QuickBooks Desktop Pro vs. Sage 50cloud Accounting

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks 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 50cloud Accounting
Score 7.7 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 ProSage 50cloud Accounting
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
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 ProSage 50cloud Accounting
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAnnual traditional plan with license, monthly, and annual subscription plans available.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 50cloud Accounting
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks is much more user friendly than Peachtree. Our Peachtree database was always corrupting and after having to re-enter several months worth of data because the backups were corrupt also, we switched to QuickBooks. We have not had any issues since we switched.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
We have used Sage and Peachtree as alternatives to QuickBooks Pro and have found for the money and ease of use for any employee QuickBooks is a better option for our firm. Sage and Peachtree require more training to use and some reporting is harder to locate in the program than …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
None recently - Peachtree several years ago and QuickBooks is the hands down favorite.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Peachtree is not as user-friendly. The interface of QuickBooks Pro is comfortable and more personal - from the overall design to the error messages and tips.
Sage 50cloud Accounting
Chose Sage 50cloud Accounting
Sage 50 has a more professional operation to it, and transactions have to be reversed rather than just erased in QuickBooks. This leads to more confidence in the system when you are using it. I believe that you can do something like this in QuickBooks, but I have had trouble …
Chose Sage 50cloud Accounting
While QuickBooks is a great program, we found Sage to be a better fit for our company. QuickBooks does, however, offer more integration with other software applications and some even require QuickBooks to run.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 50cloud Accounting
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
9.3
65 Ratings
22% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
14 Ratings
18% above category average
Pay calculation9.961 Ratings9.014 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.835 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.853 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.949 Ratings9.013 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.350 Ratings9.013 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.9
39 Ratings
11% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
10 Ratings
24% above category average
API for custom integration8.032 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Plug-ins7.836 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.5
93 Ratings
8% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
19 Ratings
14% above category average
Single sign-on capability8.975 Ratings9.017 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.188 Ratings9.017 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.4
108 Ratings
10% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
21 Ratings
17% above category average
Dashboards9.593 Ratings9.020 Ratings
Standard reports7.6108 Ratings9.021 Ratings
Custom reports8.2106 Ratings9.020 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.0
112 Ratings
8% above category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
8.7
24 Ratings
16% above category average
Accounts payable9.7107 Ratings9.023 Ratings
Accounts receivable7.6109 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Cash management2.697 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.7108 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Expense management8.899 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Time tracking8.747 Ratings9.012 Ratings
Fixed asset management6.064 Ratings9.013 Ratings
Multi-currency support7.927 Ratings8.910 Ratings
Multi-division support5.752 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Regulations compliance7.239 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Electronic tax filing8.050 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Self-service portal9.738 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Global Financial Support7.015 Ratings9.04 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.837 Ratings7.05 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting7.438 Ratings9.06 Ratings
Localizations8.517 Ratings7.05 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations9.665 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting9.733 Ratings9.06 Ratings
Configurable Accounting8.141 Ratings9.06 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework7.824 Ratings7.44 Ratings
Standardized Processes9.748 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
6.7
56 Ratings
5% below category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
9.0
16 Ratings
25% above category average
Inventory tracking6.553 Ratings9.016 Ratings
Automatic reordering6.132 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Location management6.229 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Manufacturing module8.216 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.4
70 Ratings
0% below category average
Sage 50cloud Accounting
8.4
17 Ratings
12% above category average
Pricing6.750 Ratings9.014 Ratings
Order entry7.549 Ratings9.016 Ratings
Credit card processing7.148 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Cost of goods sold9.058 Ratings9.015 Ratings
Order Orchestration9.018 Ratings7.85 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility9.021 Ratings7.45 Ratings
Order exception Resolution3.216 Ratings7.85 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 50cloud Accounting
Small Businesses
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
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 8.2 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 50cloud Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
5.6
(124 ratings)
9.0
(34 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(18 ratings)
9.6
(12 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(31 ratings)
10.0
(8 ratings)
Availability
8.3
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
2.6
(29 ratings)
10.0
(7 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(6 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop ProSage 50cloud Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
I am only going to recommend it because it is currently ubiquitous, and most accountants prefer it at the moment. I do not stand by the company, and will not use the product any longer than I have to. [I believe] the support is lousy, the product is overpriced, but it does the basics of what we need. I'm very happy for all those outside Intuit who make their living supporting QuickBooks Desktop Pro; third-party support is desperately needed. They also doubled their prices for software upgrades this year, and require those who don't pay double what the last upgrade cost, to subscribe every year for $200. If one does not subscribe beyond the first year, one will not be able to use the software beyond the first year. They are moving to a rental model even for those who refuse to use the LOUSY QuickBooks online. They were good company once. Now they just turn out bloatware that everyone uses, so the rest of us have to. I look forward to the day that an honest, better-priced competitor wipes the floor with Intuit.
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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
  • 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.
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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
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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.
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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
We've used the program for more than 20 years in our firm both with clients and as our software. For the cost and value of the program it works well for our firms needs and desires for an accounting software program. At this point to switch would not make sense.
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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
It is a great software that does everything a small business needs it to do, but there are just a few bugs and quirks that make additional software necessary. The slowness of the software occasionally might eventually be overshadowed by the quickness of cloud-based software though.
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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
I haven't experienced a time when QuickBooks Pro was unavailable when I needed it in the entire 20 years of using the software
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Sage
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Intuit
The support team is not always easy to use or able to understand the problems. There are some difficulties understanding [...] the issues the purchaser has and the solutions are sometimes hard to implement. A lot can be avoided if the users have adequate training and security is set up correctly at implementation.
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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
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.
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Sage
No answers on this topic
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.
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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
Zoho had great end-user support and it was almost as simple to learn and was as easy to use. But its reports were not as [customizable] as QuickBooks Desktop Pro, and its job cost and department accounting [were] more cumbersome than QuickBooks Desktop Pro was. In addition, while I like an underdog (Zoho) the fact is that it is easier to find staff that [is] comfortable with QuickBooks Desktop Pro than anything else on the market.
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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
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro is a no hassle accounting solution that ticks a lot of boxes. It almost never disappoints and organizations will usually keep using it for many years. If anything, the only time I've seen an organization migrate away from it is if they have specific accounting needs, or if the organization has grown to the point that they need a more robust accounting solution. Even then, QuickBooks can usually be maintained within another accounting software system for specific functions, like A/R & A/P for example.
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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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