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.0
(5 ratings)
8.6
(3 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.5
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
5.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
1.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 300
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
QuickBooks Enterprise is great for managing our inventory, purchases and income as we receive it. We use it to help budget and plan our monthly purchases, as well as keep each location on track when it comes to their expenses. It's also used for payroll and timekeeping at each store.
Read full review
Sage
Sage 300cloud is a great option when it comes to cloud accounting/tracking software. In comparison to Sage's other products, Sage 300cloud is the only cloud/web based option with modern UI's and more intuitive interfaces. Additionally, Sage 300cloud offers an entire system of customer integrations that become available dependent on subscription level. Sage 300cloud also offers integrations between other Sage products (AP, CRM, etc) that allows for better automation and efficiency
Read full review
Pros
Intuit
  • Generally, a mouse is not needed!
  • Updating as each transaction is posted means, in the event of a crash, power failure, whatever; all the posted transactions are securely in the data file and can be pulled up on another computer, if the computer being used crashes.
  • Reporting is generally user friendly, in that one can see the desired results by setting a few parameters for the report.
Read full review
Sage
  • Overall ease of use and intuitive navigation - minimal training has been required to use the system efficiently and effectively
  • Customer Inquiry - quickly see outstanding documents and drill down on any item (open or paid) to find the information you need
  • Most reports are easy to export into a workable Excel format using the Excel - data only or csv file format.
Read full review
Cons
Intuit
  • Wish we had the ability to track gallons. We are a truck stop and need to know how many gallons we buy and sell.
  • Matching up credits in Pay Bills can be challenging, especially if you make a mistake.
  • Wish in some of the reporting that it would automatically total some columns.
  • Downloading from the bank wish it would tell you the last time you downloaded and the dates you put in so you don't download the same information twice.
Read full review
Sage
  • Little things, like changing the company name - are more difficult than we would like (We used to be MSDSSAB but legally shortened it to MSDSB).
  • A management financial reporting tool with live access - to premade reports - without paying an arm and a leg would be appreciated.
  • More training opportunities in local areas - or nearby - would be appreciated...
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Intuit
While QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise has been an amazing tool for many years, it seems it is getting phased out for QuickBooks Online. Intuit is decreasing the level of support it offers for QuickBooks Desktop in lieu of stronger support for QuickBooks Online. Although the desktop version is robust and helpful, it seems QBO is the way of the future for bookkeeping with QuickBooks.
Read full review
Sage
It is a solid stable product with a large user community and large ISV community. Support and Training are easy to access and obtain and there is larger reseller channel to ensure the firm you work with is honest. It is scalable and there are multiple deployment and payment options.
Read full review
Usability
Intuit
QuickBooks provides all staff immediate access to the data in whatever form each person wants it. The balancing on entries prevents incorrect data entry on payables/receivables. Reports are easy to customize and save for future use. The records are easy to audit.
Read full review
Sage
Sage 300cloud is intuitive and user friendly after some training. It does require implementation and training but once that's done, this software is easy to use and navigate. Support for Sage 300cloud is spot on and offers assistance over the simplest to [the] most complex of tasks. Finding information or learning new tasks within Sage 300cloud is relatively easy and educational.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Intuit
Rating: 7 out of 10
We rate QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise's availability a 7 out of 10. For the most part, the software is dependable and available when we need it. When hosted on a properly managed local server or through a reputable third-party cloud provider, uptime is generally consistent, and routine day-to-day operations run smoothly.
However, availability challenges do arise, particularly when accessing QuickBooks remotely or during periods of high system demand. Because it's a desktop-based solution, availability is highly dependent on our internal IT infrastructure. If our network goes down, a server needs maintenance, or if there’s an issue with a remote desktop connection, access to QuickBooks can be temporarily disrupted. These outages aren’t necessarily caused by QuickBooks itself, but they do impact our experience with availability.
Additionally, we’ve occasionally experienced application errors, especially after updates or when working with large company files. While Intuit support is usually helpful in resolving these issues, they can still lead to frustrating delays—especially during critical periods like month-end closing or grant reporting deadlines.
Planned maintenance, while infrequent, also affects availability, especially when using a hosted environment. Coordination with IT or hosting providers is sometimes needed to minimize downtime.
Overall, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is a reliable tool, but its dependence on local infrastructure introduces more potential points of failure compared to cloud-native solutions. Enhancements in cloud-based access or hybrid models could significantly improve both accessibility and uptime. That said, with strong internal IT support or a reliable cloud hosting provider, the availability can easily rise to an 8 or 9.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Performance
Intuit
I rate QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise's performance a 5 out of 10, mainly because while it’s functional for most routine tasks, it can lag significantly when handling complex operations, large data files, or during multi-user sessions. As our organization has grown, we’ve noticed that report generation—especially for customized or multi-dimensional reports—can be slow, sometimes taking several minutes to load or refresh. This impacts productivity, particularly during key financial cycles like audits, monthly closings, or grant reporting.
Performance degradation is especially noticeable when multiple users are active in the system at the same time. Even with a solid server setup, there’s often a drop in responsiveness when more than a handful of users are generating reports or entering transactions concurrently.
We’ve also experienced some slowdowns in third-party integrations, particularly when syncing with Vena Solutions or exporting data for use in external tools. While the integrations are valuable, they occasionally stall or require workarounds, adding friction to our workflows.
In short, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise delivers the basics well, but its performance limitations become more apparent in high-volume or complex use cases. It would benefit from better optimization for large datasets and faster processing for advanced reporting. Upgrades in system architecture—such as deeper support for cloud hosting or more efficient data handling—could significantly improve the user experience and move this rating closer to an 8.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Intuit
It takes a long time to get through to customer support. And sometimes you have to explain the situation multiple times before the rep actually understands the issue, but that's usually because the issue is complex and out of the ordinary. However, the rep is always patient, and will take as much time and effort as necessary to resolve whatever issue you're having. It's nice that they can "take over" your computer rather than having to talk you through the solution over the phone.
Read full review
Sage
Turnover is high in the Sage Support department so sometimes it is difficult to get a rep who knows the issue well. Reps are good and getting assistance when they need it. Sometimes support is more interested in closing issue than actually solving problem. It can be difficult at times to have issues escalated but overall the support is good.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Intuit
It is a very easy system to learn, so with the help it was even easier. QB is a good solid system, but it lacks some of the complexity other systems have. with QB you need to get additional modules to get the same functionality that other systems offer standard
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Intuit
easy to learn system, specially with some kind of support. Just like with any other system, things get lot easier if you have guidance to lead you in your search for answers. having said that, QB is very easy to use and very easy to teach. you wont spend much time memorizing where to click.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Intuit
If you're loading QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions onto a computer that you're going to directly log into, you should be able to do it yourself. If you are going to connect to a server through a network or remote connection, you should probably have a professional IT person set it up for you.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Intuit
We have selected this product as it is affordoable in terms of pricing and features too. Our clients is geeting lots of benefits by using this product. By using QuickBooks desktop client also manage the information realted to financials and also get the clear picture for the future by using the accounting information from this product.
Read full review
Sage
Sage 300 cloud is much more detailed than the other. About the same in being user friendly A better layout Saves time for doing the schedules for Audits Mobile Access Sage 300cloud can manage all different industries
Read full review
Scalability
Intuit
I would rate QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise a 7 out of 10 for overall scalability. The product offers solid scalability features, particularly for small to mid-sized organizations like ours that are growing and need reliable multi-user access, enhanced data capacity, and cross-departmental functionality. It handles increasing transaction volumes and user growth quite well, especially with its support for up to 40 users and the ability to manage large lists (customers, vendors, accounts, etc.)—a significant improvement over QuickBooks Pro or Premier.
Its role-based permissions system also allows us to assign tailored access by department or user level, which is essential for maintaining control and security across teams like finance, HR, and program management. Additionally, features like advanced reporting, inventory management, and class tracking have helped us better manage multiple programs or sites within one system.
That said, the scalability still has some limits. For example, deploying the software across multiple physical locations or for remote teams requires additional IT infrastructure—such as hosting it on a third-party cloud server or setting up a VPN—which introduces cost and complexity. Also, while QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise can technically handle a high volume of data, performance can decline as the file size grows over time unless regular maintenance and optimization are done.
In summary, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise scales well within its designed range, particularly for growing nonprofits and NGOs. However, organizations with distributed teams or very large, complex operations may eventually find the system’s desktop-based architecture less agile compared to cloud-native ERP platforms. With enhancements to cloud integration and remote accessibility, this rating could easily increase.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Intuit
  • Good value for the price. The initial setup was quick and easy.
  • When properly set up and processes are followed it's decent at managing inventory which is something we had problems with. Have to have a dedicated employee to builds.
  • Rolling up costs in multi-level BOM's is a project each time we have to review costs, it's very time consuming to manually update all assemblies.
Read full review
Sage
  • It allows our company to efficiently and effectively maintain and track our job cost.
  • Its reliable performance allows us to function continually.
  • It also provides our division managers with reports that they can use to determine where we are experiencing problems.
Read full review
ScreenShots