Sage Business Cloud is the new online accounting solution for small business in Nigeria. Get all the best features of professional accounting software, with no installation, setup or training. Just start using the software and get more done.
Small Business Accounting Software Sage is a user-friendly accounting software designed to suit the needs of business owners working on a limited budget.
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.
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). |
Sage vs. QuickBooks
TL;DR: In short, QuickBooks is generally better for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) who use bookkeepers. Sage, on the other hand, is typically suited for larger companies with a Controller or CFO who need more industry-tailored features.
Similarities
QuickBooks and Sage both offer entry level solutions for small businesses that are affordable and easy-to-use.
The most comparable solution to QuickBooks in Sage’s portfolio is Sage 50cloud, formerly known as Peachtree. Retail pricing for the most affordable option, Sage 50cloud Pro Accounting, currently starts just under $500/year, making it the most similar price point to QuickBooks that Sage offers.
Like most of the QuickBooks editions, the majority of the Sage ERP products are not inherently cloud-based, but can be run from the cloud in a hosted environment through third party hosting.
Both have large ecosystems of third-party integrated solutions such as Expense Management, AP Automation, and Payments, to name just a few.
Differences
There are significant differences between Sage and QuickBooks. Beyond Sage 50cloud, that’s where many of the similarities stop. That’s where you see the products being a better fit for established, growing organizations. Many of the companies using Sage products 100 and up have a dedicated Controller or CFO (as opposed to a bookkeeper, which is more common for QuickBooks users).
Also, unlike QuickBooks, Sage offers more tailored industry-specific business management options, like Construction and Real Estate, Manufacturing, Wholesale Distribution, etc.
QuickBooks Pros and Cons
As with any other management tool, QuickBooks has its pros and cons. According to a user survey, people reported the following advantages and disadvantages to using QuickBooks:
QuickBooks Pros
- 1. Efficient
- 2. Easy-to-use
- 3. Flexible with third-party applications
- 4. Good accounting options
- 5. Affordable price
- 6. Money management and financial reporting features
- 7. Automatic synchronization with bank accounts
- 8. Full suite of bookkeeping tools
- 9. Cloud support options
QuickBooks Cons
- 1. System occasionally crashes
- 2. Lacks certain key reports for outside accounting
- 3. Lacks some business and industry-specific features, such as barcode scanning, eCommerce and lot tracking
- 4. File-size issues
- 5. Limited number of users allowed
- 6. Limited personalization options
Bottom Line: What You Need to Know About QuickBooks
If you are considering leasing or purchasing QuickBooks, you can feel assured that the program is user friendly and comes with many options for small business owners. However, inventory management can be a weakness, which is problematic for businesses with robust inventory management needs. Users are also limited in the degree of personalization options for invoices, and project management is lacking. Therefore, if your business requires a program with collaboration options between employees, other programs may work better. If you prioritize a program that offers simple ease-of-use, QuickBooks is a great option.
Sage Pros and Cons
Sage is a more advanced form of accounting software than QuickBooks, and it goes beyond basic bookkeeping features. The following are the notable pros and cons of using this program:
Sage Pros
- 1. Expense tracking
- 2. Cloud-based project management
- 3. Personalized invoices and quotes
- 4. Collaboration between multiple users on a single project
- 5. A variety of plans, addressing basic accounting needs to advanced project management services
Sage Cons
- 1. Not as user friendly as other accounting programs
- 2. Difficult to set up and not as easy to incorporate into your business as other programs
Bottom Line: What You Need to Know About Sage
Sage is an advanced accounting program that gives users more choices when it comes to personalization and job estimations. It is also suited for project management, allowing collaboration between users. It may not be as easy to master as other programs, but it can grow with your business better than more basic software.
Types of Businesses and Industries That Use QuickBooks
QuickBooks is suited for new and small businesses, offering basic inventory management and introductory accounting solutions. Be prepared to upgrade your system, though, as your business expands or requires inventory management. However, if you don’t have a large inventory or plan to keep your business small, QuickBooks can be ideal. The following are just a few examples of the industries that would benefit greatly from QuickBooks:
- Legal services
- Medical services
- Accounting
- Retail
- Self-employed freelancers
- Small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs)
Types of Businesses and Industries That Use Sage
When you have a large business or a robust inventory to manage, Sage is a better option than QuickBooks. It offers more options for greater inventory needs and provides an array of project management tools. Although it is not as user friendly to master, it provides greater options for a growing business. The following are the industries that would best benefit from using Sage software:
- Wholesale distribution
- Construction
- Non-profits
- Manufacturing
- Mid- to large-sized businesses (MLBs) with large inventory
Sage Vs QuickBooks Comparison
Everything has pros and cons, so to help you choose which software is for you, here is a quick Sage vs QuickBooks comparison.
Various products: Sage Start-Up and Sage50 are the most popular for small businesses. However, if you require multiple company and multi-user functionality Sage 50 is required.
The most popular for small businesses are SimpleStart and QuickBooks Pro. SimpleStart is suitable for cash businesses as it doesn’t have purchase ledge functionality, however, we would recommend just going to straight to QuickBooks Pro for most small clients.
Mobile apps: QuickBooks and Sage both offer a suite of mobile apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. You can perform virtually all core functions over the apps – including project collaboration and expense tracking.
Online access: Both QuickBooks and Sage can be accessed from any internet-connected device and all data will sync across devices online. Even if your device isn’t supported by mobile apps, you’ll be able to login and view account data from your mobile browser.
The most annoying thing about the online solutions for us is that it is not easy to transition from the desktop versions to the online versions as they look so different and it is not straightforward to bring all your data across. However, for the new business, they could be ideal.
Pricing: The starting price for both software packages are similar with Sage Start-Up around the £120+VAT mark and QuickBooks SimpleStart coming in at £99+VAT. QuickBooks Pro is much cheaper than Sage 50, £269+VAT vs £580+VAT. The online products start at similar levels from £6-£8 per month +VAT.
Trial and extra fees: Sage offers an excellent free trial where users can test the software for free without submitting credit card data (unlike QuickBooks). However, Sage does charge extra for adding administrators to your account while QuickBooks bases its pricing on features – the more you pay, the more you get.
QuickBooks Vs Sage – How To Choose?
As small businesses rely heavily on their accountancy software to keep track of their business financials, it’s no wonder that all the available systems are going above and beyond with their features to be the chosen one.
It can be daunting, deciding which product is the one that you need, so here are a few ways that you can look beyond the bells and whistles to make the right choice:
- List your basic requirements that you want from a software package.
- Identify which are the most relevant products within the ranges for your business.
- Look at the trials to see which you like the look and feel of.
- Take the product’s online training course and play around with the practice data yourself.
- Seek advice from your accountant – before choosing a software, go through the pros and cons specific to your business with your accountant to help decide on the most suitable package. They will also help you with the software setup.
Deciding on the best accounting software product is all about assessing different solutions and figuring out what would be the top application for your specific needs. Try to keep it as simple as that.
Conclusion
Sage business accounting software is specifically designed with small and medium-sized businesses in mind. Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or are already running your operation, Sage offers the tools and features you need to achieve success. Download the free 30-day trial today!