SAGE Accountancy software

[Welderpaul]

My current 'Back bedroom accountancy' doesnt cut the mustard any more according to my Accountant

He has suggested SAGE. Has anyone used it before? Any comments? pros/cons?

 

[rtbcomp]

Used it a lot up to about 5 years ago, had a problem upgrading from version 10 to 11 - some of the reports needed re-writing.

According to my accountant it's the most popular but not the best.

It does the job and accountants & HMRC are familiar with it, it should just be a case of handing a backup to your accountant at year-end so he can put your data on his computer.

Get your accountant to set your accounts up and you'll find the day to day use easy enough.

Don't buy your stationary from Sage, you can get compatible forms cheaper elsewhere.

There is plenty of support from Sage, and they seem to know what they're talking about.

 

[tigler]

Used it years ago in the family business and it did all we needed it to. Are you a company, employees ? one man band ?

 

[Caledonian]

Yup, I've used it for years, both accounts and wages.
Easy to learn and easy to use day to day. You can take as much or as little out in the way of reports that you fancy. I've not been taking many reports lately, I know it's quiet don't have to read it too
But it's great for looking at different parts of the business to see what is making money (or not)
2 clicks get the dreaded VAT Return and you can pay it direct from Sage via your bank if you want. Not me, I take it to the last day
Accountants love it coz they all seem to be so familiar with it.
All in all a pretty positive solution, just don't be sold into one that does so much more than you need, your accountant should keep you right on that.
You may have guessed I like it I do, coz it's simple!

Jack

 

[snowcat]

Expensive for what it does IMHO, theres a host of Cashbook and spredsheet templetes that will do the same jobs for peanuts, Its just haveing the time to sift through and set them up...

Is Mrs WP not keen on doing the books?

 

[Shox Dr]

I've not used sage. we used TAS Accounting and Payroll. The biggest ripoff is the ongoing cost of "upgrades" to keep up with HMRC. In the end I became a reseller, but it still cost around £350 per yr.

 

[Robotstar5]

The last place I worked used it, seemed fine for a small company (<10 employees) technical support was excellent.

 

[gavuk]

My mrs says ..get a bookkeeper.......then again thats what she does.......she thinks sage or quickbooks ,but its easier if you stick with software your accountant uses and can support

 

[Chipper]

Sage is popular over here, in the US Quickbooks is the main one. Loads of versions of Sage so cost and complexity depends what you need from it. We used MyOb as it was cheap and the accountant did salary slips and VAT returns, it spat out the details they needed. As said Sage is pretty universal with accountants so it's easy to send them data.

 

[Photog Keith]

I used Quickbooks too when running my photographic business. It's cheap, easy to use and bookkeepers are usually happy with it. You export too, so worth asking your accountant if that is suitable for him.
Unless you have a complex operation with loads of staff, Sage isn't worth the cost or hassle!

 

[Mr J Morton]

some helpful info here:

http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/24/featured/best-open-source-accounting-software.html

 

[mike os]

older versions of Quickbooks were great, current one is (last time I looked) a steaming pile of something unpleasant.

Sage is a bit of a pita to set up... but your supplier should do it for you

for both you pay every year for the HMRC "update"

 

[droopsnoot]

I've not used sage. we used TAS Accounting and Payroll. The biggest ripoff is the ongoing cost of "upgrades" to keep up with HMRC. In the end I became a reseller, but it still cost around £350 per yr.

Trouble is, these changes keep coming in to legislation and someone has to pay for the guys to change the software. We used to have our own payroll software, quite a few people liked it, it was way easier to use than Sage and many others, but the cost of modifying it to keep up with legislation was costing us more than we could reasonably get in from the customers, so it had to go.

We were reselling Sage for a while, and had integrated it into our main business software, but we had the same problem - every time Sage brought out a new version, they'd break the integration so we had to change our software to keep up with it. Then we had to find time to upgrade all our customers, which with the size of our customer base meant roughly one man-year to do that. So we dropped the integration and stopped reselling it.

As far as how it works (dragging back to topic) I believe it's pretty good, you can get support and advice from many places, they must be doing something right. And of course if it makes life easier for your accountant because he can just load your backup to do the year end and VAT returns, that means his bill will be smaller, of course.

 

[Delgado]

We used to use Quickbooks at our place, as said it wasn't that great so we now use SAGE which is much better. It's a bit harder to get the hang of, but fairly easy once you do.
With Sage it's good how you can create a quote then transfer it directly to an Invoice and then a sales order without keep typing it out, the only down side (AFAIK) is that if you make a mistake with the invoicing you cant change it and have to raise a credit note.

 

[Shox Dr]

I pointed it out as many people over look the fact, it will be an ongoing cost. As for reducing your accountants bill, don't make me laugh

 

[Shox Dr]

We used to use Quickbooks at our place, as said it wasn't that great so we now use SAGE. It's a bit harder to get the hang of, but fairly easy once you do.
It's good how you can create a quote then transfer it directly to an Invoice and then a sales order without keep typing it out, the only down side (AFAIK) is that if you make a mistake with the invoicing you cant change it and have to raise a credit note.

You can be only if you haven't printed it.
It's the same with any accounting system it's called an "audit trial"

 

[mm289]

IMHO a lot depends on the size of business and number of employees etc.

I'm involved in an IT business with 13 emp's and we use Sage for that. TBH the accountant really doesn't like it but that is 'cause we are running an old version and it isn't at all flexible on reporting - we have also found Sage not great on support although others here seem to have a better experience so it is probably "variable".

On a +ve for Sage every accounting firm in the UK pretty much seems to use or support Sage so when it comes to getting your year end/CT/audit done it is an easy road.

Of the "paid for" softwares Quickbooks is the best alternative to Sage and I use that in my own "small" business. The user interface is more intuitive and the later versions (2008/2010) are pretty robust.

QB doesn't handle "inventory management" aka stock terribly well but is reasonable at costing up jobs and is easy for creating invoices etc.

One of the things I like about QB for a small business with an accountant (me) that can't spend a dedicated time each month on doing the books, is that you can post a transaction to any date. i.e. it is now 23rd September, if I find I have missed posting an invoice for June I can go in and back date the posting. Most accounts packages force you to "close off" a month end before you go one to the next which can be a pain. (there are dangers to the above e.g. VAT reporting but it is useful)

QB is relatively cheap (£249 for Pro which is the one I use) and upgrades are free for "non additional modules" i.e. you pay to upgrade if you have the Payroll module because all the tax tables etc change every year but you don't pay for core application upgrades. QB also offer the system on a pay monthly "cloud computing" basis. They tend to force you to upgrade to a later product though every 2-3 years when they drop support for earlier versions.

It is worth checking with your accountant if he supports QB, mine does but only 3 of his customers use it - having said which I believe QB is becoming more popular in the UK year by year.

The only other comment I would make is unless you have loads of staff why pay for the payroll modules? HMRC do there own payroll processing software which is real easy to use, has automated submission, produces end of year P60's etc and is FREE! This is what I use.

Sorry for the long response, before I did my current job I used to be an FD so have had lots of experience (good and bad) on this - bit like you guys on welding!!

MM

 

[Delgado]

You can be only if you haven't printed it.
It's the same with any accounting system it's called an "audit trial"

Sure, but still a PITA when its been posted and, god forbid, someone's under charged.

 

[Delgado]

On a side note;

Do you do a cashflow forcast Paul?

Although it takes a bit of time to keep on top of, depending on the size of your business, outgoings, amount of suppliers, direct debits etc.. It's very handy to be able to see exactly what you've got going out and coming in each week/month.

If you want I'll email you an excel template, PM me if interested.

 

[Tin Can]

Go for it

I worked at an MG Rover dealership for 27 years (until the demise of MG Rover 4 years ago) mainly on a mainframe computer doing admin/accounts and when i started work at a small Engineering Company doing their admin/accounts found it quite a culture shock going onto a standalone pc running Sage Instant Accounts. Anyway i self taught myself the 'Sage' way of doing it and can honestly say it does exactly what it says on the can. Its easy, straight, forward and fun to use. If you want any help setting it up or tips/advice on using it give me a shout. Go for it

ps - we have a staff of 28 and a turnover of approaching £2m and Sage does it all

Mark