licensing guide for sage 200

Clear Cut Guide to Conquer your Sage 200 Licensing Fears

In Sage 200 by Kate Jones

Reading Time: 4 minutes

There are a number of licensing options available to you when it comes to Sage 200. These can be extremely overwhelming. Don’t panic! We have our easy to understand guide to help you understand what works for you. Lets start with Software Licensing.

Sage 200 Extra On-Premise

Perpetual Licensing

This is the most traditional licensing method, where you purchase the software outright, and the license is yours to keep. In addition to the upfront cost you will also need to pay annually for licencing and support.  This requires the most upfront commitment out of any of the methods, but because users own the software and can control what environment it is deployed on, it offers the most control and the best ROI over 4-5 years.

Best suited for:

Monthly Subscription

This option allows you to “pay-as-they-go” or get “Software as a Service”. It combines the full flexibility of perpetual on premise licensing, with the low monthly cost of a hosted package. This is a monthly payment for the software and includes support, the latest release of the software and licensing all in one single lump sum. Available in a 12 or 36 month commitment.

Best suited for:

  • those who have infrastructure but want to minimize the upfront commitment
  • anyone who wants to budget monthly for your software
  • if you want to increase/decrease users on a regular basis i.e. seasonally

Upfront Subscription

This is the newest addition to Sage’s licensing strategy, which allows customers to “pay-as-they-go” but on an annual basis. Just like the monthly subscription option this includes software licencing, the latest releases and support in an annual payment. Available in a 12 or 36 month commitment

Best suited for:

  • Those that want a good ROI but cannot afford perpetual
  • If you have a short term injection of cash i.e. investment
  • If you want to review the number of users annually

online licensing

Sage 200 Online

Online Monthly

Also known as Software as a Service (SaaS), this licensing method has become a popular alternative over the last few years as the cloud has become more popular. With this option customers just pay a monthly fee for the modules they use and the data is hosted at Sage’s data centre.

The low upfront costs, and lack of infrastructure requirements make it ideal for new start-up companies who require full ERP functionality. The only real downsides to this option are that you do need a good internet connection and you don’t have quite as many integration options with third-party applications, due to the shared data environment. Available in a 12 and 36 month commitment.

  • New companies and startups
  • Sites with little or no customisation
  • Those trying to minimise costs in the short term

Online Upfront

Just like the online monthly option this also includes both the infrastructure and the software costs and like the upfront subscription it also gives you a better ROI than online monthly. Available in a 12 or 36 month commitment.

  • If you have a short term injection of cash i.e. investment but want the convenience of a cloud based environment

Licensing ROI

Hopefully, you have now decided which Software Licensing works for you. Next, you need to think about your User Licensing. Let’s dive in…

User Licensing

Concurrent vs Named

There are two types of user licensing, Concurrent and Named. Concurrent is when a specified number of users are allowed to be logged on at one time, named is where licences are assigned to individual users.

Concurrent licences are more expensive than named user licences.

Example:

Lets imagine you have 5 people in your company, Max, Jenny, James, Stewart and Rachel.

If you have 3 concurrent users, any three of Max, Jenny, James, Stewart and Rachel would be able to log on at any one time.

If you have 3 named users, Max, Jenny and James would be assigned user licences. This would mean that Stewart and Rachel would not be able to log on.

Sage200Tour01

Sage 200 Desktop User (Concurrent)

A full (Desktop) user:
– can access any of the ERP desktop modules and screens through the programme
– does not automatically gain access to any of the Web user functionality
– N.B. any 3rd party apps that integrate to the smart client will consume a full (Desktop) user

Sage 200 Web User (Named)

A Web user gains access via a web browser to:
– WTE (providing the Project Accounting module is registered)
– POP authorisation (providing the Commercials module is registered)
– all data in workspaces (read-only &enquiries) including print spooler and running reports
– add, edit, delete or change the status of memos when accessing workspaces via a web browser
– N.B. any 3rd party apps that integrate using Sage web services will consume a Web user

Sage 200 Suite User (Concurrent)

  • Gives you 1 concurrent desktop user and 1 concurrent sage 200 Crm user

Sage 200 CRM User (Named)

  • Access to the Sage CRM module and web based order screens
  • Cannot access sage 200 forms unless given a sage 200 licence

Sage 200 CRM User (Concurrent)

  • Access to the Sage CRM module and web based order screens
  • Cannot access Sage 200 forms unless given a Sage 200 licence

Hopefully, the maze of Sage 200 Licensing is becoming clearer, and if not at least you have a map now! If you would like more information on Sage 200, let us know. One of the team would be happy to talk you through!