Alternative to Sage 50

Alternative to Sage 50

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I have just been called by Sage to say our current version of Sage 50 will shortly be discontinued and withdrawn from all future upgrade options.  I have no particular loyalty to Sage and over the years have become increasingly frustrated by the difficulty in tailoring reports, the crashes and lack of sorting out issues post launch and the need to upgrade every 3 years.  So, rather than just slavishly upgrade I thought to have a look into alternatives.  We have just 2 users of Sage and are a small multi-national group, approx total turnover £2m but with plans to grow substantially.  We trade internationally B2B only.  We don't have stock and have never used Sage's sales order processing or purchase order processing capabilities.  I have been looking at the online options out there, e.g. Aqilla, AccountsIQ and Xero, and would be really interested in other members views on these or indeed any other alternatives out there.

Replies (16)

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By occca
08th Oct 2012 11:35

Xero

I would go with Xero, excellent package, easy to use and will be able to do everything you need

PM me if you would like any advice

 

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By abelljms
08th Oct 2012 11:42

kashflow etc.

 

 

kashflow

steer well clear as can't really do multi-currency,

and support is horrible using email tennis

and the terminology they use is the worst of any package around - which is a tough competition to win so clearly.

Avoid Qbooks as it's useless - incomprehensible terminology, menus, and expensive support.

Stupid cheery menus lying to you that they are making everything soooo eeeasy.

 

Could try Clearbooks - not sure really. - online package

 

Visual Transaction is brilliant but Philip Hodgson seems to have ceased development, and ruled out a cloudy version, or multi-user development, which is a real shame as it is head and shoulders above anything else on market.

PS. The package that i will design and launch once i have the £1million for development will be perfect, but is not yet available.

 

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By 3569787
08th Oct 2012 11:53

Take a look at ClearSEAs

Try ClearSEAs accounting software - its true multi-currency and multi-company  (number of co's does not effect the price). A 30 day trial of the full software is available from our web site. Not on-line but can be accessed via RDC if your server is set up to support it.

Upgrades come via taking out annual support (optional), but you don't need to upgrade unless you want to.

Being a small company we aim to give personal support to all our users and in a timely manner.

System developer

 

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By David A
08th Oct 2012 15:29

Reconciled VAT Returns . . .

Does Xero and other alternatives match transactions when a VAT return is reconciled?

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Replying to mumpin:
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By 3569787
03rd May 2016 17:30

Yes for ClearSEAs

.

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Replying to mumpin:
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By Cloudcounter
08th Oct 2012 21:53

Xero

David A wrote:

Does Xero and other alternatives match transactions when a VAT return is reconciled?

Yes, Xero does.  It also has a huge range of partner programs, linking directly with it for things from project management to CRM and niche applications

It was far and away the best of about 7 cloud systems that I looked at, in a reasonable amount of detail, about three years back and has steadily improved (as I expect have most of the others).

Multi user, support included, backups taken care of and above all it's streets ahead of Sage in user interface.  Sage is archaic in its structure and clumsy to use in comparison.

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By Moonbeam
08th Oct 2012 15:56

Just a Minute!!

Sage like to tell people they aren't going to support the software any more just to wind them up so they "upgrade". Why do you need to spend any more money for the time being? I advise all my clients never to pay for an "upgrade" unless they really need it.

I appreciate your company size may increase, but that might not mean you need a different sort of software. Do nothing except look around for the time being - it could be that you won't need anything different from what you have for several years. I'll bet most other software crashes relentlessly, just as much as that from Sage.

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Replying to FirstTab:
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By 3569787
03rd May 2016 17:25

You lose your bet

.

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By bkrajiv
08th Oct 2012 16:14

but sage is the best one out there. yes they will give you the standard shpeel that they wont support an ole version but i am still using a version 9 on some of my clients !!

 

YOu just gotta be sensible, back up data on a daily basis, zip year ends etc and you will never have a problem. What you need to ensure is you have a strong server and IT system in place which does not crash on you !!

Stick with Sage

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By Ding Dong
08th Oct 2012 20:50

necessary evil

I am no sage reseller, fan advocate or otherwise.

But in my humble opinion it does work it has pros and cons - reporting is not brilliant but improving (as is drilldown), lack of flexibility, but to counter that the inability to edit transactions retains audit trail

It can be a sledgehammer to crack a nut but in a business your size I would rather go with teh industry standard (sage is undisputed number 1) because more bugs and problems are found (because of the number of users) and it is easier to manage.

I am not saying it is the best - probably isn't but - it works most of the time, it will crash as most software does but remember - the grass isn't always greener....

One key decision to look at is initial cost vs monthly subscription, £19.99/mth (or whatever) to use a cloud based system sounds cheap, but that is £240pa or £1200 over 5 years.....

(For the record no commission was earned in the writing of this post, other software providers are available)

oh forgot to add, as long as you have backups you will be OK , and like (say) MS Office no you don't have to upgrade every year/ 2 years etc BUT it is quite nice to occasionally have the new fangled version with all the widgets

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By Ding Dong
08th Oct 2012 20:51

@ bkrajiv

Very eloquently put - personally I may have said "best of a bad bunch" but your descriptor is perhaps a tad more accurate !!

 

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Replying to snute2008:
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By bkrajiv
09th Oct 2012 12:00

Cheers !

Ding Dong wrote:

Very eloquently put - personally I may have said "best of a bad bunch" but your descriptor is perhaps a tad more accurate !!

 

 

Cheers ding Dong !!

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By petersaxton
08th Oct 2012 21:22

QuickBooks

I would recommend QuickBooks. They new version is even better than earlier versions.

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By maxfield
09th Oct 2012 08:57

Another sub

Thanks for all the comments; it's been interesting to hear other members views in particular on Sage.

My feeling in the past has always been that Sage is the best one out there for a company our size.  Unfortunately, another subsidiary means changing our licence and hence the reason for being forced into an upgrade; in the past I have left it a couple of years beyond Sage discontinuing our version before relenting to an upgrade.  The online packages have moved on a lot over the past few years so now seemed an appropriate time to take a look at the alternatives.

My research is seeming to suggest that the flexibility of reporting is still a potential issue with the online options, and, though I may get frustrated with Sage's report designing, at least over the years I have learnt how to get the most out of it.  I am taking a closer look at Xero.  As pointed out by Ding Dong though, monthly subscription does not necessarily mean cheaper so I will need convincing it is substantially better than Sage to warrant a move.

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
09th Oct 2012 09:15

.

Xero will do the job, but it wont have all the "bells and whistles" that the better versions of SAGE do. It is however much much much easier and quicker to use. Keying time should drop by approx 30-50%. Reporting is much easier. If you want to dump a report into excel and play - its there in a couple of clicks. You can drill down properly etc etc etc.

You do need to watch your controls however as you can change things and if I was working with it as a management accountant I would lock it down each month.

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Darren Cran, AccountsIQ
By dcran
20th Feb 2017 18:58

AccountsIQ is a strong option for replacing Sage 50 and 200. Being a native cloud system there are no version issues or managed data centres to be concerned with. It has a full mature API library covering the entire system and its scales unlike most Cloud Systems. It aligns with products like SalesForce and Concur and has true accounting and fx consolidation so its for high potential starts ups and mid market organisations that are looking to join the DX transformation and move their finance function to the next level or simply replace your on prem legacy accounting system with a better, faster and easier to use application. AIQ's core strengths are Consolidation, Custom Reporting, Payments, Mobile, Integration and Enhanced Core GL. Worth looking at...

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