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Interesting after several business roles he spent 2 years in government in an influential role in the transformation of government processes before moving to a private sector company JUST at the point when MTD was being developed which under its original design all but mandated use of that private sector's (or a competitor's) product.
"Fancy that!" as private eye might say.
"Quickbooks is currently No 2 in the UK but will be No 1 very soon".
I will look at this thread in 12 months time and see if that has happened.
A big boast I think he will struggle to deliver on, even if they are giving subscriptions away.
In case any QBO people are listening: QBO is slow to use, too frequently has JavaScript errors (which don't corrupt your stored data but mean you have to enter a transaction again), has too high a click count for routine tasks like recording a payment, has far too many useless reports, and has a system for matching payments to invoices / bills that I'm still struggling to understand.
On the plus side, though, it's cheap :-)
I have the same issue with many of my clients. In fairness all the platforms have an issue at some point but I do find Xero being the least buggy.
Big difference between selling it cheap and stacking it high to actually using the QBO license they are dumping in the market.
I’d take the QBO numbers with a massive pinch of salt, what I see from Xero is people actually using the software.
Sage is almost done as a serious competitor in the S of the SME space and their recent acquisitions over the past 18 months or so add credence to a seeming focus on large-scale accounting solutions where (perhaps) the competition is less fierce or, at least, it is easier to acquire your way out of trouble.
Peter Jones maybe should cash his cheque quickly for his advertising campaign which for me they got totally wrong, as its aimed at small business, (which he isn't) doesn't show the product (which is rule 1 of TV advertising surely), and the thought of running his empire on Sageone is not believable or relatable to a man who drives a white van for a living, which are you people that will be most effected by MTD, the target market of the campaign.
So in answer to the above got to be pushed.
An unusually acerbic piece from you @John Stokdyk.
You fail to mention that Exact shut up their UK shop.
Of course Stephen Kelly had charm and PR savvy in abundance - he's been extremely successful in his career and he's the CEO of a FTSE 100 business.
I think he's made a lot of changes in his time, but the business still has a huge way to go.
A revolving door of senior exec's does not help their image, although for a "failing" business, Sage exec's always end up landing decent jobs elsewhere. The Sales Director has jumped ship to Fluidly - a 2 year old start up!
The Accountants Division (AD) is too slow to innovate and currently has always had a muddled product set.
No exec stays long enough in the AD to sort out the mess - Nick Longden, Claire Carter, Paul Tooth, have all come and gone. Who is the current MD?
AD is a tiny part of Sage, and with the rest of the business selling through resellers, it's hard for AD, because a reseller model does not work with accountants.
Huge number of seminars and shows this winter/spring, at last, but you must have product to deliver afterwards.
No need to focus on the AD, when other divisions, deliver greater returns per sale.
Sage still don't get accountants.
You may recall the 90 day speech that we attended in Newcastle for Stephen Kelly, John. I was the bear and you were the bull. What's changed?
Everything's changed, but nothing has changed.
The next CEO needs a decent pay rise, to take this business on.
Sage has not invented anything. It has grown by destroying promising and innovative companies. It is now pay back time. I will hold my celebration until it is delisted.
Just a thought, look into the future and everybody is using Cloud based accounting software (which appears to be the the dominant offering now) and your provider goes bust.
It is going to happen there are too many suppliers (many are very similar and full of bloatware) They have spent a lot of money on development, adverting and promotion. If they don't recover this then they are going to feel the strain and some will go to the wall leaving you unable to log into your software. What guarantees have the Government obtained to protect tax payers as they are forced into choosing from so many products but knowing how financially stable they are. Within say five years the market will shrink and many of the software companies chasing your clients money will have gone. I see a major problem with no solution unless surviving software companies take on the crashed ones. This is survival of the fittest and only the big players will survive.
Think of this when advising clients on which Cloud based product to go with, now they may not be around to even see full MTD being rolled out.
I sold Sage in the 90's. I didn't think they ever grasped the nettle of Windows. I switched to Exchequer. Great software for core accounting but weak in peripheral areas like stock management. All through Sage has pursued commercial interests and neglected production of world beating accounting software. Unfortunately accountants have been badly served in the rush for growth and share values. A previous writer makes a good point about Quick Books. It is not a great program but, like Sage, it is being well marketed. When will we get accounting software that does the job we want it to do rather than being a vehicle for quick profits?
I have found Sage accounting not that great, and judging from the rubbish reports I have received from clients, I dont think I am alone in this.
Stephen Kelly is just like most accountancy software..... promises the world and delivers...... a mess for the accountant to sort out.
But to be fair it has a great reputation.