Sage Business Cloud Review

Sage Business Cloud Review
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3.8 of 5 stars 1 review
  • Pricing
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  • Features
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Pros

  • One of the industry-leaders in business apps
  • Best-in-class functionality and features
  • Wide variety of business apps available
  • You will seldom need to use other software to manage your organization
  • Remote access lets you keep the data centralized

Cons

  • Pricing is rather steep
  • It is purely an enterprise solution with little to no value for startups
  • The user interface in some apps can seem a bit dated

ABOUT

Sage is a world leader in providing business solutions to multiple industries. Their expertise spans the fields of CRM, accounting, ERP, and more. As is the case with many giants, Sage also started with desktop applications for businesses. Now, with the proliferation and increased accessibility of cloud computing, they also looked to get a piece of the pie.

Sage’s Business Cloud hosts an assortment of business applications. It retains the core functionality of its old-school applications while harnessing the power of the cloud, which allows professionals to remain connected to their work even when on the move. In this article, I focus on four of Sage’s best offerings in this space. I review the features and pricing of each software and the integrations they offer.

The four apps I will be looking at are:

  • Accounting: An invoicing solution
  • Sage 50cloud Accounting: An accounting solution
  • People: An HRM solution
  • Sage X3: A business management solution

PRICING

Accounting: An invoicing solution

Accounting Start

Accounting

Cost/mo

$10

$25

Create sales invoices

YES

YES

Track what you’re owed

YES

YES

Connect to your bank

YES

YES

Act on real-time reports

YES

Generate quotes and estimates

YES

Record purchase invoices

YES

View cash flow statements

YES

Sage 50cloud Accounting

Pro Accounting

Premium Accounting

Quantum Accounting

Cost/mo

$50.58

$126/3 users

$197.55/10 users

Number of users

1

Up to 5

No limit*

Account for all your revenue

YES

YES

YES

Manage expenses with ease

YES

YES

YES

Pay bills in an instant

YES

YES

YES

Effortless invoicing of customers

YES

YES

YES

Reconcile financials with your bank automatically

YES

YES

YES

Secure remote access for employees and accountants

YES

YES

YES

Effective inventory tracking and management

YES

YES

YES

Smart integration with Microsoft Office 365

YES

YES

YES

Job costing

YES

YES

YES

Automatic updates and enhancements

YES

YES

YES

Unlimited access to North America-based phone support

YES

YES

YES

Unlimited online chat support

YES

YES

YES

Knowledge resource library with 24×7 access to support content

YES

YES

YES

Sage City 24×7 Forum of industry peers, partners who are certified, and Sage professionals. A place for queries and sharing best practices

YES

YES

YES

Job costing by phase and cost level

YES

YES

Trace transactions and track down errors with audit trails

YES

YES

Advanced budgeting tools

YES

YES

Industry-specific functionality: construction, manufacturing, and distribution

YES

Managing multiple companies

YES

Role-based security

YES

*Pricing for more than ten users is available only on a per quote basis. The website lists pricing only for a maximum of 10 users.

People: An HRM solution

Their website does not mention pricing explicitly. You can contact them for a demo and a quote.

Sage X3

Their website does not mention pricing explicitly. You can contact them for a demo and a quote.

FEATURES​

Accounting: An invoicing solution

Create And Send Invoices

The software lets you connect to your bank directly, which can help you save time in the long run by automating many of the processes. For instance, you can track your transactions effortlessly, generate invoices online, and send them to your customers. Also, you can keep track of what you’re owed and accept payments.

Manage Inventory

Sage makes it convenient to manage your inventory and keep track of your stock. All the inventory management tools that you might need are available in one place, saving you a lot of time. You can also set different prices based on retail or trade and charge your customers accordingly.

Sage 50cloud Accounting

Manage Financials

Sage 50cloud Accounting lets you monitor, and as a result, lets you manage cash flow better. You can keep track of customers’ projects and attach relevant quotes. You can also convert proposals into invoices or sales orders for your business with minimal effort. In essence, you can record all your expenses and be on top of your finances.

Optimize Sales

Sage empowers your sales using data-driven methods. It gives you a more in-depth insight into your numbers so that you can make well-informed business decisions. The software allows for serialized inventory, along with various other features. You can also track specific information like the item description, number, cost, price, and more. Ultimately, the software handles the inventory for you while you manage the most crucial facet of any business – the customer.

Analyze Performance

Sage offers you many reporting tools that give you a hold on essential business aspects. You can get detailed reports on sales, taxes, expenses, and profits to help you make better business decisions. The dashboards are helpful to get valuable information at a glance, like the available cash, receivables, expenses, etc. This pivotal information can go a long way in streamlining the decision-making process for various business operations.

Remote Access

Sage provides you with the option to secure remote access for you and your employees. This access lets you work on your schedule regardless of the location. Moreover, multiple users can perform tasks remotely using Sage Drive Multiuser. Therefore, the software remains centralized even as your employees get work done.

Advanced Security

Your finances are precisely that – your finances. Sage 50cloud Accounting provides excellent security to keep your numbers confidential. You are given screen-level user access and bank-level online security. These measures will help you rest easy, knowing that your data is protected and secure.

Compliance

Ensuring compliance is very important when handling the finances of any business. Sage will make sure that your business will always be up to date with the tax and payroll laws. They also factor in various regulations and tax laws to make sure your accounts and payroll are compliant in every way possible.

People: An HRM solution

Increased Workforce Visibility

A competent HR professional must have a clear and concise idea of their workforce. It is also imperative to have the most updated information about these employees. Sage People allows you to get instantaneous and complete visibility of your workforce. Consequently, you can leverage the power of smart analytics and deep insights to make better decisions that benefit your firm.

Increased Productivity

The days of HR professionals rolling up their sleeves to get stuff done manually are long gone. We live in the age of automation, and HR roles are no different. The software helps significantly to increase the efficiency of the overall HR workforce. Sage People enables you to streamline your core HR and People processes by automating essential tasks and workflows. The best part is that all of this can be achieved within a single system across your entire organization.

Great Workforce Experiences

The user experience is very intuitive, and it lets you empower the HR department to do their best work. Moreover, the user interface is fully scalable and works on any device, which is an ideal way for you to help everyone put their best foot forward.

Global And Local Compliance

The software lets you develop a single Global policy for your organization. You can ensure that these are in line with the local laws and remain compliant.

Sage X3

Sage X3 is their ERP system that can help you centrally monitor and manage resources. There are six major modules that span various business operations.

Manufacturing Module

Sage X3 is built to provide end-to-end support for all of your manufacturing activities, including planning, scheduling, and production control activities for process and discrete manufacturing. The software also takes into account the different manufacturing modes that organizations adopt. Lastly, this module integrates seamlessly with the other modules in the software for a holistic experience.

Sales Module

One of the most significant components of any business management software has to be the sales component. Sales are what keeps money flowing into the firm, so it is hard to overstate its importance. The sales management module is part of the distribution software modules that support your sales, CRM, purchasing, and inventory control functions. It includes features to support quality control, expiration date management, variable packaging units, and a whole host of other options.

Purchasing Module

Without the inflow of raw materials and new technology, no organization can proceed forward. Hence, the Purchasing Module is a complement to the Sales module. Here, you can request quotes, prepare purchase orders, keep track of the organization’s budget, and do a lot more. This module supports the other modules in the software for a seamless experience.

Inventory Module

Inventory management is key to minimizing storage costs while retaining core functionality. Sage X3 offers a whole range of inventory management features right in their software. You have multi-stage warehousing and site management options, RF data acquisition, quality control, and a lot more. Further, you can perform cost calculations and record movements and transactions of the goods in your inventory. When combined with other modules, this becomes a near-perfect ERP solution.

CRM Module

Ensuring excellent customer relationships is key to running a good business. Sage X3 has a CRM module inbuilt to simplify this process. It gives you a 360-degree view of a customer from both a marketing and administrative standpoint. This view lets you tailor-make marketing campaigns for similar customers and helps you manage everything from a single database. Also, you have the freedom to automate specific processes using Salesforce automation.

Finance Module

Sage X3 is a multi-audit system that is fully capable of handling complex accounting tasks. It can handle transfers and reporting of information between countries and between parent-daughter companies. The software also provides you with financial management, fixed assets management, accounting, etc. Furthermore, you can deal with multiple currencies, multiple legislations, standards, and accounting rules. For an international company, this is a perfect option to consider for ERP.

INTEGRATIONS

Sage Business Cloud interacts very well within its suite. You can connect with other Sage apps to expand the overall functionality. It also reduces the learning curve, as the platform remains constant. Some of the types of integrations are as follows:

  • Business intelligence
  • Finance
  • CAD
  • Human resources
  • Manufacturing
  • Construction
  • CRM
  • Sales and E-commerce
  • Document management
  • Warehouse and logistics

More About Sage Business Cloud

Setup And Ease Of Use

Undoubtedly, Sage’s software caters to enterprise-level customers and not your average startup, and hence involves a more extensive setup process, covering multiple aspects of the large firm. Simply put, the setup process is a little time-consuming, and first-time users can be overwhelmed by the number of dialog boxes.

From there, using the software is also not a child’s play either. A seasoned accountant might be able to understand better Sage 50cloud Accounting than someone unaware of the nuances of accounting. Hence, it is not very accessible to all, but that is not necessarily bad, given that it caters to large enterprises.

Device Compatibility

Desktop Browser App

Android App

iOS App

Windows Phone App

Apple Watch App

*

*

X

X

*Note that only Sage People and Sage Accounting offer mobile apps.

Sage allows you to remain connected to your work on the go. The mobile apps cater to both iOS and Android users, thus expanding the user base. You can track expenses, prepare invoices, and record transactions as they happen. You can also perform HR operations and notify remote workers and employees using the People app. Hence, Sage gives you some form of mobile connectivity to a few of the apps in their lineup.

Customer Support

Sage offers varied forms of support for their products. It ranges from a fleshed-out knowledge base to forums, training, and conventional contact-based support. These can help your employees get started with the software without hassle. You can always call their helpline number or shoot them an email for assistance.

Online Security

Sage uses redundant servers that offer robust network security. They have features like mirrored RAID storage, standby servers, and uninterruptible power supplies. Moreover, they allow for 24-hour data recovery in case of any natural disasters. From a software point-of-view, they have 128-bit encryption and other advanced security features.

PROS AND CONS

PROS

  • One of the industry-leaders in business apps
  • Best-in-class functionality and features
  • Wide variety of business apps available
  • You will seldom need to use other software to manage your organization
  • Remote access lets you keep the data centralized

CONS

  • Pricing is rather steep
  • It is purely an enterprise solution with little to no value for startups
  • The user interface in some apps can seem a bit dated

CONCLUSION

Without a doubt, Sage is one of the world’s leading SaaS vendors. They have a rich history of providing top-notch accounting and invoicing solutions for enterprises. Their cloud platform also carries the legacy of making available all the essential features to the user.

Sage Business Cloud has an array of excellent software options that greatly ease the workflow of an organization. The software solutions cover all essential operations that a business will have to handle. Within each process, the feature-set is vast, and for the most part, will cover anything you might need. Hence, it is easily one of the best all-encompassing business software solutions in the market.

However, it is not devoid of flaws. The user interface can be improved, and the same is true of the initial setup process. If you’re not an expert, you’ll have a tough time setting it up and using it.

The bottom line is that Sage Business Cloud is a force to reckon with. It offers a set of powerful features that are industry-specific in many regards. If you’re a big business and are looking for an enterprise solution, do consider Sage Business Cloud.

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