Sage Business Cloud Accounting Reviews

Pros

Ease of use. I have basic accounting training but, by using the help pages, I have managed to run my business without the expense of accountants. VAT returns are just a press of a button and all information is easily found if needed. The package has grown ( at no extra cost) and the stock control and invoicing side has much improved.

Cons

Sage support is very good if you have to telephone them - HOWEVER it is expensive! Very occasionally the system has crashed (not often) and it can cost you money to find out that it is their error not yours...

Pros

This software does everything a small, medium or relatively large sized business would need. The backend database is SQL server, so it's fast and well structured, and we found lots of modules and external products integrate well with it.

Cons

Implementation and training needed external consultants to do it at scale and at speed. The licence model is per user, so as soon as you start adding quite a few employees the cost of running the software gets rather pricey, though it's comparable to SAP B1 for example. We used our own servers to host the application and database, and although it's called "cloud" it's really not, but perhaps in the future.

Alternatives Considered

SAP Business One

Reasons for Choosing Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Sage50 could no longer cope with the number of transactions due to its outdated database setup, and SAP B1 was migrated across when we acquired a business that used this but needed to be integrated.

Switched From

Sage 50cloud Accounting and SAP Business One

Reasons for Switching to Sage Business Cloud Accounting

We already had Sage 200 Business Cloud Accounting so it was logical to migrate everything into this, also SAP B1 was slightly more expensive.

Pros

The sage logo hinted that it may be similar to their line 50 product. Oh, how wrong I was.
There is quite literally nothing good I can say about this software, their customer support nor their accounts and billing team.,

Cons

It falls way short of functional. It couldn't be further behind the competition if they did nothing.
Essential features like repeating invoices were missing.
You can't pay with or receive into the director's loan account.
You are restricted in the number and type of bank/cash accounts you can have.
Fixing anything is a mammoth task
and even then, it doesn't actually fic the issues.

Pros

Very easy to navigate system. Clear to understand and easy to run reports and reconcile bank account.

Cons

Nothing that I can think of as all relevant and easy to use

Alternatives Considered

Xero

Reasons for Switching to Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Recommended by others and had used before.

Pros

We have used the software version of sage products such as Sage Business Works and Sage 50 so the product and company are familiar to us. The ability to login to the software from anywhere and to no longer have to have client/server environment is great. The software was easy to signup for and was relatively easy to implement.

Cons

There are 2 large cons to this software in comparison to it's direct competitors.
Con #1: The package has no ability to custom group GL accounts. So for example, if you have a section on your income statement for sales and you want to group sales by category and have a sub-total for that sales section you cannot do that. There is really no ability to edit the income statement layout or the balance sheet layout to add in sections and sub totals so you are stuck with the canned version of the software.

Con #2: In an environment where you have multiple small companies, you look after you cannot have one userid and password to access all the companies. You have to setup each company with it's own userid an password then invite another user via an email link to join.

Alternatives Considered

Xero

Reasons for Choosing Sage Business Cloud Accounting

We made the switch as we wanted to get away from a client/server based software solution and wanted a cloud based solution.

Reasons for Switching to Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Our thought was to stay with the same company thinking that the transition would be easier and we had been happy with their other product offerings in the past. The user interface also was easy to understand and utilize in comparison to quick books an xero accounting as we were already familiar with how Sage products work overall.

Pros

The installation and implementation procedures are straightforward. I like how easy the features are to use, even for non-accountants. It enables clients and colleagues to share files in real-time, saving time and eliminating the need to send invoices via email. This streamlines and lowers the cost of debtor management. When one is on the go, having access via a mobile device is extremely useful. The software is also reasonably priced, and it includes a free trial period. Sage's customer service is excellent.

Cons

One suggestion is that when adding a new Item from the Invoice screen, the new Item screen includes all features (such as selecting the Purchase account). You must currently exit the Invoice, create a new Item, and then return to the Invoice.

Alternatives Considered

Xero

Reasons for Switching to Sage Business Cloud Accounting

We were able to combine our accounting and payroll systems by using Sage One. It enables us to manage our accounts from any location and using any device. It also relieved us of the responsibility of backing up and protecting our financial records.

Pros

I love the usability of this product. As a non-accountant, I feel able to easily keep track of my small business accounts with Sage Business Cloud Accounting. Plus, if ever there is a time where I don't know something and my accountant isn't available, the Sage help is excellent. I love the new addition of the Sage University which is going to be a real help in training my team.

Cons

I feel that for me personally, the cash flow forecasting is a bit complicated, but I'll admit I haven't fully explored this side of things, I tend to do all my budgeting on a spreadsheet but it would be handy to have it integrated with my accounts. Maybe a section that can look at the P&Ls for past years and recommend budgets for the months, quarters and year ahead. Again, it's not something I've fully looked into so it may already exist on the platform.

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online and Xero

Reasons for Switching to Sage Business Cloud Accounting

It was recommended to me by my accountant who was already using the software for some other clients and after trialling it, I found it great.

Pros

Installation and implementation are easy. I like that the features are easy to use even for non-accounting persons. It enables real time sharing of files with clients and colleagues which saves on time and eliminates the need to direct email invoices. This makes debtor management easy and less costly. Accessibility from a mobile device is a huge plus when one is on the move. The software is also affordable and has a free trial. Sage has good customer support.

Cons

Since the software can only be accessed online, it is difficult to work with when internet speeds are slow or when there is no connection at all. Sometimes bank sync feed is slow and the handling of foreign currency bank transactions could do with some improvements.

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Sage is user friendly even to persons with no book keeping knowledge while Quickbooks Online requires so basic book keeping knowhow. Sage has better customer support compared to Quickbooks Online. Considering our business needs, Sage seemed more affordable for us.

Pros

Very easy to use, so perfect for users with limited financial knowledge. Linked bank accounts make month end bank reconciations quick and accurate, saving a lot of time.

Cons

The reporting section is not ideal for us, but still very useful.

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online and Xero

Reasons for Switching to Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Market leader, and previous experience using Sage products.

Pros

The fact that this is online and can be accessed from any device is a real pleasure. It means as a sole trader that I can enter receipts while I'm on the go or at home when I have a spare few minutes. I know sage was late to the party for online accounting systems but they have managed to make a simple system and one that starts cheaper than the competitors.

The second main feature for me was the ability to automatically connect to my bank accounts and match my transactions as this saves no end of time and is all included in the monthly price.

They also have a feature which allows you download your transaction in a CSV file as well, if you wanted to move them to another system.

Cons

It's not as customisable as the desktop version was but once you get over that hurdle and change your way of thinking and acting then you realise they had a reason for making it so simple.

Pros

It is relatively intuitive for people with only a basic knowledge of business accounting. It allows easy manipulation of accounting data and you are able to provide periodical reports which means you always know the state of your companies finances. It can be accessed from anywhere and at any time and allows you to restrict certain users to particular areas. You are able to give your accountant a direct log in to your accounts which makes annual tax accounting very quick and simple.
Sage One can be tied to your bank accounts so that all items that pass through your accounts can be automatically uploaded into sage saving lots of time on entering data.
VAT filing and reports can be done instantly and sent directly to HMRC.
Can also be used directly with Sage Payroll meaning all information from payroll is automatically added to Sage One accounts.

Cons

If you're internet connection is weak this can slow things down a bit though on the whole it is a very stable and trustworthy platform.
The only thing I find a little bit weak is the inability to create direct backups of your accounts either your computer desktop or external drives. The only method of backing up the information is to print reports of all ledgers, invoices, receipts and audit trail. This means you will always have the information but in the event of a catastrophic failure it would be highly time consuming to re-input all the details. There would be no obvious method of doing this.

Pros

The company I got a job with a few years ago used Sage, I was apprehensive about learning a new computer system but Sage was easy. It was intuitive if you have a little experience and accounting knowledge. It gives very great reports and gives you a lot of basic detail. I like.the fact that you can drill down to give various information.

Cons

There were a few times that I wish there was an online help to explain a few questions. There are a lot of reports and I feel like you may have to look at several reports to pull some advanced details.

Pros

The only two good parts of the software are the discounted price and it clearly shows you how long until the end of your VAT period.

Cons

Unreliable
Very little development in the 6 years I have used it
Slow to do basic tasks
The interface isn't user-friendly
There is no way to take a back up your data
The customer service is slow - typical experience is 20+ min wait for live chat, no response to emails and 15+ wait for phone support (on a premium rate number)

Cons

It has only been around for 3 years, so it's not as fully developed as some more mature offerings out there. They are adding new stuff all the time but you might find some features missing that you are used to.

Pros

The software saved much time which made my work as a Junior accountant a bit easy. It also made it easy to track down errors that I made during inserting details and it was less time consuming to ractifiy the errors. It was aslo handy for Financial Reporting to investors and the report must be straightforward and reasonable.

Cons

The software needs to be tailored to fit to small and medium sized businesses. The Bank reconciliations system calculation can be consfusing at first which can stop other users from using it

Pros

We moved from Sage 50 accounts to Sage one around 2 years ago when a member of the team left and it has been beneficial as we can log in no matter where we are and complete our work. It is also very easy to use and quick to train other people on.

Cons

There is still work that needs improved and coming from Sage 50 that had alot of reports and functions it is hard to not have them.

Pros

The fact that is cloud base and accessible from anywhere as long as you have internet access. There are apps available to download onto mobile devices. The product is user friendly with guidance on how to use features.

Download bank statements and map the expenses to save lots of time in the future.

Cons

It is sometimes slow depending on internet speed and take a while to download bank statements.

Pros

It is fairly easy to use. It provides the basic needs of small business owners. Helps me with their tax prep needs

Cons

Navigation through the product isn't seamless

Alternatives Considered

Xero

Reasons for Switching to Sage Business Cloud Accounting

I was familiar from my corporate life

Pros

User-friendly interface. Good dashboard view.
Collaboration with external agencies - HMRC, our accountant & book-keeper.
Functionality has increased alongside our needs as a growing business.
Cost-effective
Excellent customer support

Cons

No trace-ability of emails sent - only a Yes or No view of whether emails (invoices) have been sent.
Cannot export XL data to our Pension portal (Big booooo for the Sageone!)
No auto-generation of a reference number for purchases like there is sales?! This causes us issues!!
Only 1 user allowed to access Payroll platform for our subscription

Pros

There appears to be a lot of thought that has gone into the layout of all the screens. They are so easy to navigate and we've found that our accounting staff were very easy to train on it, which is a great sign.

Cons

Time tracking would be a nice addition to have. It would make the software that much more fuller, and give us more of what we needed.

Pros

I love how I can connect to Sage from anywhere and manage my client's accounts.

Cons

I still feel that there are a lot of functions that were available on the desktop version that are not on the cloud version.

Pros

I first had this software when it was peach tree. It has a ton of features more then you will ever need with the ability to back everything up.

Cons

It takes time to learn there is so much. I would start using this software has soon had you can. I started using it in the middle of my second year of business back in 2014 and it time some time inputting data but once it's there this software made my life a breeze but you will need to take time to set it up

Pros

From a customization point of view I think Sage 300 ranks pretty high. Most lager ERP solutions offers a square to plug a round hole.

Cons

Searching through all the modules for an Invoice and following the flow from AP to GL for example is quite cumbersome. I have had a more positive experience with other ERP solutions as a end user.

Pros

We find it does what it says it does. It's very flexible, not only because of Cloud access, but in terms of products, sales invoicing and reporting. The addition of integration of PayRoll has saved us both time and money.

Cons

To be honest, Iuse it without fuss. I'd prefer the Other Payments option to be in the 'Purchasing' section rather than the 'Banking' section and maybe a 'custom' layout option for Invoices - not fields, but presentation. That's all.

Pros

As a small business this has helped us to manage our both payroll and accounts. The initial motivator to look at online packages was for auto-enrolment. Having used the accounting package as well it's helped us to organise our accounts better and it is a lot easier to get information and reports from it.
The technical support either via self help, web chat and telephone is excellent. I've made a few mistakes initially and these were easily resolved with support line help.

Cons

This will be common to all packages. I now feel that using this software is making us do some tasks that our accountant used to do. Unfortunately I feel that some of this relies on a bit of an understanding of accountancy principles that I didn't have. I needed the support to help explain this and how to find some options. Once done though it's easy to find again.