Sage 50cloud Accounting

Pros

The best thing about Sage 50 is that it is very difficult for anone to make a mess of things. The controls are very tight, ensuring that an ignorant employee cant mess things up.

Cons

It is very rigid and stodgy
Most reports cannot be shown across fiscal years. Little ability to customize reports.

Pros

I have used this software for 28 years from DOS to version 28. Its always delivered when required and good support when needed.

Cons

Recent prices changes have been a challenge and too much for some cleints.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Sage 50cloud Accounting

Pros

Sage 50 is an easy-to-use piece of accounting software aimed at SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), and it is one of QuickBooks' major competitors.

It's fairly easy to find people who are familiar with Sage 50. That's a plus for small businesses looking to find an employee or outside service provider to take care of their books.

If you are looking to do the books yourself, Sage 50 is relatively easy to learn. They have thorough tutorials available to walk you through the basics.

Major transactions are grouped together under tabs on the left-hand navigation panel. The various workflows--receivables, payables, inventory and services, employees and payroll, and a 'company' category--are all shown graphically. Each task within a major area is represented as a labeled icon, making it is to start a new transaction from this screen. The 'company' link is a catch-all category, including general journal entries, the chart of accounts and tools for managing your data and accounting tasks.

Virtually every report that a small business could need is available in Sage 50.

Cons

I found Sage 50 to be glitchy in the past. I have spent too many hours on hold or on a call with their tech support.

I use the payroll-included version of Sage 50. I also have a support package. In all, that's not competitively priced. If it weren't for the fact that some clients have been using this software for years and are reimbursing me for the cost of the software, I would not be using it. QuickBooks is a better value.

Pros

I like that you can delete journal entries if you posted it in error or need to make an adjustment. Other software would require you to do a separate journal entry to reverse the original entry. This software allows you to delete it as if it never happened. I like that because it helps keeps the GL looking clean.

Cons

I wish there was a faster way to drill into invoices/payments that are tied together.

Pros

Anybody who has used any other accounting software packages will instantly understand Sage 50. It does what it's supposed to -- you can track money in, money out, and all via accrual accouting.

Cons

At a certain point, you outgrow it. If you're a relatively simple manufacturing business with only a couple product lines and a couple manufacturing lines, this works for you. Once you start scaling with multiple locations, cost centers, etc., you'll outgrow it.