Sage 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.
$10
per month
Xero
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Xero is an online accounting software product for small businesses and personal finance. Its features beyond general ledger and double-bookkeeping include quotable invoicing, bank reconciliation, purchase order and expense management, and tax management. Third party apps can extend its features further.
$13
per month
Pricing
Sage Accounting
Xero
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Early
$13
per month
Growing
$37
per month
Established
$70
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Sage Accounting
Xero
Free Trial
No
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
Versions and pricing listed are for US products. Versions available and pricing may vary by country.
Prices in table are in USD and just apply to the US - other markets & prices are listed below:
Canada - Starter $18 CAD/month, Standard $45 CAD/month, Premium 5 $58 CAD/month
UK - Starter £14/month, Standard £28/month, Premium £36/month
AU - Starter $29 AUD/month, Standard $59 AUD/month, Premium 5 $76 AUD/month
NZ - Starter $31 NZD/month, Standard $66 NZD/month, Premium $84 NZD/month
Haven't used it, but have had a look. Footprint in SA still very small, but I hear very good things about it. A number of associates use and highly recommend Xero, even over Sage. Due to our level of integration with Sage, the benefits of migrating don't exceed the costs for us.
I'd personally put Sage Accounting on a par with Xero but significantly ahead of Quickbooks. I'd say the choice falls down to individual needs and choice. Sage Accounting offers a fair and not substantial monthly cost, with this being a monthly cost that's helpful particularly …
Verified User
Director
Chose Sage Accounting
Quickbooks is not for me i don't like anything about it, the terminology they use is not clear and the layout is not user friendly.
Xero i use in my practice as some clients prefer it. If i have the choice i do use Sage but if the client prefers Xero i will use. It can be …
Probably the biggest reason I selected Sage Accounting is the number of years I have been using it. My training was all manual, and with Sage Accounting I can see and understand how it works. I did use Pegasus successfully for a number of years with a different employer, but …
Sage Accounting produces better-quality reports and is more user-friendly.
Verified User
Director
Chose Sage Accounting
Sage was just easier for me to use and more familiar for my staff, who had some experience with enterprise versions of Sage in the past. It became a no-brainer when I made the final decision about which package to go with.
Sage 50 is more flexible than Sage Accounting, but both serve the needs of the user very well. Sage 50 allows for more detailed analysis of ledgers and reporting functionality. Whereas Sage Accounting is probably more suited to small business on balance, it just depends on …
Although I've used a number of other accounting systems, Sage is really comparable to Xero and QuickBooks Online, as it is competing in the same basic accounting software category. Sage One Accounting has been selected in certain client situations where they were already using …
We looked at Xero and Wave. We chose Sage One because it is available in Canadian dollars allowing us to predict how much the monthly costs will be. Were weren't aware of Wave at the time but would have chosen it instead.
Zoho Books - fairly easy to use in terms of expenses and invoices. However, reporting is basic. The Sales tax report itself isn't user friendly are requires you to work out the different taxes in order to do the return. Pastel (desktop) - there is little integration and …
Sage at the time we moved to Xero did not really have a suitable Cloud offering and the full SaaS solution it did have was only applicable to very small businesses. Quickbooks was very similar to Xero but during testing, most users preferred Xero for various reasons. Xero's UI …
Xero captures all data on one platform with seamless integration with other apps such as EFT systems, CRM, jobflow, etc. Xero processes faster than any other app and has better support systems and user manuals than other products. The price of Xero is very competitive based on …
We used this product before it was cloud software, so the comparison is harder to make. It was easier to pull off top spender reports from sage. However, reconciliation is so much easier on Xero when you link your accounts. A significant factor for us was that our managing …
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.
If they are using foreign exchange I always use Xero. If I need reporting to be customized we always use Xero. If the client is already working in a software and it is working for them we will leave them in the software they are in.
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.
Their method of moving between screens was very logical and intuitive which is not a "given" attribute among software packages.
Finding transactions was relatively easy with just common sense.
The use of this software was generally well received in that the accountants did not discredit the software as cheap, poorly organized, or timely to learn. No one at Corporate had a vendetta against using Xero.
It does a good job of allowing the users to drill down to the final detail of an account balance - which is fundamental to the accounting department's needs.
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.
Occasionally, the price increases and I feel that prices should be fixed for long-term users as there are very few changes in the software from when I started using it 6 years ago.
It would be useful to have the emails sent with invoices saved.
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.
In addition to the matters covered in this review, my reason for renewing this product is that Xero's functionality and the constant updates that the company provides, makes the software even more business friendly. The software therefore builds a brand loyalty among customers.
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.
Xero has all the features that you need, basically. From chart of accounts, reconciling books, to making annual financial reports. What I'm currently looking for Xero right now is to provide more broader integration with the other apps so we can use it for customer-facing experience also. All in all, everything works well!
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.
We have been actively using and 100% Xero based for our ecommerce accounting practice for over 4 years. There has on been one real outage for more than 5 minutes. Xero was open and transparent about the outage, what they were doing to resolve the issue, and provided 15 minute updates. Showing how they care about their customers and partners. Plus, showing that their customers care too, were understanding, and went surfing or in our case took a nap. Couldn't run our business without Xero as a partner.
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.
Pages generally load quickly, but it's a fairly common occurrence to have pages taking a bit longer than I'd like to load (as in, 4+ seconds). Occasionally I have to refresh a page to get it to work. Bank feed and integrations tend to be slow in general, but that could easily be due to API latency on the side of the other parties. Most of the time, though, the bank feeds refresh before I login so it's not a huge problem. Not necessarily good performance compared to a local app like QuickBooks desktop, but definitely good performance for a cloud application. Room for growth? yes.
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
Always respond and keep issues open until you are satisfied with the result. Generally good responses, in the past, I had some support responses that were really basic and really annoying. They type where "have your tried restarting your computer" style of answers. Well, of course, I went through all the basics before contacting them. Duh, but I suppose not everyone does. Otherwise, it would be a 10. The last year has shown a marked improvement in the support responses however.
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.
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.
All of Xero's training is online and available for anyone (business owner or accountants) to learn and become experts in their system. There is a range of content from product training to real world webinars from their partners. Xero is beautiful accounting software and their training is the same.
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.
If it can be done, time the implementation near a new fiscal year so you can start clean. Otherwise, you have to go back and do historical data from the beginning of the fiscal year, which can be brain draining.
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.
I've used a lot of different accounting systems. Many of them so big and powerful, but a hassle to get set up. Xero is light, inexpensive, and easy to use. When I originally selected them they seemed like they were developing new features at a quick rate as well. I was invited to be part of focus sessions to make the product better. That part has slowed down significantly though.
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.
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.
I have yet to fully stress test the product given the size of the company where I am using it. I am sure as we scale to more customers, more vendors and more reporting requirements, I will have a better understanding of what it is capable of in terms of bandwidth and processing
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.
Saved many hours through automatic invoices and followups
Saved many hours by allowing transactions to start via bank feeds (ie I don't have to input a transaction and mark it against what is in the bank/cc account; rather, the transaction in the account is where you input the transaction into the books.
Has the scalability my business requires, and not much more.
