QuickBooks Desktop Premier vs. Sage Accounting

We really think that ANY typical business would be a reasonable fit for QuickBooks Desktop Premier. While not necessary, even a comparatively unexperienced accounting person could look at the "Home" screen and follow their nose thru typical daily accounting processes without much detailed knowledge. Reporting is simple, looking up customer info and prior transactions is simple, looking up vendors and prior payments is simple... all in all, quite straightforward. I really can't think of an instance where it would be 'less appropriate'.

Incentivized

I wish Sage Accounting had an option to pay for a full year all at once and receive a discount like Series XM does. It was not clear that the yellow dot in customer contacts meant it was NOT default email. Everyone should clearly see who the default email and contact is.

Incentivized

• Employment - it makes creating paychecks a snap and tracks taxes.
• Invoicing - they have a straightforward approach to creating invoices and you can even email them to your customers.
• Customers - the program makes tracking customer information and balances easy.

Incentivized

• Bank integration - being able to extract banking transaction into Sage Accounting.
• Allocation rules - transactions are auto-allocated once allocation rules have been set up. This is a great time-saver.
• Flexibility - the ability to view transactions, click on them to the allocation point and rectifying if required saves having to create journals, and therefore time. General ledgers therefore stay cleaner and more user-friendly.

Incentivized

• Support for older versions of QuickBooks ends after three years, then users must purchase the newest version at full price. Renewals should be deeply discounted for existing users.
• I would like to see better in-product inventory tracking, so we can choose LIFO or FIFO rather than the ambiguous "average cost" method.
• I would like to be able to assign payroll taxes to jobs for better job costing.

Incentivized

• The packages for integrating with Sage50 desktop application files are not backwards compatible, so we must store many copies in order to support multiple versions of the Sage50 application that our customers use, in case they aren't immediately updating to the latest version at all times.

Incentivized

Because we have been extremely happy with the product and our organization tends to be creatures of habit. We rarely leave a product that works this well for the latest and greatest. Typically we follow the "if it's not broken, don't fix it rule". While QB does make changes we typically just roll with it. If we do find something we don't like we work through it until we fully understand its functionality.

Incentivized

We're very happy with the functionality and overall experience of using Sage Accounting for our accounting needs. Currently, we are not even considering whether we would need to look around for a different option. The only things that would make us consider changing would be a significant increase in price or changes to the software which reduce it's ease of function.

We switched to a more "robust" software program with the hiring of a new CFO. The migration of historical data and ancillary information has been cumbersome and riddle with errors and issues. In hindsight much of what the new software program was touted to accomplish is not come to fruition. QB Desktop Premier was sufficient for the organization needs

Incentivized

We have been using Sage Accounting ever since the original Simply Accounting versions. All through the versions, we've noticed that the app has remained consistent with its screen usage; therefore, retraining of staff is not necessary between versions. As well as the ability to have staff members put down and pick up the use of Sage Accounting

Incentivized

This is very reliable software, the desktop version is fast. If there is a problem, it is most likely on your own hardware!

Incentivized

Sage has been always available when I want it. If there is any maintenance work to be done by the Sage team, you are told well in advance. Maintenance is generally carried out late at night or before the day begins for most of us. It continues to be the most reliable software I use.

It takes forever to load.

Incentivized

Performance is top notch, if it is not, it is probably your wi-fi connection. It has happened that pages load slowly because of an error on Sage side but almost never. Overall reports load fine, the site is fast, navigation is fine. I have a client that has so many invoices, it is slow or gets stuck when you try to load a report for a whole year but it is just too many invoices, it makes sense. Just take 2 report for 6 months and combine them, its not an issue for me. I am happy with Sage Accounting's performance.

Incentivized

This is where QuickBooks falls short. Many times my staff has had questions that have not been able to get resolved easily with a chat or call. I personally have had more general questions that have not been answered easily as well. I think QuickBooks needs to provide the resources of having readily accessible help in order to make it simpler to get solutions.

Incentivized

Sage Accounting are easy to contact and have knowledgeable and helpful staff. Whenever I've encountered a problem I've always been able to get assistance and guidance and it feels like the person at the end of the phone/screen knows the product well.

Staff are always friendly, and patient, always work at a speed that suits you. You are never rushed, and In only a short time they seem to be able to help you make great strides. It has been a pleasure not a chore, learning how SAGE Accounting works and benefits me and the company.

I find the online training was very informative and they answered all my questions. I am also certified in Sage One and provided online training in the program which I have set up several people on and they love how it keeps them organized.

It is important to do your research. There are tutorial videos online that could help new user of this accounting system. These tutorials are straightforward and easily understandable.

Incentivized

The clients' business owner worked with Sage on implementation before I began working for them. After consultation with them it is clear the process was quickly performed and without complication. The key takeaway was that Sage is seen as a partner to the business. That said, it was always necessary to engage with an accountant such as myself to extract the best out of the software.

QuickBooks Premier handles most of my business functions efficiently in one package. It is not my "everything." I use Replicon for time rather than QuickBooks. I don't want my WIP data interfering with my accounting. I use PaySimple for it's web interface and back office processing. I don't have security issues since I don't have any credit card data in my possession. With today's identity theft environment, I have to protect myself as much as I can. Not having credit card data in my accounting software lets me sleep much better at night. Quicken will do basic accounting but does not have all the double entry accounting systems contained in QuickBooks. QuickBooks Online does much of the basic business functions but I don't like the pricing structure. As a professional accountant, that is very important to me. Bill.com provided a good service but the ability of QuickBooks to add bills and receipts to transactions makes it redundant.

Incentivized

All Sage products work together, and the systems are set up in similar ways, making training/learning easier. Sage is used by many companies locally and internationally, making managing accounts for both providers and clients/customers easier. It is a complete package for macro enterprises.

Incentivized

The pricing structure is fair and offers good value for money. The billing is done through their online system and you can access your bills at any time. Most contacts only require 30 days' notice, so no need to feel tied in, although I can't imagine why you would want to leave Sage.

They're getting better. Still room for improvement.

Incentivized

You can use Sage in your company for various aspects/positions such as bookkeepers, invoicing clerks, accountant, purchasing etc. Everyone can have their own user login and permissions can be set that specific people can do specific jobs without being able to access other peoples progress or accounts of the company.

Incentivized

Do not use

Incentivized

• Most of our business clients use QuickBooks which makes it efficient for us to work on clients that use the program. We can import QuickBooks data into our software which adds efficiencies to our tax practice.
• Having staff that are familiar with the software enables our firm to provide quality service to the clients that use QuickBooks.
• We receive referrals from satisfied QuickBooks clients.

Incentivized

• Being cloud-based, meaning I can work from anywhere, has had a massive ROI, as I am no longer tied to the office.
• CoPilot has meant we can spend more hours creating work for our business than chasing for payments.
• Statement Runs mean we do not have to spend half a day carrying out the tasks individually.

Incentivized