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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Sage Accounting

    Score7.5 out of 10
    N/ASage Accounting is online accounting software made to simplify life for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers by providing the functions needed to take care of daily business to-dos. Users can create and send professional quotes and invoices, track income and expenses and know where the business' financials stand. Every Sage Business Cloud Accounting subscription includes unlimited access to support as well as automatic backups and product updates.

    $19

    per month

    SurePayroll By Paychex

    Score2.1 out of 10
    N/ASurePayroll offers an online payroll service that lets small business owners run payroll anywhere, anytime. The vendor automatically pays and files federal, state and local payroll taxes.

    $29

    per month

    Pricing
    Sage AccountingSurePayroll By Paychex
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Sage AccountingSurePayroll By Paychex
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsVersions and pricing listed are for CA products. Versions available and pricing may vary by country. * 2 months free to start, or free for 1 month to try, then $19/$43/$62 +tax/mo (tier depending). Offer valid for new customers only on monthly subscriptions of Sage Business Cloud Accounting. After the promotional period, the monthly subscription rate will renew at the then current rate. May not be combined with any other offers or discounts. To ensure continuous service the subscription plan is an automatically renewing plan. Subsequent months will automatically be billed to the same credit card each month on the anniversary date of purchase. Plans can be terminated at any time prior to the renewal data and not charged for renewal.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Sage AccountingSurePayroll By Paychex
    Considered Both Products
    Sage
    No answer on this topic
    Paychex Inc.
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    85%
    Would buy again
    163 Answers
    38%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    85%
    Delivers good value for the price
    145 Answers
    44%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    85%
    Happy with the feature set
    162 Answers
    44%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    119 Answers
    38%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    82%
    Implementation went as expected
    130 Answers
    56%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    Features
    Sage AccountingSurePayroll By Paychex
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Sage Accounting and SurePayroll By Paychex
    Feature
    Sage Accounting
    9.3
    19 Ratings
    21% above category average
    SurePayroll By Paychex
    1.4
    16 Ratings
    142% below category average
    Pay calculation10.015 Ratings2.516 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration9.312 Ratings1.27 Ratings
    Direct deposit files8.812 Ratings1.213 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management9.410 Ratings1.212 Ratings
    Reimbursement management9.112 Ratings1.210 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings1.012 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings1.09 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Sage Accounting and SurePayroll By Paychex
    Feature
    Sage Accounting
    8.6
    23 Ratings
    12% above category average
    SurePayroll By Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    API for custom integration9.120 Ratings00 Ratings
    Plug-ins8.017 Ratings00 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Sage Accounting and SurePayroll By Paychex
    Feature
    Sage Accounting
    9.7
    42 Ratings
    18% above category average
    SurePayroll By Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    Single sign-on capability9.931 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions9.539 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Sage Accounting and SurePayroll By Paychex
    Feature
    Sage Accounting
    9.3
    44 Ratings
    17% above category average
    SurePayroll By Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    Dashboards8.340 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports9.844 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom reports9.735 Ratings00 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Sage Accounting and SurePayroll By Paychex
    Feature
    Sage Accounting
    8.8
    200 Ratings
    14% above category average
    SurePayroll By Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    Accounts payable8.1187 Ratings00 Ratings
    Accounts receivable9.945 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cash management8.3159 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation7.9190 Ratings00 Ratings
    Expense management10.034 Ratings00 Ratings
    Time tracking6.611 Ratings00 Ratings
    Fixed asset management8.428 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency support10.018 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-division support9.918 Ratings00 Ratings
    Regulations compliance9.529 Ratings00 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing7.3102 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-service portal10.025 Ratings00 Ratings
    Global Financial Support9.38 Ratings00 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers9.515 Ratings00 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting8.111 Ratings00 Ratings
    Localizations8.49 Ratings00 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations9.033 Ratings00 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting6.810 Ratings00 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting9.318 Ratings00 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework8.98 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standardized Processes9.520 Ratings00 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Sage Accounting and SurePayroll By Paychex
    Feature
    Sage Accounting
    6.9
    17 Ratings
    6% below category average
    SurePayroll By Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    Inventory tracking6.717 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automatic reordering8.26 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location management5.77 Ratings00 Ratings
    Manufacturing module7.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Sage Accounting and SurePayroll By Paychex
    Feature
    Sage Accounting
    8.2
    28 Ratings
    11% above category average
    SurePayroll By Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    Pricing9.917 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order entry7.615 Ratings00 Ratings
    Credit card processing8.118 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold7.620 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Orchestration7.66 Ratings00 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility7.57 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution8.95 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Sage AccountingSurePayroll By Paychex
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4 out of 10
    Patriot Payroll
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    APS
    Score6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.5 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Sage AccountingSurePayroll By Paychex
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.4
    (218 ratings)
    1.0
    (27 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (27 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    7.9
    (185 ratings)
    1.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    8.5
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    7.7
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.6
    (30 ratings)
    9.2
    (5 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.8
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.7
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    7.5
    (6 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    5.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    6.9
    (11 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Professional Services
    8.2
    (3 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    7.5
    (9 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    7.7
    (9 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Sage AccountingSurePayroll By Paychex
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Sage
    Sage Accounting seems appropriate for a small business that has basic accounting needs and is just starting from the beginning to set up its accounting software. It is less appropriate for businesses that have been using Sage 50, as Sage Accounting Standard does not successfully transfer important data from Sage 50.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    We use SurePayroll to make monthly payrolls in our company, as well as to close the month and year with all the income and expenses and most importantly to make tax payments. The application is perfect for making payrolls when the personnel adapted for it is not in the head office, SurePayroll has an application for mobiles that allows to make these operations remotely. The application is perfect when you want to make immediate payments, at the time of loading the payroll to the system, it proceeds to automatically perform transactions for each employee entered without any error.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Sage
    • Cloud Based - I work from different offices so I can access anywhere.
    • Whether paying a bill or receiving a payment it's done similarly. The consistency makes it easy to get in workflow.
    • I appreciate the setup of the statements - easy to read.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    • Super easy interface - honestly running payroll couldn't be easier on their site.
    • Incredible customer service - VERY knowledgeable, professional and friendly. They will walk you through anything you need to do on the site and understand payroll, tax and benefit issues.
    • Tax filing and payments and year-end paperwork for 1099 contractors and W-2s. They make it so easy.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Sage
    • Sorting reports - I want to sort my projects by what has and has not been paid, and this is unavailable.
    • Print preview.
    • FONT SIZE: This should be an option directly available to increase screen font sizes. Also, report font adjustments are incredibly difficult.
    • Understanding all options and the performance the program can do, I would much prefer an in-person session or scheduled webinar because it is far too overwhelming to search forums/help centers. Just a useless vortex to get sucked into.
    • Updates are easier than they used to be, but there’s still a big communication barrier. E.g., I install updates and restart programs, and then the next day or two it tells me to restart again because there have been updates. I know, I installed them already! It’s frustrating.
    • Removing inactive vendors or clients - why is this so difficult? Can I not just delete and move to the next one? Every time I try it, it just defaults back to the top of the report… It’s fine for the first couple of letters in the alphabet, but that’s about all. Multi-select would be nice!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    • My chief complaint is the software sometimes requires me to have a code sent to my phone before I can continue with some process. That in itself is fine. The problem is the check box that lets SurePayroll remember the computer doesn't actually do that. I select that check box every time, but the software doesn't remember me or my computer.
    • Fees have creeped higher every year over the last two or three years. I feel like I'm nitpicking here, though. What I spend for the service is reasonably priced for the amount of headaches it prevents.
    • I have a case where an employee is sometimes salaried and sometimes contract. There's not a way to handle that without terminating him when he needs to switch.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Sage
    Because we don't have time to migrate to a new system. So, we are kind of stuck with this system until our company grows or we are in a better financial position to afford the larger expense of moving to a new platform and doing what it should be doing in the first place.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    Very likely, easy to use, support system in place.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Sage
    I find Sage's usability very intuitive. Everything from data entry to high level reporting it easy to navigate. Some of the other accounting software programs I have used have not had adequate forms or menus to help navigate the program. Sage does a good job of balancing providing the proper forms without being overly difficult to understand or use
    Incentivized
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    Paychex Inc.
    It's a poor user interface. It feels like the interface is twenty years old. If you make a mistake with payroll in their terrible UI, and try to correct it 15 seconds later, they want to charge you $39 to correct your mistake. Overall, a very poor experience in terms of user interface.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Sage
    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.
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Sage
    The day-to-day performance is very good. Items such as transactions or reports load and process quickly. You never feel like you're waiting in Sage. I have never seen Sage Accounting affect the speed or performance of any integrated system. However, I do think when you are bringing very old files up to date the updates are slow but that'll be a rare occurrence and not reflective of the day-to-day usage.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Sage
    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.
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    SurePayroll was great when we had questions or needed support, ie. if we messed up with a payroll, needed to submit tax documents or get documents. The ease of communication between us and the organization was great and they made it easy for users to call in with support requests.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Sage
    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
    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Sage
    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.
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    They were awesome. They knew the system very well and could help me very much.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Sage
    This was generally a very straightforward process. I have previously implemented other software which required considerable external support. I implemented Sage Accounting with only a minimal amount of reference to the Sage support desk. I was extremely pleased with the implementation process.
    Incentivized
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    Paychex Inc.
    No, I can't think of any.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Sage
    I also like Quickbooks Desktop, however, they are forcing customers to switch to Quickbooks Online. I will be moving forward with SAGE in this case, unless there is a valid reason the client would like to use QBO instead. I have not used the version of SAGE where the client doesn't need to purchase the full version, themselves, in order to access their file so this is something that I may consider looking into, in the near future, for this reason.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    SurePayroll offers a comparable service at a better rate. They are better designed for small companies who need to save money any way they can. Their fees are more appropriate than ADP but the service offerings are just as good.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Sage
    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
    Paychex Inc.
    In retrospect, I wouldn't change anything.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Sage
    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
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    Paychex Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Professional Services
    Sage
    Do not use
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Paychex Inc.
    We were able to calculate different hourly numbers when we completed Certified Payroll for professional services.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Sage
    • Sage has allowed us to be self-supporting and to perform full-cycle accounting up to the point of handing off to the accountant at year-end.
    • We are self-sustaining and do not need outside accounting assistance, such as an independent bookkeeper.
    • Sage has allowed us to save money at year's end, as we can do all the prep internally up until the handoff to the accountant, minimizing the hours he has to spend on our file.
    Incentivized
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    Paychex Inc.
    • SurePayroll helps us process payroll quickly and effortlessly 97% of the time.
    • On the rare occasion when there is an issue SurePayroll needs to address, it can take hours and hours of time over many months to get that issue resolved. Through the process, SurePayroll employees have always been professional and courteous in their communication.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Sage Accounting Screenshots

    Screenshot of the All-in-One DashboardScreenshot of the Accounting DashboardScreenshot of an Invoicing Quote EstimateScreenshot of the Purchases TrackerScreenshot of Stock InventoryScreenshot of a VAT Returns List