Starting a business and looking for accounting software? What is Sage all about? Need a Sage review?
Sit back. I have got you all covered in this article.
We’ll explore Sage in detail and study its characteristics. Along with the Sage review also understand the taxing system in the UAE. I will also try to briefly go through a few options to Sage.
Sage has been very useful for businesses across the UAE to handle their accounts. Since the VAT tax was started on the 1st of January in 2018, a systematic accounting structure has become important for a business. Accounting software provides this service very efficiently and Sage appears to be one of the top software out there.
Time to start with our Sage review then!
Sage Accounting Software History
Sage was founded in 1981 by a certain David Goldman in the U.K. Its journey since then has been nothing short of prestigious. They have users across the world, ranging from the US to Australia and everything in between.
In barely 20 years, Sage has developed into a market leader in accounting software for small and medium-sized enterprises. It began as a solution for a printing company to computerize accounting duties but quickly expanded into software development and sales.
When Amstrad unveiled the PCW computer in 1984, Sage achieved a breakthrough by making it affordable for small enterprises. As a result, they saw significant adoption and developed a powerful network of distributors.
Sage embarked on a growth drive in 1991, buying businesses like DacEasy in the US and Ciel in France. Sage thrived even through the early 1990s recession. To reflect their global reach, they changed their name to The Sage Group in 1997.
In the early 2000s, Sage, led by CEO Paul Walker, strengthened its position in the accounting software industry by purchasing businesses including Peachtree Software and Interact Commerce.
Sage provided web-based capabilities for small businesses as part of their embrace of the internet era. Their membership in the FTSE 100 index and a history of excellent financial performance demonstrated their development.
With 2.7 million clients globally by 2001, Sage was a significant participant in the commercial software market. They became a prominent force in the digital era due to their expansion, agility, and dedication to supporting small and medium-sized businesses.
Now that we have understood its history, it is time to delve into its features and understand and review Sage completely.
Sage Review: The Characteristics
1. Reports
Let’s start our Sage review by looking at the most important part of accounting software. It gives you access to reports like cash flow statements, balance sheets, profit assessments, sales tax documentation, and other vendor reports. Sage Accounting makes financial reporting efficient. You are better equipped to make wise decisions that are essential for business growth given these insights into the past and present performance of your organization.
Sage Accounting additionally gives you the option to categorize your reports and export them in several file types, such as CSV (A comma-separated file), PDFs, and Excel spreadsheets. This tool improves your reporting skills while maintaining the integrity of your original papers.
2. Integrations
(source: flowgear)
Sage possesses 50+ integrations like AutoEntry, Vericlock, and Fortis which help make the work easier. Integrations are very important for the seamless use of accounting software. Especially with payment platforms. Stripe and Paya Payment processing are two of the few integrations available for this purpose.
Although 50 may seem a decent number, many of those integrations are with Sage’s sister platforms, as AutoEntry mentioned above which is the creation of Sage. In reality, it means you are not able to choose from a lot of options.
For example, Other platforms like Xero might have many more integrations. So, in this Sage review, I’d like to state that integration-wise Sage isn’t all that great.
3. Pricing
Cost-to-service ratio becomes a critical factor for any business and hence, how pricing affects features offered becomes an important part of our Sage review. Sage offers two plans in the UAE. The ‘Start’ plan is at USD 11/month and the ‘Standard’ plan is at USD 11/month.
The ‘Start’ plan though does not properly offer even the basic requirements like Bank reconciliation. There’s only one user allowed and no management of taxes. The ‘Standard’ plan offers these but it is costlier.
The amount is not too high compared to others. I’d say pricing comes out to be decent in this Sage review.
To complete this Sage review satisfactorily, please refer to the pricing page of Sage, and get the accurate pricing plans.
4. Inventory Management
Sage accounting has an inventory tracking feature that allows you to see your stock levels in real-time. It enables you to upload your products and categorize them, which is helpful for quicker inventory management, especially if you run a business that sells things.
To determine which of your products sell the best and what you need to refill, you can track product quantities, establish minimum reorder levels, and get out-of-stock warnings.
5. Other Features
Sage accounting software comes with several useful features that can benefit businesses. First, it supports dealing with different currencies, which is great if you have international customers. It helps you create invoices and manage payments in various currencies, so you can keep track of your transactions in different countries and understand how currency exchange affects your money.
Another helpful feature is its ability to connect to your bank account. This means it can automatically match your bank transactions with your invoices and payments. It works with many banks like American Express and Citibank, giving you real-time updates on your account balances.
Sage also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android devices, which lets you manage your accounts from anywhere. You can create and send invoices, track payments, manage your inventory, and record expenses on the go.
Plus, Sage accounting can work smoothly with other software you might use in your business. It can connect with apps like Gusto for handling payroll, Korona for point-of-sale tasks, and Zapier for even more integrations.
In simple terms, Sage accounting helps you handle money matters efficiently, especially if you do business internationally, and it makes managing your finances easier on the go. It can also play nice with other software you use to run your business.
So, there you are, this Sage review does regard Sage on the positive.
Sage Review: The Flaws in Sage
- Difficult To Use
Especially when compared to similar software available in the UAE, like ProfitBooks, Sage does not offer sufficient training for its products. Sage is so quite challenging to go through and reach the desired location with the bare minimum of procedures. - Customer Service
Sage only responds to questions and concerns via email, which guarantees a response within a day. When compared to industry norms, that is a little behind schedule. Many other programs respond to questions and complaints over the phone, successfully delivering a rapid response, for efficiency and showing appreciation to the customers. - Restrictions on Usage of Features
SAGE’s services are subject to several restrictions. Payroll is the most important one. The lowest offers no payroll assistance, not even for a small number of workers. SAGE assesses a fee for each extra employee after that. In the more expensive plan, you must also pay for an additional user.
Small businesses and startups frequently select the beginner plan, but it has restrictions on how many bills and invoices you can handle. Additionally, there have been reports of new software bugs appearing recently, which is concerning.
How Is The Accounting Landscape In The UAE?
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), businesses have specific rules they must follow when it comes to their finances. They need to keep detailed records of their money, including things like how much they earn, what they spend, and what they own. These records must be checked every year by an independent expert to make sure they are accurate. Companies also have to hold a meeting every year to talk about their finances.
Starting in 2024, businesses will have to pay a tax on their profits if they earn more than a certain amount of money. This tax will be either 0% or 9%, depending on how much they earn. The UAE also has a tax on the things people buy, called Value Added Tax (VAT), which has been in place since 2018.
One important thing to know is that the UAE doesn’t take any money from the profits businesses share with their owners. Additionally, there are no special payments for retirement, but everyone living in the UAE must have health insurance, which costs AED 1000 each year.
Lastly, there are taxes on some items that are brought into the country from other places.
Given these financial rules and requirements, businesses in the Emirates must use good accounting software to manage their money properly.
However, it’s also important to be aware of any limitations in the Sage accounting software and consider other options that can help businesses follow these rules and keep their finances in order.
What Are The Alternatives To Sage?
There are many alternatives available to Sage in the market. In this Sage review, we’ll look at the important ones like Profitbooks, Quickbooks, and FreshBooks.
ProfitBooks places a high priority on user-friendliness, making it usable even by persons with little background in accounting. Although it might not have direct integrations with different platforms, it streamlines accounting chores. ProfitBooks stands out for its simplicity and emphasis on crucial financial factors. It also distinguishes out by providing a lifetime free plan that is especially beneficial for startups and small enterprises.
ProfitBooks cloud accounting solution is by far the easiest-to-use and the best alternative to Sage. Even more so than Quickbooks, as they’ve discontinued their services in India, ProfitBooks has onboarded many Quickbooks users who wanted to migrate to better software.
The best part is that ProfitBooks is 100% FREE to use. Get your FREE account now!
QuickBooks is a well-known option that consumers may access from anywhere thanks to its cloud-based accessibility. Although it offers a wide range of services, including payroll management, some users may find its comprehensive nature to be a bit overwhelming. QuickBooks excels at producing trustworthy reports and seamlessly interfaces with banks and other programs.
Read how ProfitBooks is also a perfect alternative to Quickbooks.
Over 24 million users use FreshBooks, which provides services including time tracking, cost management, and invoicing. International payments are supported, and it offers templates for bills that can be customized. Although it supports international payments and seamlessly integrates with third-party apps, some customers complain that it lacks comprehensive accounting functions.
Sage Review: A Final Verdict
Sage has more than enough software to drive accounting efficiently for small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE. For Large businesses where multiple integrations, complex reports, and huge payrolls are required, Sage comes up short and such businesses should without a doubt move onto its alternatives.
Even with the market for small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE Profitbooks comes out to be a better option. They have cheaper plans and also offer more features with better and more beautiful Invoices.