Likelihood to Recommend 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.
Read full review VAT returns are so simple to do. Just a click of a button and it produces a report for the period in concern. Submitting the return is then just a single click. The only thing I wish it would do is remind me when my VAT submissions are coming up so that I can avoid penalties.
Read full review Pros 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. Read full review Traceability - where you are spending. I started with a spreadsheet which had a column for 'electronics & computing' this captured everything from monthly software subscriptions to hardware and from light bulbs to dash cams. Sage has helped me streamline the spending. MTD - I am MTD compliant, although I do not need to be as my accountant is and they complete my HMRC submissions. It does mean that I have a contingency plan if I have to change this service. Debtor's - It is easy to be a busy fool and not realise that accounts are overdue. For a small business, the restriction in cash flow due to late paying clients is a killer. The dashboard feature helps with this. Read full review Cons 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. Read full review I find it difficult to record journals in cloud accounting. Maybe I just don’t have the knowledge. It’s important to export all unrecorded sync bank transactions to Excel to send to clients to explain the payment receipts before being posted. This function is not available on the cloud and makes life harder, having to call out the transactions to clients over the phone. Read full review Likelihood to Renew It's too pricey for our size of company.
Read full review I could not live without Sage Accounting, it has become an integral part of my everyday. The more I have used Sage Accounting the more I have fallen in love with it. I am excited to be part of this ever-evolving accounting system that has grown from strength to strength, making life easier is something Sage does so well.
Read full review Usability Sage Accounting is built for the business owner/user and not the accountant, it therefore guides the user and thus detailed accounting knowledge and experience is not a necessarily a prerequisite . It offers a monthly price and therefore no significant up front spend and it tailorable to your business with useful dashboards that again you can tailor to instantly see what's important to you.
Read full review Reliability and Availability Sage Accounting availability is generally very good. They post messages which appear on users screen time to time, highlighting where functionality in a particular area is undergoing maintenance. More often than not, maintenance is completed in a timescale quicker than initially estimated by Sage. Where significant maintenance is required, Sage usually perform it overnight.
Read full review Performance Sage Accounting work quickly and performs well, I have never had an issue with it running slow. It integrates with other software swiftly, so no waiting for the screen to load. Error messages are only something I have had when I have done something wrong.
Read full review Support Rating The support is world class - never ever during 30 plus years in business I have received such helpful, knowledgeable and genuine support as I have from Sage. At Sage people matter and i can chat to someone safe in the knowledge that they will actually listen and assist. This also backed up by huge online portfolio of help and resources
Read full review In-Person Training 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.
Read full review Online Training The online training courses are not up to date. We experienced technical issues with two of the classes.
Read full review 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.
Debrah Burleigh CPB Platinum Certified Consultant and Certified Trainer in Sage 50 (Simply Accounting) and in Sage One
Read full review Implementation Rating 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.
Read full review 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.
Read full review Alternatives Considered 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.
Read full review Sage Accounting is a simpler, more streamlined version of the more complex
Sage 50cloud Accounting . For a small, simpler company Sage Accounting is a much more cost-effective option. There are a few features that
Sage 50cloud Accounting has that Sage Accounting does not have (such as making e-payments and a few reports are unavailable) but it is still a very good product.
Read full review Contract Terms and Pricing Model 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.
Read full review Scalability I do not consider Sage Accounting to be Sage's best product for scaling up business as its functionality for doing so is limited. Sage 50 Accounts or Sage Intaact are far more suited for this. I would evaluate very carefully the possible need in the future for scalability in the first instance before selecting software.
Read full review Professional Services Sage has always been extremely professional, and they continue to be professional in their dealings with me.
Read full review Return on Investment 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. Read full review Sage One has allowed us to provided better customer service to all our clients. It has allowed us to provide a reasonable price accounting product to our customer who typically just have handwritten invoices, or Excel spreadsheets. Sage One has reduced the manual data entry that my team does on a monthly basis, which in turn allows us to have more time for our customers. Read full review ScreenShots Sage Accounting Screenshots