Small Service Based Business
Overall Satisfaction with Sage 50 Accounting
Our small business uses Sage 50 Premium Accounting to process all accounting and finance reporting:
We have one administrator, but have the ability to install the program for other employees with limited access, so that as our business grows we can add other employees to handle some responsibilities.
- Payroll / Employee Time Sheets
- Tax Reporting
- Tracking Accounts Payable / Vendor Disbursements
- Tracking Accounts Receivable / Customer Payments
- Banking Reconciliation
- Budgeting
- Job Profitability
We have one administrator, but have the ability to install the program for other employees with limited access, so that as our business grows we can add other employees to handle some responsibilities.
Pros
- I like the automated guides to set up complex features of payroll formulas.
- The business intelligence reporting seems very comprehensive, so that one could really "crunch the data" and analyze different aspects of their business.
- Sage annually improves the performance and features of their program.
Cons
- Being a small business with small margin for profit, we have to be extremely careful with controlling expenses. Sage is quite expensive for a small business that may not need all the "bells and whistles" of their product.
- Even though we are a small business, I get regular notices that our use of Sage 50 is close to exceeding the "optimum data storage", and encourages upgrading to their much more expensive Quantum product. This is irritating and if the data storage is truly in danger (probably due to not making old accounts "inactive"), then Sage should increase the data storage for their Sage 50 product.
- I would like to see more learning programs listed for Sage University that are free and always accessible. After purchasing the Sage 50 Premium subscription for hundreds of dollars every year, the learning programs AND certification should be free.
- Detailed financial reporting helps to make better business decisions. I especially like the job profitability reporting, and have used the "job type" and "phase" features to determine which kind of jobs are generating the most profit.
- We plan to use the customer list feature in the future to generate broadcast marketing emails to our customers.
MYOB (Mind Your Own Business) is not comprehensive and was not "feature rich" for complex business reporting. It was an entry level accounting program that was used for a very short period of time. Sage 50 Premium Accounting was recommended by our CPA end-of-year tax accountant, so we really didn't compare Sage to anything comparable.
Sage 50 Feature Ratings
Using Sage 50 Accounting
1 - Accounting
1 - Accounting
- Accounting
- Financial Reporting
- We use the Sage Virtual Credit Card Terminal to process credit card sales from our website, as well as off site locations for exhibits and conventions.
- We plan to use the marketing features so that we can send information to our customers via email broadcasting.
Evaluating Sage 50 Accounting and Competitors
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Prior Experience with the Product
We really did not compare Sage 50 Premium Accounting to any other accounting program. At the time, our CPA end-of-year tax accountant was using Sage and recommended it.
Sage 50 Accounting Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Change management was minimal
- Making sure to follow the loading instructions and setting up the business with the correct specifications.
Sage 50 Accounting Support
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
Yes - It is the only option for our product. The upgrades and tech support used to be optional every year, but Sage has removed that option for our product and changed to a subscription only arrangement. So now our small business pays an annual subscription service, and the tech support and regular upgrades are automatic.
There was one occasion when my data file somehow got "corrupted". Yikes!! Sounds awful!! But a Sage tech support person led me through the process to resolve that tricky issue, and she was very easy to understand and confident about what to do and how to do it. I was very impressed and relieved.
Using Sage 50 Accounting
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Payroll set up
- Job reporting
- Employee Time Sheets could be improved
Comments
Please log in to join the conversation