Time to change accounting software - SAGE?
Discussion
SME here currently using Opera which we don't like.
We have a CRM that integrates into our current package and lots of bespoke for pricing for clients, stock processing and also third parties for picking goods via barcodes etc. (so not straight forward).
Has anyone made the jump? I'd imagine it's a royal pain the arse however the new company would have experience switching companies I would hope.
ANY advice or experience welcome.
We have a CRM that integrates into our current package and lots of bespoke for pricing for clients, stock processing and also third parties for picking goods via barcodes etc. (so not straight forward).
Has anyone made the jump? I'd imagine it's a royal pain the arse however the new company would have experience switching companies I would hope.
ANY advice or experience welcome.
What is your CRM system? Is it online based or on your local server?
Worth looking into how well the integrations work with your CRM first and to contact companies which have already made the same change as yourself.
Xero is a good alternative to Sage.
Quickbooks is supposed to be good too but we have an old version so can't give feedback on how the latest versions work.
Worth looking into how well the integrations work with your CRM first and to contact companies which have already made the same change as yourself.
Xero is a good alternative to Sage.
Quickbooks is supposed to be good too but we have an old version so can't give feedback on how the latest versions work.
What do you not like about Opera?. A bit difficult to make suggestions with such limited information but from your description you will be looking at Sage 200 for the same capabilities as Opera. This is assuming you are using a Location / Bin setup for your stock control? Xero doesn't have that level of capability built in and neither does Sage 50.
Other products with equivalent functionality of Opera are IRIS Exchequer, SAP Bushiness One and Microsoft Dynamics. Unless you are on the largish side of medium then SAP is probably overkill.
Other products with equivalent functionality of Opera are IRIS Exchequer, SAP Bushiness One and Microsoft Dynamics. Unless you are on the largish side of medium then SAP is probably overkill.
KevinCamaroSS said:
jamoor said:
How many people are using it?
I'd strongly recommend not to use Sage.
On what grounds? Do not forget the posting rules.I'd strongly recommend not to use Sage.
I do really like Sage50, it's one of the easiest packages to install and run for an SME, and pretty much every bookkeeper you ever employ will know how to use it. I personally think their bigger packages tend to the excessively complex and not particularly simple to customise.
It sounds like the OP has got his business/operational side sorted and just needs something to handle all the back end finance stuff. Sage could almost certainly do this, but there are cheaper options there... Xero is worth a look, IMO.
VEIGHT said:
SME here currently using Opera which we don't like.
We have a CRM that integrates into our current package and lots of bespoke for pricing for clients, stock processing and also third parties for picking goods via barcodes etc. (so not straight forward).
Has anyone made the jump? I'd imagine it's a royal pain the arse however the new company would have experience switching companies I would hope.
ANY advice or experience welcome.
One of our customers has done exactly what you intend to do. We have a CRM that integrates into our current package and lots of bespoke for pricing for clients, stock processing and also third parties for picking goods via barcodes etc. (so not straight forward).
Has anyone made the jump? I'd imagine it's a royal pain the arse however the new company would have experience switching companies I would hope.
ANY advice or experience welcome.
They had a lot of custom parts provided within Opera and the system costs had become very expensive in licencing and maintenance.
We looked at a number of systems with them and in the end, Sage was the best option.
Anything that Sage didn't provide, we either wrote them something bespoke for, or if there was a 3rd party solution, that was purchased.
I will re-iterate, whilst it was a scary process with lots of resistance from creatures of habit, the savings to the business were HUGE!
If you need any advice, you are more than welcome to get in touch.
Thanks very much for the advice.
Opera is great for certain things and if you have a good understanding of accounts it's great. From a user friendly point of view it's not the best and the support system is not as good as I would want. Sage appeals as there is so much info out there.
Issues with current provider is, length of time it takes to do a period end, timing issues, nothing balances unless it's done at a split second snapshot along with a load of other stuff, Credit management is so slow is unusable and things like balance sheets or P7L have to be programmed each time you add a new ledger code / account.
A lot of it is a lack of training which is extremely expensive so wondering if something we can understand more easily it might save me in the long run.
I would love to have a chat with anyone that has made this move - esp if there is a cost saving.
Opera is great for certain things and if you have a good understanding of accounts it's great. From a user friendly point of view it's not the best and the support system is not as good as I would want. Sage appeals as there is so much info out there.
Issues with current provider is, length of time it takes to do a period end, timing issues, nothing balances unless it's done at a split second snapshot along with a load of other stuff, Credit management is so slow is unusable and things like balance sheets or P7L have to be programmed each time you add a new ledger code / account.
A lot of it is a lack of training which is extremely expensive so wondering if something we can understand more easily it might save me in the long run.
I would love to have a chat with anyone that has made this move - esp if there is a cost saving.
VEIGHT said:
Thanks very much for the advice.
Opera is great for certain things and if you have a good understanding of accounts it's great. From a user friendly point of view it's not the best and the support system is not as good as I would want. Sage appeals as there is so much info out there.
Issues with current provider is, length of time it takes to do a period end, timing issues, nothing balances unless it's done at a split second snapshot along with a load of other stuff, Credit management is so slow is unusable and things like balance sheets or P7L have to be programmed each time you add a new ledger code / account.
A lot of it is a lack of training which is extremely expensive so wondering if something we can understand more easily it might save me in the long run.
I would love to have a chat with anyone that has made this move - esp if there is a cost saving.
In that case try to find an accounting package whose training consists of a bunch of YouTube videos,I think xero does this, they are user friendly by design and don't intend to make money from you via trainingOpera is great for certain things and if you have a good understanding of accounts it's great. From a user friendly point of view it's not the best and the support system is not as good as I would want. Sage appeals as there is so much info out there.
Issues with current provider is, length of time it takes to do a period end, timing issues, nothing balances unless it's done at a split second snapshot along with a load of other stuff, Credit management is so slow is unusable and things like balance sheets or P7L have to be programmed each time you add a new ledger code / account.
A lot of it is a lack of training which is extremely expensive so wondering if something we can understand more easily it might save me in the long run.
I would love to have a chat with anyone that has made this move - esp if there is a cost saving.
jamoor said:
In that case try to find an accounting package whose training consists of a bunch of YouTube videos,I think xero does this, they are user friendly by design and don't intend to make money from you via training
Xero inventory management is a joke though. So that's at least one add on required. VEIGHT said:
Thanks very much for the advice.
Opera is great for certain things and if you have a good understanding of accounts it's great. From a user friendly point of view it's not the best and the support system is not as good as I would want. Sage appeals as there is so much info out there.
Issues with current provider is, length of time it takes to do a period end, timing issues, nothing balances unless it's done at a split second snapshot along with a load of other stuff, Credit management is so slow is unusable and things like balance sheets or P7L have to be programmed each time you add a new ledger code / account.
A lot of it is a lack of training which is extremely expensive so wondering if something we can understand more easily it might save me in the long run.
I would love to have a chat with anyone that has made this move - esp if there is a cost saving.
I take it you are not using open period accounting? Also are you using the Foxpro database version or the SQL server version?Opera is great for certain things and if you have a good understanding of accounts it's great. From a user friendly point of view it's not the best and the support system is not as good as I would want. Sage appeals as there is so much info out there.
Issues with current provider is, length of time it takes to do a period end, timing issues, nothing balances unless it's done at a split second snapshot along with a load of other stuff, Credit management is so slow is unusable and things like balance sheets or P7L have to be programmed each time you add a new ledger code / account.
A lot of it is a lack of training which is extremely expensive so wondering if something we can understand more easily it might save me in the long run.
I would love to have a chat with anyone that has made this move - esp if there is a cost saving.
plasticpig said:
Xero inventory management is a joke though. So that's at least one add on required.
Dear is good.Cin7 is hard to understand intially.
It makes sense to get addons, let a company that focuses on inventory do the inventory and accounts on accounts
Otherwise you end up with the mess that is sage.
VEIGHT said:
Nope, period ends.
Not sure on the second question. Foxpro rings a bell....
Are you using Opera 3 or 2? As you have said already I think some of your problems are down to training and some others may be down to poor implementation support from the Pegasus partner. Maybe worthwhile approaching a different Pegasus partner than your current one before jumping to a new system. I can't recommend any as I haven't had dealings with any Opera partners for a few years. Not sure on the second question. Foxpro rings a bell....
Bear in mind that whatever you buy, you must factor in that the software you use MUST eventually be compatible with the HMRC Making Tax Digital (MTD) requirements from 1 April 2018 (if a sole trader/partnership) or 1 April 2020 (if a limited company).
The problem is that none of the current software packages are really ready for MTD, even though some - such as Xero - are pretending they are. Iris are being more honest in saying that they will release a compatible set of packages once they know exactly what HMRC will require under MTD.
With just over one year to go before it becomes compulsory, HMRC have still not decided on all the criteria - either legal or technical.
The problem is that none of the current software packages are really ready for MTD, even though some - such as Xero - are pretending they are. Iris are being more honest in saying that they will release a compatible set of packages once they know exactly what HMRC will require under MTD.
With just over one year to go before it becomes compulsory, HMRC have still not decided on all the criteria - either legal or technical.
jamoor said:
Dear is good.
Cin7 is hard to understand intially.
It makes sense to get addons, let a company that focuses on inventory do the inventory and accounts on accounts
Otherwise you end up with the mess that is sage.
What worries me about third party addons is when it comes to doing things like a stock to nominal reconciliation. That can prove tricky even with a tightly integrated system let alone a third party add on. Cin7 is hard to understand intially.
It makes sense to get addons, let a company that focuses on inventory do the inventory and accounts on accounts
Otherwise you end up with the mess that is sage.
plasticpig said:
What worries me about third party addons is when it comes to doing things like a stock to nominal reconciliation. That can prove tricky even with a tightly integrated system let alone a third party add on.
You can give all of this a trial for a couple of weeks without commitment.Just sign up and see how it works, they usually have demo data too.
We run an older version of Sage50 2014, not sure if that differs much from current version
Pretty good and solid
However every 8 months or so a line of data corrupts, which isn't fixable in the software, but flagged by the data checker. We then have to send the data off to a independent Sage contractor who fixes it (in SQL I think) and sends it back corrected. Seems to happen every year on the dot and is a known weakness in software, in fact I think the guy we use makes a living out of fixing just one error. Sage themselves offer to "fix" the data for 3 x the cost and 3 x the wait!!!
Pretty good and solid
However every 8 months or so a line of data corrupts, which isn't fixable in the software, but flagged by the data checker. We then have to send the data off to a independent Sage contractor who fixes it (in SQL I think) and sends it back corrected. Seems to happen every year on the dot and is a known weakness in software, in fact I think the guy we use makes a living out of fixing just one error. Sage themselves offer to "fix" the data for 3 x the cost and 3 x the wait!!!
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