Sage Business Accounting Review 2024

Sage Business Accounting Review image.

Trying to figure out which company has the best accounting software for your business? Picking the right one for you can be confusing and challenging, especially with all the work you’re already putting into running a business.

To make the decision process easier and less time-consuming for you, we’ve cut out all the Google searches and created a comprehensive review for one of these options: Sage Business Cloud Accounting.

In this review of Sage’s small business accounting software, we’ll be going over some of their pros and cons, customer reviews, pricing and more, so you know exactly what you’re getting into before signing up. Enjoy!

Pros & Cons of Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Pros of Sage Business Cloud Accounting

  • Add-ons: Their software is compatible with hundreds of third-party apps and software solutions. If you’re looking for an accounting system that plays well with others, Sage is a good choice!
  • Reporting: Sage Business Cloud Accounting automatically generates a number of well-designed and structured statements, balance sheets, and reports so you can stay on top of things.
  • Customization: Create spreadsheets and invoices that reflect your needs and your style of business.
  • Bank Integration: Your accounts can be imported and will automatically sync all further data.
  • Simple Set Up: Create an account in just a few minutes. From there, you can collaborate with your accountant, team members, employees, and more.
  • Multi-currency: Sage Business Cloud Accounting’s platform supports over 30 currencies so you can use their account software anywhere in the world. A huge pro, in my opinion.

Cons of Sage Business Cloud Accounting

  • Navigation: Their system can be a bit clunky. It’s modern and well-designed in general, but I still had a few challenges navigating their website and understanding their approach.
  • Scalability: Like others in the industry, this software isn’t yet capable of handling the needs of large-scale operations.

Sage Business Alternative

Xero has a number of impressive capabilities, and their cloud-based software is extremely easy to use. Read Review

Xero

Sage Business Accounting Pricing & Features

Sage uses a similar pricing style as many of its competitors. There are two packages that members can choose from, “Sage Business Cloud Accounting Start” and “Sage Business Cloud Accounting.”

SAGE BUSINESS CLOUD ACCOUNTING START

$10/mo (discounts occasionally available)

In this introductory package, you’ll have access to some of the most vital accounting tools. With this platform, you can access intriguing tools such as:

  • Recording income and expenses
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Accountant access
  • Instant automatic backup

This intro package is pretty impressive when it comes to the quality of features you receive for only $10. For this reason, we’d recommend this plan for small businesses that don’t need a whole lot of advanced options, although I will note that the Start plan only allows for one user.

SAGE BUSINESS CLOUD ACCOUNTING

$25/mo (discounts occasionally available)

Moving on to their premium package, Sage offers a lot of additional features, including:

  • Cash or accrual accounting
  • Unlimited user collaboration
  • Cash flow forecasts
  • Quotes and estimates
  • Vendor bills

This package is definitely a better option for established small businesses or even mid-sized companies because they offer more of these robust and complex features. They don’t offer absolutely everything you would need, but it’s a great place to start.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

Sage itself doesn’t have many additional features or add-ons available, but they do have a pretty extensive library of third-party integrations and web apps available for you to choose from. In fact, Sage has partnerships with over 200 independent software vendors!

RECOMMENDED PACKAGE

We’d recommend that most small businesses start out with Sage Start. This plan has a lot to offer and at $10 a month, it’s cost-effective as well. If you start to outgrow this setup over time, no worries, you can upgrade to the Sage Accounting package easily.

Sage Customer Reviews

Sage has nearly 1,000 reviews available online, and for the most part their average rating scores are quite good. Obviously, with such a high volume of reviews, it would be impossible to satisfy everyone, but Sage comes pretty close!

Customer Reviews as of: 6-28-2018

  • TrustPilot: 8.5/10, 766 reviews
  • GetApp: 4.24/5, 95 reviews
  • TrustRadius: 6.8/10, 81 reviews

One fairly common complaint for Sage is that, because it’s an entirely cloud-based product, you can’t access your account unless you have an internet connection. That’s really the only frequently mentioned negative I’ve found regarding their services, as most of their reviews are quite complimentary.

It seems that the vast majority of their customers are pleased with the support they receive (with a few exceptions, but nothing major). They also get lots of praise for the way their software seamlessly integrates with so many other apps and software solutions. Overall, the majority of Sage clients are quite happy with their services.

How Sage Compares

How does Sage stack up against the competition? In some ways, they do well, and even offer services or partnerships that big name brands don’t. In others, they fall a little short.

Sage does a great job offering tons of services in their packages, more so than smaller accounting software providers. Their introductory package definitely has some impressive features. Sage is clearly a learning, growing company that’s constantly evolving to keep up with demand.

But that’s just some of the general consensus. For an in-depth comparison, we’ve put Sage to the test by comparing them against a giant of the industry. Xero has been the long-standing favorite of small businesses and blossoming entrepreneurs alike, so we’ll see exactly how Sage fares in pricing, customer service, features, and total subscribers.

Pricing: When it comes to pricing, Xero and Sage are essentially the same. Their intro packages start at around $10 and their secondary packages range from $25-$30.

Features: While the introductory packages are quite similar when it comes to features, Xero wins out with their advanced packages, especially with the inclusion of payroll services in their $30/month package. They offer a number of features that aren’t offered anywhere else.

Customer Support: Xero and Sage both have excellent customer support reputations. The customer feedback for both companies includes glowing recommendations for their service representatives, so I’m not sure either one has a real advantage over the other in this area.

HERE’S A QUICK VISUAL

Xero

Pricing Starts at $9/month

300,000+ users so far

Visit Website

SageOne

Pricing Starts at $10/month

300,000+ users so far

Visit Website

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I really need accounting software?

That decision is up to you. If you’re confident in your accounting skills, it might be possible to go the DIY route, but doing all the number crunching independently can be hard work, not to mention time consuming. If you’re not yet sure what an accounting service could do for you, Sage lets you try their entire program for free for 30 days.

Do I still need an accountant?

Yes and no. Sage can’t handle everything. If your business needs some personalized attention, we highly recommend seeking out an accountant. That being said, if you’re just getting started and you need to get the ball rolling on a budget, Sage’s accounting software is a great start.

Any hidden fees?

Nope! Sage has done the legwork and compiled a full list of what’s included with each package, so you know exactly what you’re investing in.

How secure is SageOne?

Sage keeps up with all industry-standard security protocols including SSL encryption, and everything else you would expect when working with any other serious software provider today.

Should You Use Sage?

Based on all of the things that we’ve mentioned here, I’d give Sage a 4.2 out of 5. They do have some solid features available in their premium package, and their customer reviews are consistently strong. That being said, if this doesn’t sound like your perfect fit, check out our Business Accounting Software Tools for Startups review. Cheers!