Sage One Review

Full review

Sage is a UK company founded in Newcastle in the 1980s and today has over 14,000 employees across the world, and millions of users. Sage targets start-ups, small, and medium-sized businesses.

Sage One offers a few simple plans for businesses’ accounting needs. Sage One Cashbook is the cheapest available plan and it is ideal for sole traders and people with cash-based businesses that need a simple way to keep control of the money going in and out of the business. Sage One Accounting is the full online accounting software package for freelancers, small businesses, and mid-sized businesses. With this package you can manage invoices, create estimates, prepare your VAT returns and connect to home banking.

Sage One Payroll is online payroll software for making employee payments easier – it can be integrated with the accounting package. All the versions are available on a free trial basis so you can try before you buy.

Invoices & Billing

Invoice creation – Creating an invoice is simple. A series of boxes appear which you fill in with item, quantity, tax info, etc. There are six invoice templates available and you can also add your business logo, add terms and conditions, and adjust the quote options. You can print the invoice from PDF to send it through the mail or email it directly to the customer or client.

Invoicing – Facilities are available for using multiple currencies to record transactions and create tax codes for overseas work. You can record when an invoice gets paid and this will be listed in the status of the invoice for easy reference. The addition of the “Pay Now” button to the invoice allows customers to pay online through PayPal or Sage Pay, and you can also take credit card payments to speed up the payment process.

Expenses

By linking your bank accounts to your Sage One account you can quickly import your latest bank statements, reducing the need to add transactions by hand. It’s a simple way to keep everything up to date and accurate, which is handy when it comes to giving a report to your accountant or checking on the health of your business.

Time tracking

Sage One does not include time tracking facilities within this accounting package.

Reporting

It’s easy to get a good view of the money going into and out of your account with the dashboard overview, and if you need in-depth reports Sage One also delivers. The cash flow forecast is a useful tool to plan how much money you’ll need at some point in the future, so you can make better business decisions. Standard management reports are included like profit and loss, and there are other analyses available such as aged debt and aged creditor reports, profit analysis, and other personalized reports.

Sage One Cashbook is for cash-based businesses and comprises a simple, automated way to record cash going in and out of your business. It is designed for easy collaboration with an accountant, and includes facilities for recording customer details and creating reports based on customer activity. Simple reports include profit and loss, making it easier to get an overview of how well your business is operating.

Mobile

Sage One Cashbook is cloud based so you can access it from any location. The Sage One mobile app is for Apple and Android and can be easily downloaded so you have accounts assistance on the move.

Sharing & Integration

As with the other top-rated accounting software packages, Sage One offers a host of add-ons to link with the accounting features, including Google Drive and apps for taking pictures of your receipts for expense recording purposes.

You can invite your accountant to view your Sage One data so it becomes easier to work together on projects, and also add access rights to other users so you can all share data (but you retain overall control of the site.)

Security

Sage One is as secure as you could wish your personal and financial data to be. Solid bank-level 128–bit encryption is used, and all data is securely kept in backed-up environments which are actively monitored to prevent system failure.

Ease of use

Use the setup wizard to get started with the Sage One system. A series of step by step procedures ensure you have all the information you need in the right place in order to start sending invoices and producing financial reports. We found this program to be easy to use, straightforward, and relatively free from accounting jargon. It is particularly helpful that quick entry boxes are included in the invoice and purchase forms so you don’t have to keep filling out the same data over and over again.

Help & support

The Sage One website has the answers to come commonly asked questions, and the Help Centre is also stocked with valuable information in the form of videos, articles, and community posts. For any basic or general instructions you’ll find the answers here. 24-hour phone support is available, and you can contact the support center by email. The Sage One website says live chat is coming soon, which will add another form of contact to the list.

Overall

Sage One is ideal for providing a snapshot of your business activities and for giving a forecast of where your money ends up, and where it will be going in the future. Easy to use accounting tools and a range of professional reports make this a well-rounded package.