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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    QuickBooks Desktop Pro

    Score7.8 out of 10
    N/AQuickbooks Desktop Pro is accounting software from Intuit, Inc. It includes core accounting features, plus analytics and exportable reports. It is offered in on-premise and SaaS forms.N/A

    Sage 500

    Score6.2 out of 10
    N/ASage 500 ERP includes accounting and finance, distribution and supply chain, and manufacturing operations support modules. The latest Sage 500 release includes accounts payable enhancements, credit card processing, and general updates, as well as updates to the solution's modules.N/A
    Pricing
    QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 500
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 500
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 500
    Considered Both Products
    Intuit
    No answer on this topic
    Sage
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    88%
    Would buy again
    29 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    28 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    32 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    20 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    25 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 500
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    6.6
    69 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Sage 500 ERP
    7.0
    2 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Pay calculation6.364 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration6.338 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Direct deposit files6.656 Ratings7.02 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management6.352 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reimbursement management7.754 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    5.7
    43 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Sage 500 ERP
    8.5
    3 Ratings
    12% above category average
    API for custom integration6.535 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Plug-ins5.039 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    8.5
    101 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Sage 500 ERP
    8.5
    3 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Single sign-on capability8.482 Ratings7.03 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions8.695 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    8.5
    117 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Sage 500 ERP
    8.0
    3 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Dashboards8.4100 Ratings6.03 Ratings
    Standard reports8.9117 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Custom reports8.1114 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    7.5
    124 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Sage 500 ERP
    8.0
    3 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Accounts payable9.3119 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Accounts receivable9.2121 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Cash management9.2107 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation9.7119 Ratings00 Ratings
    Expense management9.4108 Ratings00 Ratings
    Time tracking7.451 Ratings00 Ratings
    Fixed asset management5.669 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency support6.931 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-division support8.958 Ratings00 Ratings
    Regulations compliance8.342 Ratings00 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing8.355 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-service portal5.941 Ratings00 Ratings
    Global Financial Support4.217 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers7.140 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting7.943 Ratings00 Ratings
    Localizations4.219 Ratings00 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations8.876 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting6.838 Ratings00 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting7.647 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework5.427 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standardized Processes8.555 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    5.8
    59 Ratings
    23% below category average
    Sage 500 ERP
    8.0
    3 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Inventory tracking6.056 Ratings6.03 Ratings
    Automatic reordering6.035 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Location management6.032 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Manufacturing module5.218 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    6.8
    77 Ratings
    8% below category average
    Sage 500 ERP
    8.8
    2 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Pricing7.555 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Order entry8.555 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Credit card processing7.251 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold8.063 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Order Orchestration5.220 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility6.123 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution5.218 Ratings00 Ratings
    Subledger and Financial Process
    Comparison of Subledger and Financial Process features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    -
    Ratings
    Sage 500 ERP
    5.9
    2 Ratings
    25% below category average
    Billing Management00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Cash and Asset Management00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Travel & Expense Management00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting00 Ratings2.01 Ratings
    Period Close00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Project Financial Management
    Comparison of Project Financial Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    -
    Ratings
    Sage 500 ERP
    6.9
    1 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Budgeting and Forecasting00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
    Project Costing00 Ratings3.01 Ratings
    Cost Capture00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Capital Project Management00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Customer Contract Compliance00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Project Revenue Recognition00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Project Execution Management
    Comparison of Project Execution Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    -
    Ratings
    Sage 500 ERP
    4.5
    1 Ratings
    44% below category average
    Task Insight for Project Managers00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Project Mobile Functionality00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
    Grants Management
    Comparison of Grants Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    -
    Ratings
    Sage 500 ERP
    7.5
    1 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Award Lifecycle Management00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Procurement
    Comparison of Procurement features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    -
    Ratings
    Sage 500 ERP
    6.0
    1 Ratings
    17% below category average
    Contract Authoring00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Contract Repository00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Supplier Management00 Ratings4.01 Ratings
    Risk Management
    Comparison of Risk Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    -
    Ratings
    Sage 500 ERP
    4.3
    1 Ratings
    44% below category average
    Risk Repository00 Ratings3.01 Ratings
    Control Management00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Control Efficiency Assessments00 Ratings4.01 Ratings
    Remediation and Certification00 Ratings3.01 Ratings
    Supply Chain
    Comparison of Supply Chain features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    -
    Ratings
    Sage 500 ERP
    1.3
    1 Ratings
    140% below category average
    Forecasting00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
    Inventory Planning00 Ratings2.01 Ratings
    Performance Monitoring00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
    Product Lifecycle Management
    Comparison of Product Lifecycle Management features of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Sage 500 ERP
    Feature
    QuickBooks Desktop Pro
    -
    Ratings
    Sage 500 ERP
    5.3
    1 Ratings
    33% below category average
    Proposal Management00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Product Master Data Management00 Ratings4.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 500
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Zoho One
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Zoho One
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics AX (discontinued)
    Score4.8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 500
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.5
    (135 ratings)
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (19 ratings)
    6.3
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (42 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    8.3
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.2
    (29 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    8.5
    (22 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 500
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Intuit
    For a small business, QuickBooks Desktop Pro is great! For a larger, more complex business, another system may be more beneficial. We actually run multiple businesses on QuickBooks Desktop Pro, but all are very small. The help feature is sometimes so beneficial, and sometimes it seems like you just can't get the right answer and need to find a workaround - but this is usually for more complex issues.
    Read full review
    Sage
    Sage 500 ERP is great for companies with core accounting needs, distributors, and discrete manufacturers. Some areas, such as process manufacturing, would require a companion product from an ISV for the software to be truly functional. Some areas, such as construction or retail apparel, may simply not be well-served.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Intuit
    • It is easy to manage and adjust inventory on hand.
    • It is easy to make reports and customize them to your needs.
    • We also use it to pay our employees directly.
    • It is easy to make year-to-year comparisons to see where we can make improvements and the current financial situation.
    Incentivized
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    Sage
    • Sage is the one-stop-shop for all of our needs. We're able to control contracts, subcontracts, and field reports from the program.
    • Another strength is the ability to database all the information and export it to excel. This makes data-based investigations a breeze.
    • The ability for Timberscan to be imported to Sage is a huge help with invoice management. Prior to this it all had to be done manually and slowed the process to an essential halt as there are thousands of invoices per month.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Intuit
    • QuickBooks Desktop Pro has been around for a few years and after an update[,] they force you to look at the changes/updates before you can use [them] after updating.
    • QuickBooks Desktop Pro does not have 2FA.
    • QuickBooks Desktop Pro should offer a way to store backups to a personal cloud without having to map a local network drive.
    Incentivized
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    Sage
    • The biggest concern/complaint of Sage 500 users is speed. Some of the screen take a while to load.
    • The user interface needs some refreshing. Screens need to be updated to take advantage of shortcuts and to be more intuitive.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Intuit
    I'd love to keep using it, and do intend to - though we've not been pleased with price increases over the past several years. In fact, we used to subscribe to the payroll service, but QuickBooks priced themselves out of reach for us, so we discontinued that. Currently, pricing would be the primary reason for NOT renewing, if we didn't.
    Incentivized
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    Sage
    It's too pricey for our size of company.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Intuit
    The set up was quite easy. I took some online training causes, and figured our the rest pretty quickly. The only issue I had during the implementation process was it was very hard to change some of the GL Account name to reflect the needs of a non-profit organization, such as Net Assets. At the end I had to scratch what I did, and used the existing formats that the third-party bookkeeping firm shared. Everything else is simple and easy to manage and implement.
    Incentivized
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    Sage
    I have been using Intacct for almost 10 years in 2 different companies and I just simply love it. I tried SAP (GUI) and Netsuite and they dont come close to what Ive seen.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Intuit
    I haven't experienced a time when QuickBooks Pro was unavailable when I needed it in the entire 20 years of using the software
    Incentivized
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    Sage
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Intuit
    They are awful. Intuit doesn't spend real money on support. They appear to have typically said, first-level script readers who are sending messages to the senior people for anything even a little bit difficult. Many of them don't speak particularly good English. Considering that they recently doubled (or, if you are paying annually, tripled) their pricing, and touted as one of the benefits that it includes [..] support, it's a real ripoff. However, we have to use the product because it is ubiquitous. I look forward to the day a competitor comes up with something good enough, which has excellent support, that matches all the features QuickBooks Desktop Pro currently has [...] or at least gives us a way to have all the functionality we currently have without excessive sacrifice [...] so that we can switch. I was very satisfied with QuickBooks for many years. This latest [rise] in price, and their sheer gall at touting the benefit of the 100 to 200% increase as being [the] inclusion of support, is what turned me so far against them.
    Incentivized
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    Sage
    No answers on this topic
    In-Person Training
    Intuit
    Best thing I ever did was to attend a two day training seminar on QuickBooks, I learned an immense amount in a short time with hands on training by experts. I strongly recommend such training for anyone using any part of the software. It will pay for itself in the first month.
    Read full review
    Sage
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    Sage
    The online training courses are not up to date. We experienced technical issues with two of the classes.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Intuit
    We implemented the software ourselves. The training we received on the software was done by taking a community course teaching us how to use QuickBooks. It allowed me to get started with some basics of how to use the program and have not needed much assistance since completing the course work.
    Incentivized
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    Sage
    Keep your database and application in different servers.
    Install Microsoft Office on your application server so you can use some of the data analysis tools in Sage.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Intuit
    We tried switching from QuickBooks Desktop Pro to QuickBooks Online, but there were a lot of issues and bugs so we ultimately decided to stay with Desktop Pro. Unfortunately, we are losing a lot of Online Banking capabilities on 5/31 as we have an older version of QB, but we plan to stick with Desktop Pro. In terms of invoicing, SaaSOptics beats QuickBooks in almost all aspects as it's all automated and takes seconds to create and send invoices. However, SaaSOptics is not really a full ERP program so it wouldn't serve us as a main bookkeeping software like QB.
    Incentivized
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    Sage
    500 seems much smoother at handling some of the basic accounting tasks, for example both issuing and later reconciling checks in Dynamics AX seems a little tedious.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Intuit
    • Training time is low compared to other accounting packages
    • It was difficult to adapt to DCAA requirements, [which] required [the] hiring of [a] special consultant for that
    • QuickBooks Desktop Pro is a standard for small companies and makes it easy to hire bookkeepers
    Incentivized
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    Sage
    • Positive: The program allows for a lot of data entry and splitting of information. It has the capability of replacing multiple programs and therefore saving cost.
    • Negative: The modules are cumbersome and not user friendly at all. As a result not many user are comfortable using it. This means that the program is not being used to its capacity.
    • Negative: Although the program has the capacity to be great, the user interface destroys that potential. Sage needs to seriously work on their program to simplify it. It's as if it still uses Command-line entries from 1995. Needs to be updated ASAP.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots