Get the latest in accounting technology with the Sage Accounting Software for Small Business Canada. The Sage 50 software program is compatible with QuickBooks and Peachtree, making it easy to import your business data right into the program. Encrypt sensitive data such as employee Social Insurance Numbers and credit card numbers.
Categorize your income and expenses. Create tax reports. Cross-Reference chart of accounts. Design customizable billing statements. This article is about Sage Accounting Software, which is a popular accounting software program in Canada. With Sage Accounting software, you can manage your small business more effectively and economically. Sage accounting software training and sage 50 login are also here.
Cloud-based accounting software is a computer program hosted securely in the cloud to provide remote, anywhere access that assists small business owners and accountants in recording and reporting a business’ financial transactions.
Sage Accounting is as easy as it gets! Quick and easy to set up, you don’t need to be a CPA to get started. Plus, it’s easy to learn the software from our expert tutorials and demos if you hit a skill ceiling and want to learn more.
Sage: Best for Freelancers/Self-Employed
SageSage lets you create and send invoices, track payments, and automatically reconcile bank entries.It offers 24/7 support via live Q&A chats with experts at Sage, as well as one-on-one sessions with an accounting expert.The software integrates with only one POS system.COMPARE QUOTES
Freelancers and self-employed people need an affordable accounting program that can help them send invoices and get paid. Sage Business Cloud Accounting offers that and much more, making it our pick for the best accounting software for freelancers and the self-employed.
Editor’s score: 7.5/10
Sage Business Cloud Accounting is inexpensive accounting software that packs a lot of punch. With the entry-level plan, you can create and send invoices, track payments and automatically reconcile bank entries.
Sage has another plan that costs $25 a month for unlimited users. With it, you can send invoices, quotes and estimates; run reports and conduct analysis to forecast cash flow; manage purchase invoices; and automatically snap and post receipts. Sage makes that service free for the first three months, and the company is currently running a promotion that gives business users 50% off the higher-tier plan for six months.
We also like that Sage offers a free 30-day trial. Sage also makes it easy to cancel; there isn’t a long-term contract that costs extra to break, but you do have to give the company advance notice of cancellation. Another reason we chose Sage for freelancers and self-employed people is that it is easy to set up and navigate. The software automates a lot of the accounting processes that are typically manual, such as posting expenses and payments and sending invoices and reminders about past-due bills. Thanks to its integrations and apps, Sage is easily expandable as your business grows. The company operates an online app marketplace and integrates with a slew of apps, including AutoEntry, Draycir, Avalara and Credit Hound.
Sage’s customer service is very accessible, which is good news for freelancers and self-employed people who don’t have accounting expertise. If you have questions or need help, you can access customer support 24/7 by chat and live Q&A sessions. Sage also offers one-on-one help through online sessions with Sage accounting experts.
For self-employed and freelance workers, it’s essential to be able to quickly and easily send invoices and track payments. With Sage Business Cloud Accounting, you get an affordable way to keep cash flowing, making it a great accounting program for freelancers and self-employed individuals.
Sage Accounting is affordable, but competitors can offer a more modern user experience and greater product transparency.
Sage Accounting is a cloud-based small-business accounting software. With two affordable plans to choose from, Sage Accounting offers essential bookkeeping and accounting features, comprehensive reporting and inventory tracking. Despite its affordability, however, competitors like QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks may provide a more modern user experience and greater product transparency.Nerdy tip: Try not to get confused by the Sage naming conventions. “Sage Accounting” is used to refer to the cloud-based software we’ll be reviewing here, as well as one of the two pricing plans offered for this product — Sage Accounting Start and Sage Accounting. You may also see the Sage Accounting software called “Sage Business Cloud Accounting.” Additionally, the phrase “Sage accounting” is sometimes used online to refer to any or all of the Sage software products that perform accounting functions.
| Pros | Cons |
| Double-entry accounting.Affordable monthly costs.Free trial.Unlimited users with Sage Accounting (second-tier plan).Comprehensive reporting and inventory tracking. | Time tracking not included with either plan.Subscription required for receipt capture service; receipt capture available only with Sage Accounting plan.Outdated user interface.Lack of clarity and transparency with product details on Sage website. |
Deciding factors
| Price | Sage Accounting Start: $10 per month.Sage Accounting: $25 per month. |
| Maximum number of users | Sage Accounting Start: 1 user.Sage Accounting: Unlimited users. |
| Maximum number of financial accounts | Unlimited. |
| Ease of sharing with accountants | Good. Sage recommends that your accountant sign up for the Sage Accounting – Accountants Edition to establish a link to your data with full access rights. Your accountant will be able to sign up for free and invite you to connect to their account regardless of your Sage plan level. |
| Scalability | Fair. You can easily upgrade from Sage Accounting Start to Sage Accounting as your business grows. If you decide to upgrade, your data will automatically migrate to the new version. If, however, your business grows beyond the level of the Accounting plan, you’ll need to perform a more manual migration process to switch to one of Sage’s software products designed for larger businesses. |
| Ease of use | Fair. Sage Accounting has a simple dashboard and straightforward top navigation, but it lacks the more modern design of competitors like QuickBooks or FreshBooks.Additionally, due to the popularity of Sage in Canada and the United Kingdom, you may find it more difficult to find user support resources specific to U.S. versions of the software. |
How does Sage Accounting work?
After you sign up for Sage Accounting, you’ll be able to log in to your account and access your dashboard. Your main dashboard view will be the summary tab, which provides an overview of key financial information, such as sales, expenses and cash flow. You’ll be able to navigate to different sections of your account using the navigation bar across the top of your dashboard.
When you sign in for the first time, you’ll see the Getting Started wizard, which can walk you through the steps needed to get your account set up. You’ll be able to enter basic information about your business, like your company name and address, as well as create and link your bank accounts.
Once your bank accounts are linked, your transactions will download to Sage automatically, helping to streamline the reconciliation process when balancing your books.
Next, you’ll be able to enter customer and vendor information. If you have existing contact data in a spreadsheet, you’ll be able to import it directly into Sage Accounting. You’ll also be able to set up your chart of accounts, enter opening account balances and review your trial balance report.
At any time, you can visit the online help center for additional information on setting up your account, or chat with Sage customer service by clicking the chat button in the upper right corner of your screen.
With the Sage Accounting plan, you can invite multiple users to your account and assign them one of five user roles. If you are working with a professional bookkeeper or accountant, they can sign up for Sage Accounting Accountants Edition and send you an email invite from their account. Once you accept the invitation, your accountant will have full access rights to the data within your Sage account.
Sage Accounting Start users must go through this process in order to work with an accountant. However, although Sage Accounting offers unlimited users, Sage recommends linking accounts through this process for a better user experience.
Pricing
Promotional discounts may apply. Sage offers a 30-day free trial for the Accounting Start and Accounting plan. You can also schedule a one-on-one session with a Sage Accounting expert to address questions you may have, or call its sales phone line for additional product information.
| Plan | Pricing | Features |
| Sage Accounting Start | $10 per month. | Create, send and track invoices.Connect bank accounts and track expenses.Add customers and suppliers.Perform automatic bank reconciliation.Process online credit and debit card payments.Generate and export financial reports.Download free Sage Accounting mobile app.Integrate with 20+ third-party apps in the Sage Marketplace. |
| Sage Accounting | $25 per month. | All the features of Accounting Start.Create and send quotes and estimates.Set up recurring invoices, payments and customer statements.Modify sales tax rates.Track and manage inventory.Forecast cash flow.Enable foreign currency invoicing.Create purchase orders.Capture and post receipts automatically with AutoEntry (paid subscription required, monthly fee waived for first three months). |
Benefits of Sage Accounting
Comprehensive reporting
Between Sage Accounting Start and Sage Accounting, this software offers solid reporting features, extending beyond the basic financial statements (profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, general ledger). With the entry-level plan, you can create a chart of accounts, sales tax reports, 1099 vendor reports and accounts receivable aging reports.
The Accounting plan takes reporting to the next level with cash flow forecasts, profit analysis, accounts payable aging reports and stock movements. For comparison, accounts payable and receivable reporting requires the Essentials version of QuickBooks Online ($50 per month). FreshBooks doesn’t even offer basic accounting reports, like the chart of accounts or general ledger, until its second-tier plan ($25 per month), and accounts payable features require the Premium plan ($50 per month).
Inventory tracking
Inventory tracking can be a particularly useful feature of accounting software for product-based businesses. Not all accounting software solutions offer inventory management, however, and some that do offer it only with their top-tier plans.
Sage does not include inventory tracking with the Accounting Start plan, but it is included with the Accounting plan — at $25 per month. QuickBooks Online is well-known for its inventory features, but you must opt for the Plus plan (at a minimum) for $80 per month to access them. Similarly, Zoho Books doesn’t offer inventory tracking until its Professional plan ($50), and the free Wave accounting software doesn’t provide these capabilities at all.
With Sage Accounting, you can add products, organize them into categories and customize their prices. You can track quantities, set stock reorder levels, receive out-of-stock notifications and generate reports on your best-selling products. Moreover, you can also add services or actions that you buy and sell to customers, like software upgrades or computer repairs.
Conclusion
Sage 50 Accounting software is the perfect solution for accounting in Canada, especially small businesses and growing businesses. The Sage 50 features will help you grow your business with various features and it is not just limited to book keeping. We at Sage 50 accounting software training teach sage 50 accounting software to our students and help them learn various features of Sage Accounting software that helps small businesses find better solutions for themselves.