Sage-50cloud-VS-Quickbooks-VS-Xero

Sage 50cloud VS Quickbooks VS Xero

In Business Management Software, Sage 50 by Stephen Stokes

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The world of accounting software can be a confusing place. Often, everything seems the same! Today, we take a look at Sage 50cloud, Quickbooks and Xero. Their similarities, differences and what is the best fit for you, and your business.

What are Sage 50cloud, Quickbooks and Xero?

Sage 50cloud, Quickbooks and Xero are all accounting packages. They are each targeted at small to medium-sized businesses and are designed to aid with your companies growth. With the assistance of an accounts software, businesses are able to keep track of their financial data. All of these products offer a business-friendly accounts product that performs to a high standard. Each of these products are built to make record-keeping and reporting straightforward. You will find that they all offer a wealth of features, but ultimately all contain a similar core; digital data storage and tax submission compliance.

Now that we understand the basics of these business solutions, let’s delve a little deeper!

What are the differences between Sage 50cloud, Quickbooks and Xero?

As we have already discussed, each of these products are marketed toward small to medium businesses. They all offer many features, but at the core, they support you with your daily financial needs. I think it is safe to say that each of these accounts solutions will allow invoice posting, bank reconciliation, VAT submission, etc as standard! To understand which solution is going to fit your business, we need to look further than the basics…

1. Access

In today’s world, it is imperative to be able to access data 24/7 from almost anywhere. One of the benefits that each of these packages shares is the use of cloud accounting. For those of you who are unaware of the Cloud, this is simply a solution that allows you to save data over the internet, instead of on physical storage like a server. This is a fantastic feature as it means that you can get a hold of your data from anywhere with an internet connection. It also means that you don’t have to wait for information… Being cloud-based you get real-time data!

Xero is natively Cloud-based. That is exactly what it was developed for as it runs solely on the Cloud. However,  for Quickbooks and Sage 50, as well as having cloud capabilities these solutions also provides a user with a desktop solution. These hybrid packages provide you with an element of both cloud and desktop. By having the use of cloud and desktop, there really is no safer place for your data to be stored; you have the best of both worlds! On the other hand, if you are looking for a purely cloud-based product, Xero is the fit for you.

2. Bank Feeds

All 3 of these products offer the use of bank feeds. The use of a bank feed in the 21st century is imperative to improved efficiency and productivity. A bank feed allows a business to pull in banking transactions directly from their bank account. By doing this a company can reduce the time spent on data entry and focus on other value-added tasks.

Whilst we are on the subject of the bank, did you know that Sage 50cloud, Xero & Quickbooks all offer a “Pay Now” feature for your clients? Having this tool available will certainly help keep your bank account healthy! This great addition ensures that you get paid as quickly as possible for your invoices. The button sits on the electronic copy of your invoice. Once received by your customer they can simply choose to “Pay Now” direct from the invoice. With this level of technology available, it ensures that your cash flow is as fruitful as possible.

There’s not a lot to separate these 3 on the banking elements in terms of functionality. One thing we would encourage you to look at for banking is the user interface. This area of the software is utilized daily in most cases; being able to move around the screen easily is pivotal for many.

3. Apps & Add Ons

Every business is different. Solutions are not always one size fits all. There may be a time when your accounting software isn’t quite hitting the nail on the head. Thankfully, there are many additional solutions out there to provide a business with a little more freedom! This comes in the form of integrable apps and add-ons.

Sage 50cloud, Quickbooks and Xero all come with the ability to use apps or add ons alongside their package. These extra features may assist your businesses with payment processing, expense inputting or even report generating. There really are so many apps and add ons out there, each designed to make your life that little bit easier!

Our favourite Sage 50cloud integration is Microsoft Office 365. As standard the Office 365 feature allows a user to use apps such as Sage Capture, Sage Contact, and Sage Intelligence. With Sage Capture a business can upload images of their receipts whilst on the road, eliminating the chances of losing vital documentation! The use of Sage Contact gives a 365-degree view on certain contacts that are linked with your Sage data. You are able to view contacts Available Credit, Account Balance or even their Credit Position from within your Outlook Emails.

Conclusion

If you have done your research you will already know that these are all great products. Sage 50cloud, Quickbooks and Xero all rank highly on the market and at the core are all similar products. Sage 50cloud, in my opinion, pips them at the post simply owing to its length of time as the market leader. There is something very comforting about having a tried and tested product at the heart of your business. Why not check out our blog on ‘What is Sage 50cloud’ to gain a deeper understanding of the product.

Here at itas we always welcome questions to help with your business needs. Please contact us on 0845 139 1300 or drop us an email to info@itassolutions.co.uk where one of our designated teams would be happy to assist.

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