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Sage previews online accounts production

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28th May 2014
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Attendees at Accountex this year got a sneak peak of Sage’s upcoming accounts production offering, which is due to launch later this year.

Paul Tooth, managing director at Sage’s Accountants Division told AccountingWEB that Sage One Final Accounts is a true cloud application - the first offered by Sage to accountants in practice.

The final accounts program can be launched from the client list in the companion Sage One Accountants Edition, and populated with a trial balance by clicking a single button in the bookkeeping program. the interface is very simple and cloud-like, with tasks split between three tabbed views at the to of the screen: Trial balance; Data; and Accounts review. The summary screen shows the profit and loss account, alongside comparative figures from previous years (if available). All figures can be clicked to drill through to the underlying transactions and any adjustments will automatically update the final accounts view.

The file will print to a PDF, or to an iXBRL file, although work on the electronic filing mechanism is not yet complete. Sage One Final Accounts will undergo further development and user testing throughout the summer, with an official launch planned for November or December, according to Tooth.

The AP solution is has been built completely from scratch by a team of 50 developers who used ‘agile’ methods. After user testing, they will go through one more ‘sprint’ to finalise the system.

More applications will be added to make up a full practice suite, with tax products lined up for March 2015.

“The full practice solution suite will be modular so you can pick and choose the elements you require,” Tooth said. “We’re offering choice. It could be cloud or desktop, or a mixture of both.”

For those lucky enough to get a look at the solution in Sage’s VIP lounge at Accountex, the new design concept impressed attendees.

Accountants also got a sneak peak of the next generation Sage 50 software, which is now much stronger on data integrity and cleansing functions, according to Tooth.

Tooth described the new Sage 50 as a “neat tool which allows greater collaboration.”

The new Sage 50 also has auto enrolment features which completely automate the whole process and can help accountants grapple with the level of work involved when their clients stage.

Paul Harris, head of marketing at Sage’s Accountants Division was also on hand at Accountex and told AccountingWEB that for the first time Sage has started “opening the doors” to let people see what’s coming up.

“The world’s changing,” he said. “It’s now more important to involve accountants, our customers, in that journey and let them see things and help us shape it.”

Harris also showcased Sage’s prototype ‘Engage’ application, a highly graphical tablet-based accounts overview system that he likened to a “concept car”. The app looks forward over the next three to five years at everything available in technology to help innovate the future.

Harris explains more in this video:

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