QuickBooks Desktop for Mac vs. Sage 50

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop for Mac is an accounting software designed for Mac users. It is designed to integrate with Apple iCloud. It provides core accounting features in line with the rest of the Quickbooks Desktop product line.N/A
Sage 50
Score 7.9 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Sage 50cloud Accounting (formerly Sage 50 Accounting) is accounting software designed for small businesses. Sage 50cloud Accounting (formerly Sage 50, and formerly Peachtree) lets businesses invoice customers, pay bills, manage inventory, control costs, and pay employees. The solution includes high-level dashboards and in-depth reports.
$61.92
per month per user
Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop for MacSage 50
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Sage 50 Pro Accounting
$61.92
per month
Sage 50 Premium Accounting
$103.92
per month per user
Sage 50 Quantum Accounting 3 User
$177.17
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Desktop for MacSage 50
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAnnual billing plans also available for all products.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Desktop for MacSage 50
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
Chose QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
QuickBooks for Mac definitely outshines other competitors mainly due to its ability to sync seamlessly with all mac products, which other programs have continual problems with. Although the Mac version isn't quite as powerful as the Microsoft counterpart, it is still one of the …
Sage 50

No answer on this topic

Features
QuickBooks Desktop for MacSage 50
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
9.0
13 Ratings
17% above category average
Sage 50
8.6
19 Ratings
13% above category average
Pay calculation8.511 Ratings9.118 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.08 Ratings8.013 Ratings
Direct deposit files10.010 Ratings10.014 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.57 Ratings8.014 Ratings
Reimbursement management10.09 Ratings8.014 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.5
12 Ratings
3% below category average
Sage 50
7.9
14 Ratings
2% above category average
API for custom integration7.08 Ratings8.511 Ratings
Plug-ins8.011 Ratings7.313 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
10.0
22 Ratings
20% above category average
Sage 50
8.2
29 Ratings
0% below category average
Single sign-on capability10.022 Ratings7.624 Ratings
Role-based user permissions10.019 Ratings8.726 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
6.7
24 Ratings
16% below category average
Sage 50
8.7
32 Ratings
11% above category average
Dashboards5.021 Ratings8.830 Ratings
Standard reports8.024 Ratings9.232 Ratings
Custom reports7.024 Ratings8.131 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.6
26 Ratings
0% below category average
Sage 50
7.6
35 Ratings
0% below category average
Accounts payable8.026 Ratings9.234 Ratings
Accounts receivable7.525 Ratings9.033 Ratings
Cash management5.520 Ratings8.233 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.526 Ratings8.933 Ratings
Expense management8.522 Ratings8.531 Ratings
Time tracking7.514 Ratings7.015 Ratings
Fixed asset management7.016 Ratings7.022 Ratings
Multi-currency support5.011 Ratings4.112 Ratings
Multi-division support6.012 Ratings6.716 Ratings
Regulations compliance10.011 Ratings7.015 Ratings
Electronic tax filing10.017 Ratings8.818 Ratings
Self-service portal7.515 Ratings6.913 Ratings
Global Financial Support5.08 Ratings5.56 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.515 Ratings7.19 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting8.016 Ratings7.710 Ratings
Localizations8.07 Ratings8.08 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations9.519 Ratings8.922 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting8.57 Ratings8.09 Ratings
Configurable Accounting6.511 Ratings8.311 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework6.511 Ratings7.27 Ratings
Standardized Processes7.015 Ratings8.016 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
7.4
17 Ratings
2% below category average
Sage 50
8.5
21 Ratings
12% above category average
Inventory tracking9.516 Ratings8.221 Ratings
Automatic reordering6.512 Ratings8.012 Ratings
Location management7.011 Ratings8.410 Ratings
Manufacturing module6.510 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
9.1
20 Ratings
18% above category average
Sage 50
7.8
25 Ratings
3% above category average
Pricing9.019 Ratings8.620 Ratings
Order entry9.518 Ratings8.622 Ratings
Credit card processing9.019 Ratings7.014 Ratings
Cost of goods sold9.018 Ratings7.421 Ratings
Order Orchestration9.07 Ratings8.08 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility9.09 Ratings7.29 Ratings
Order exception Resolution9.08 Ratings7.68 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop for MacSage 50
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 7.3 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 7.3 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
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop for MacSage 50
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(34 ratings)
9.1
(45 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(9 ratings)
9.1
(14 ratings)
Usability
6.0
(8 ratings)
8.8
(15 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(4 ratings)
10.0
(7 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop for MacSage 50
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
If you're a freelancer or running a very small business where you do your own bookkeeping I think this is a great option, especially if you're familiar with accounting and bookkeeping in general. If you're not so familiar with bookkeeping, I would say that the learning curve is too steep and you might want to look elsewhere for a more intuitive solution
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Sage
Sage 50 Accounts is well-suited for small to medium-sized enterprises, where there is a moderate number of expenses and invoices that need processing, typically by a company with a smaller finance team. Sage 50 is probably less suitable for a large organisation that needs to handle a higher volume of transactions and manage significant stock levels.
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Pros
Intuit
  • The program is very easy to learn, the interface is incredibly user-friendly and there are tons of free resources and tutorials available
  • It makes managing payroll really easy for the employee and accountant on staff. No more lost time sheets or late paychecks!
  • Managing bills and paying them has become streamlined and it's great having everything in one place so we don't lose track of things.
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Sage
  • We can build "templates" for recurrent charges/invoices. This saves some time and also ensures that we always use the right accounting rubric.
  • A lot of additional information can be filled out such as client information (name, address, ...) which makes the software a little more complete.
  • If you don't need an updated version every year (my case) then the software is not too expensive. The pro version that I'm using was just a little over $300.
  • I really like the banking statement consolidation which allows you to ensure you got the right information registered.
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Cons
Intuit
  • The #1 complaint is that setting it up right is a challenge. People waste time trying to figure it out only to realize that they don't know accounting so of course they don't know how an accounting program should be set up. Like any time you are in over your head, reach out to your network and find someone who can log onto your computer and walk you through it.
  • If you need to track the cost of wages to jobs you can't do it with the online payroll, but check for yourself because it's a function that landscaping companies and construction businesses usually need, so maybe they have added it by now. That would really help!
  • It's premise-based software and that means you take on the role of hardware admin, and it's a lot of work for what is increasingly becoming a smaller gap in the functionality between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks Online.
  • QuickBooks for Mac 2015 has been updated consistently over the last 3 years and continues to provide for the bookkeeping needs of small companies using Macs in their offices. However, it has limited job costing functionality. It is similar in functionality to the 2010 version of QuickBooksPro which runs on Windows.
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Sage
  • Sage 50 could use some improvement in the Invoicing Module to allow for more flexibility in the design of the Invoice fields. The report customization tools could use some upgrading for easier use.
  • Fixed assets management module needs to be included with unlimited number of fixed assets.
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Likelihood to Renew
Intuit
I haven't spent that much time with the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac, but I think I'm seeing it make the much-needed improvements. For example, something as simple as undoing the previous reconciliation was a terrible chore, and I'm glad that feature has been included in the newer versions of QuickBooks for Mac
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Sage
I use this rating simply because I have a thriving Sage 50 consulting practice and will continue to keep my expertise in the product. I have consulted on both Sage 50 and QuickBooks for over 25 years so I have to maintain expertise in the solution as well as accounting and verticals.
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Usability
Intuit
The Mac version is OK overall. I find the Windows versions to be much more robust but Mac is quite good for Mac users. Though I think die hard Mac users should consider QuickBooks Online instead as there is a new QB for Mac app that makes using QBO much better!
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Sage
I think Sage 50 is a trusted product and is reliable from a product delivery and support perspective. They have deep domain expertise in the non-profit space and should be a consideration for new non-profit startups or existing non-profits looking to migrate from other platforms. Overall, I believe that Sage 50 does many things well with few limitations.
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Reliability and Availability
Intuit
I've been using the QuickBooks online version for a little over 6 months now (upgraded from Mac desktop) and I haven't had any access issues. There have been times when it was down for service/upgrade however there is always plenty of notification time given by the Quick Books Online Support team. These upgrade maintenance time frames are always over night hours and on the weekends so everything can be worked around very easily.
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Sage
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Intuit
Fortunately, I haven't had to reach out much for support.
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Sage
They were very knowledgeable of the product, understood my timeline was limited for a software issue and allowed me to get back to my day to day work. The dial into your computer is great so you can monitor what they are doing and learn some tricks yourself
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Implementation Rating
Intuit
No answers on this topic
Sage
We implemented Sage 50 Premium Accounting in house, not using any third party or professional service. It was a relatively trouble free process, but can be tricky. Just read all instructions carefully, especially if you need to load the program on a network with more than one user
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Alternatives Considered
Intuit
I love using Quickbooks compared to other software we've tried. QuickBooks Online and TSheets interface. Customer service and problem resolution are generally excellent, with well-trained and proficient agents taking calls or on chat. Ease of use and accessibility via the mobile app. Great courses were available to help with learning the basics and some advanced accounting background. I love learning! Online accessibility - it can work anywhere with an internet connection. Linking to bank and credit card accounts is handy.
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Sage
As we did the conversion almost 10 years ago it is hard to answer this question. At the time it was the ease of being able to produce both cash and accrual financial statements and reporting that led us to pick Sage
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Scalability
Intuit
No answers on this topic
Sage
I define scalable from two perspectives; 1) the scalability to handle more bookkeepers/accountants using the product, and 2) the scalability to handle increasing customer/vendor/employee and transactional data. Sage 50 does a good job on both fronts. From the single users operating a micro-business accounting for customer invoices and bill payments only, to the multi-staff, multi-location, multi-departmental complex transactional operation. Although Sage 50 is quite expensive for that smallest user, it is quite inexpensive for the larger business entity. So, for the new enterprise expecting rapid growth, Sage 50 is the application of choice.
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Return on Investment
Intuit
  • It has allowed us to offer multiple bookkeeping softwares for clients that do not want to change from what they have been using.
  • Payroll filing has given us ease of mind because we can physically make the filings rather than waiting on payroll software to make them for us.
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Sage
  • Sage definitely needs to do a better job with customer service. I have had to use them only a handful of times and it was not a great experience but not the worse I've seen. They didn't make us a priority and I felt that they didn't have a sense of urgency. They did address my lack of satisfaction and I can see that they are at least aware of the issues and they are trying to correct them.
  • Sage is exactly what we need in my current organization and I wouldn't change it for another system. I have used quite a few in my lifetime and I would say that it fits our needs.
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