QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise vs. Sage 50cloud Accounting

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Score 8.2 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.
$1,261
per year
Sage 50cloud Accounting
Score 7.8 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.
$299
per year
Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 50cloud Accounting
Editions & Modules
Gold
1,261
per year
Platinum
1,522
per year
Gold with Remote Access
1,785.60
per year
Platinum with Remote Access
2,083.20
per year
Diamond
3,060.34
per year
Diamond with Remote Access
3,600.36
per year
Sage 50 Pro Accounting
$299
per year
Sage 50 Premium Accounting
$449
per year
Sage 50 Quantum Accounting 3 User
Starting at $1,499
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 50cloud Accounting
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAnnual traditional plan with license, monthly, and annual subscription plans available.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 50cloud Accounting
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Xero is too basic and not a very good general ledger system. I found Peachtree (Sage 50) to be very good. Reconciliations and look ups were more logical because it is more of an accounting document.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
This is a long list, and every program has it's pros and cons. Ultimately we chose Quickbooks because of simplicity, 3rd party integrations, and cost.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
By comparing all these 3 tools. Quick Books approach is more intuitive, educative, lot of insights about yearly/quarterly state-wise changes, may it be forms, etc. while others are like they take a long time to release updates. QuickBooks support team and the tool knowledge …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Peachtree, I tried it once and was overwhelmed. QuickBooks was way easier. But this was many years ago.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions stacks up strongly against the competition. Beyond many of the features/advantages identified previously, the parent company of QuickBooks Enterprise (Intuit) is a very innovative company and has a very clear strategy for the future. A …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
It is just as robust and probably an easier platform to use and understand. Reporting capabilities are superior.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Sage 50 (previously Peachtree)-Difficult to correct erroneous postings, Unable to change accounting method, once first selected, Difficult to customize reports.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
For the money and the features, QuickBooks Enterprise is in a league of its own. Nothing compares to the value.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
Sage 50, 100 - Quickbooks has all the functionality with better updates and a larger/more open community. Microsoft's Dynamics product also doesn't work as easily and smoothly as QB Enterprise.
Sage 50cloud Accounting
Chose Sage 50cloud Accounting
I did not select Sage50, however, I do prefer it over Zuora. Sage 50 is in line with the easy manipulation of Quickbooks. Sage Intacct is best used for larger corporations whereas Sage 50 and Quickbooks are better tuned for smaller or mid-sized businesses.
Chose Sage 50cloud Accounting
We selected Sage back in 2011 and the migration away from Sage is so difficult that we had to stay. I wish I could go back in time and switch to another vendor. Now we feel stuck and the fees are huge! They want a subscription for everything even though they add no reoccurring …
Chose Sage 50cloud Accounting
QuickBooks accounting software is a main competitor of Sage 50. Both accounting software packages are complete accounting solutions for businesses and organizations. I prefer Sage 50 over QuickBooks software because Sage 50 actually closes out the income and expense accounts …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 50cloud Accounting
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
7.9
108 Ratings
6% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
14 Ratings
18% above category average
Pay calculation8.7104 Ratings9.014 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.861 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.090 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.782 Ratings9.013 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.583 Ratings9.013 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
7.5
73 Ratings
6% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
10 Ratings
24% above category average
API for custom integration7.856 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Plug-ins7.168 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.2
155 Ratings
3% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
19 Ratings
12% above category average
Single sign-on capability8.3117 Ratings9.017 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.2153 Ratings9.017 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.3
172 Ratings
9% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
21 Ratings
17% above category average
Dashboards8.3147 Ratings9.020 Ratings
Standard reports8.6170 Ratings9.021 Ratings
Custom reports8.1165 Ratings9.020 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.0
176 Ratings
8% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
8.7
24 Ratings
16% above category average
Accounts payable8.8169 Ratings9.023 Ratings
Accounts receivable8.9168 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Cash management8.4154 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.0167 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Expense management8.3154 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Time tracking6.577 Ratings9.012 Ratings
Fixed asset management8.0114 Ratings9.013 Ratings
Multi-currency support7.757 Ratings8.910 Ratings
Multi-division support7.992 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Regulations compliance8.164 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Electronic tax filing8.086 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Self-service portal6.566 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Global Financial Support6.432 Ratings9.04 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.060 Ratings6.95 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting8.174 Ratings9.06 Ratings
Localizations8.145 Ratings6.95 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations8.9125 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting8.585 Ratings9.06 Ratings
Configurable Accounting8.382 Ratings9.06 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework8.049 Ratings7.44 Ratings
Standardized Processes8.793 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
7.6
104 Ratings
8% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
16 Ratings
25% above category average
Inventory tracking8.1100 Ratings9.016 Ratings
Automatic reordering7.353 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Location management8.366 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Manufacturing module6.850 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
8.3
128 Ratings
12% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
8.4
17 Ratings
13% above category average
Pricing8.695 Ratings9.014 Ratings
Order entry8.6101 Ratings9.016 Ratings
Credit card processing7.789 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Cost of goods sold8.3113 Ratings9.015 Ratings
Order Orchestration8.255 Ratings7.85 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility8.352 Ratings7.45 Ratings
Order exception Resolution8.739 Ratings7.85 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 50cloud Accounting
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed
Score 9.1 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.1 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 50cloud Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(187 ratings)
9.0
(34 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.8
(17 ratings)
9.6
(12 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(11 ratings)
10.0
(8 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.0
(5 ratings)
10.0
(7 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(8 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(3 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop EnterpriseSage 50cloud Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
When I first started using QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise for my non-profit 7 years ago, there were some struggles, but updates they have made to the product have been great and improved a lot of the functions that were a struggle. It is super helpful for handling specific non-profit needs where the normal QuickBooks, while great, is set up for for-profit businesses. The ability to enter donations and allocate them by classes that I set up is an invaluable tool.
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Sage
Sage is great for portability and exchange with external accountants as it is widely used and people will be able to read your data in. It's a very good and complete solution for a little business where one person can handle all of the accounting. I doubt that it scales well to large companies with several in-house accountants working at the same time.
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Pros
Intuit
  • Detailed organization of financial information
  • Several security measures and double check systems to ensure incorrect entries aren't made. This prevents accidental errors and protects the company from fraud.
  • Ease of overall use
  • Reporting can be as detailed or as general as you prefer. Each report allows you to look at the overall picture or access specific details of each aspect of the company financials.
Read full review
Sage
  • It has the capability of "Single Click" processes that allows you to turn Quotes into orders, instant invoicing and track A/R in the Order Screen
  • I can email Sales Orders directly to my Customer and also remind them of past due from a single screen. I can track Project, Closeouts, Over Seas order by setting up Jobs and clicking the job name in Order Entry.
  • You can use recurring entries and copy and paste on the P&L, using masking for department reporting and budgeting
  • You can use the BI feature and export into Excel in Pivot format and utilize Timeline and Slicer to see the company overall performance by months, day or years
Read full review
Cons
Intuit
  • The software becomes "cranky" more often than I would like. A quick data scan on the server usually helps, but if I am out the staff get pretty stressed.
  • Record Retention is not working with QuickBooks. Should there be legal action requesting records for 20 years ago the records will be there - not advisable.
  • Upgrades are quite time consuming as I have to "touch" every computer using the software.
Read full review
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
We've been using QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions from when the business started, 11 years ago. I don't see us changing programs any time soon as it is working pretty well for us now. It would be extremely time consuming to start from scratch with a new accounting or inventory management program.
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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.
Read full review
Usability
Intuit
I like the QuickBooks Enterprise edition so much I moved my company to it this year. I like the overall functionality of the program and I am very familiar with the user interface which makes my job easier. One of the things I dislike about the online version it is not modeled after the desktop edition and I have a hard time getting around in the program.
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Sage
Sage delivers what it promises. The whole accounting package is user friendly and can be easily picked up by a novice. The support is second to none. They always keep us abreast of new technologies and/or changes to accounting that would impact us. The range of reports fits both small and large companies.,
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Reliability and Availability
Intuit
They have always been available to meet our needs when we need it. We have had zero complaints with getting the assistance we need.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Performance
Intuit
QB is a good and reliable system. We probably should have explore the other modules rather that jump in to the conclusion that we needed a new ERP.
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Sage
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Intuit
Very rare do I call the Quickbooks Enterprise Solutions support staff and I get a customer service associate quickly. On average, my wait time is near an hour, and at times even longer. After spending the first three minutes discussing my problem, they then begin to poke and prod around, sometimes the questions continue. But 80% of the time, the problem is over their head and they have to escalate the issue. The only problem is this escalation arrives usually after spending forty-five minutes poking and proding around but learning nothing. In short, my experience is rarely all that well, let alone great
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Sage
Although I have only needed to call tech support on three occasions through out the entire time of usage, each time my problem was quickly resolved by people who were obviously well trained and easy to understand. Sage 50 Premium Accounting is a reliable and "bug-free" product that is regularly improved upon.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Sage
Sage 50 is a strong accounting software package. It will work efficiently if it is installed correctly. If one puts garbage in, one will get garbage out. Also it is important to train the staff to use Sage 50 properly. It is also important to set up security for each user.
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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.
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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
It has worked for our small company in every way. We have very little issues with the software and when we have had problems, Intuit has stepped up and resolved in promptly.
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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
  • 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.
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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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