Endless Capability Thwarted by Lack of User Interface
March 18, 2020

Endless Capability Thwarted by Lack of User Interface

J. Mickey Merguerian | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 2 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Sage 500 ERP

Sage 500 is being used by my organization in all departments. From field report entries to subcontractor management, to accounting. We utilize this program for all of our construction needs. All purchases and employees are being accounted for on this program. I personally utilize their change order management/change request management. It's being used on each project and from headquarters as well.
  • 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.
  • Sage has a huge issue with User interface. The program itself is non-intuitive and I believe suffers from Paralysis by Analysis.
  • There are too many overlapping issues in the program. They use uncommon vernacular in their operations that leaves the user unsure about whether or not the changes they entered will stick.
  • Sage is extraordinarily cumbersome for a program that has such functionality. If they're able to simplify the language and the modules within the data entry, I will recommend it, but as of now it's sub-par for this industry.
  • 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.
Sage is by far the worst program I have ever used in the construction industry. It has the capability to be a wonderful program for an entire organization but it severely lacks user interface. For instance, Their field reports section has a character limit. That's ridiculous. If I'm entering a quantity that represents hundreds of thousands of dollars, and I'm forced to explain the application for payment, I cannot be given a character limit. I put equations and measurements in these descriptions. In addition, when nit comes to change order management, It's as if they've intertwined so many different modules that it becomes impossible to actually manage them all and interact with them. This program is not good if you're planning on running a construction company or project. Especially as a general contractor.
Sage is wonderful for payroll and employee management. Although it has the capabilities to be a one-stop-shop program, it seriously lacks the interface necessary for wide use. I've had to consult Sage professionals on numerous occasions to explain and walk me through the program as there are so many redundancies. This program has wonderful potential, but they need to update the software and user interface before I can recommend it to any colleague.

Sage 500 Feature Ratings

Accounts payable
7
Accounts receivable
7
Global Financial Support
2
Journals and Reconciliations
6
Configurable Accounting
8
Standardized Processes
6
Billing Management
8
Cash and Asset Management
6
Travel & Expense Management
8
Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting
2
Period Close
5
Inventory tracking
9
Automatic reordering
3
Location management
8
Pay calculation
9
Benefit plan administration
6
Direct deposit files
9
Dashboards
8
Standard reports
7
Custom reports
10
API for custom integration
7
Plug-ins
2
Role-based user permissions
8
Single sign-on capability
2
Award Lifecycle Management
6
Budgeting and Forecasting
1
Project Costing
3
Cost Capture
8
Capital Project Management
9
Customer Contract Compliance
9
Project Revenue Recognition
9
Task Insight for Project Managers
7
Project Mobile Functionality
5
Contract Authoring
8
Contract Repository
10
Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated
8
Supplier Management
4
Risk Repository
3
Control Management
7
Control Efficiency Assessments
4
Remediation and Certification
3
Not Rated
Forecasting
1
Inventory Planning
2
Performance Monitoring
1
Proposal Management
7
Product Master Data Management
4