Sage Accountants Club

jackie

Hi,

I am in the process of applying for Member in Practice and I am researching all the different accounting packages to suit my needs. I am already familiar with Sage Accounting software (albeit a little - okay, very outdated now - V.10 :blushing:). The Sage Accountants Club is looking to be the best option at the moment as all software and support is included.

Can anyone comment on this package or recommend something different - I would prefer to stay with Sage.

Thank you in advance

Jackie:001_smile:

Sue

Hi Jackie

I also joined the Sage Accountants Club when I first went Self Employed. The problem is although you get a copy of Sage Line 50 and Sage Payroll it is only single company use (unless it has changed since I was a Member) which means a lot of backing up and restoring.

The other options are the Sage Bookkeepers Club where I think they include a 10 company version of Sage Line 50, or to speak to someone at Sage and explain you are an Accountant/Bookkeeper and they should do you a deal on Sage Client Manager with 25 companies without you having to join any clubs. I think it is somewhere around £300.

Payroll - I never use to take on much payroll work as I had the Sage Accountants Club copy of payroll which meant backing up and restoring all the time. I was quoted over £500 for the bureau version.

Due to recommendations on this forum and accounting web I downloaded a version of Moneysoft which is a lot cheaper than Sage and having now used it for 6 months I would not go back to Sage payroll.

Sue

jackie

Dear Sue,

It is the backing up and restoring which I would like to avoid as much as possible so I am grateful for your advice:thumbup:

I will also look into Moneysoft for payroll.

Thank you

Jackie

jilbo

"Due to recommendations on this forum and accounting web I downloaded a version of Moneysoft which is a lot cheaper than Sage and having now used it for 6 months I would not go back to Sage payroll."


Hi Sue,

Do Moneysoft offer a multi company accounts package or payroll do you know?
Sage is expensive and Moneysoft may be a good alternative for me.

Nilesh Mandvia

Sage

Sue wrote: »

Hi Jackie

I also joined the Sage Accountants Club when I first went Self Employed. The problem is although you get a copy of Sage Line 50 and Sage Payroll it is only single company use (unless it has changed since I was a Member) which means a lot of backing up and restoring.

Sue

The single licence copy is for the accountant's own use not to use for clients!

If you join the bookkeeper club you get 5 company licence sage line 50 for £395.00 per year.

For payroll you have to buy seperate bureau licence.

There are three different types of membership for the accountants. Depends on you requirement and the cost.

Regards
Nilesh

claudialowe

My recommendation is, if like me you know and like Sage, buy a 50 company licence for that - say £300 - £400 - and Moneysoft payroll which for £99 gives you 100 employees in an unlimited number of companies.

You can upgrade if you need to process payroll for more than that number.

Moneysoft is so simple to use, and their helpline is helpful and always answer - I have never been held in a queue - can't recommend them highly enough.

Claudia

Nilesh Mandvia

Sage and £300 to £400

claudialowe wrote: »

My recommendation is, if like me you know and like Sage, buy a 50 company licence for that - say £300 - £400 -

Claudia

Who sells 50 company lincence for sage line 50? Or is it differenct software? I would be interested to buy 50 company lincence in £300.00

Regards
Nilesh

Sue

The Sage Accountants Club copy is for use by the Accountant but it was actually Sage Customer Services that suggested I used it for clients and kept backing up and restoring, it was something I had not realised was possible until they suggested it, I didn't like the idea which was why I purchased Client Manager and I've now stopped my membership to the Accountants Club as I could see no benefit in being a member.

I, like Claudia use Sage Client Manager for bookkeeping and Moneysoft for Payroll, as Claudia says Moneysoft gives you an unlimited number of companies. You can download a free trial first, I think you can have the free trial for 30 days then you need to purchase the licence.

Moneysoft also offer a bookkeeping package, I haven't tried it, but I would guess you could also download a free trial of that to see what you think of it before deciding between Sage and Moneysoft.

claudialowe

I must admit that I thought that I had only purchased 25 companies, but I am now up to 37 without any problems...... To get the price down you need to haggle with Sage - their prices seem to be only guidelines not the definite thing :confused1:

Claudia

Eljay

Hi Jackie,
I too am in the process of applying to be a MIP.
I have always used Sage in my previous places of employment and have always liked it. Following a recommendation on this forum, I am looking at Microsoft Professional Accounting Software. It is free to download if you register as an accountant and is very similar to Sage to use. I have only used it for one job so far, and all seems OK with it. Hope this helps.

Lisa

sheelagh

Sage Client Manager

I also use Sage client manager. When I first bought it you had to be a member of the accountant's club to buy it, but now you don't. I heard that you have to demonstrate to Sage that you are acutally in practice but I don't how much truth there is in that, or how much proof they need. Why else would you buy it!!
I started off with a two user 50 company licence. I think it costs about £350, then I pay a similar amount each year for any upgrade and support. I recently bought an additional 25 company licence for £95 but this doesn;t affect the annual cost.

I am currently using the HMRC cd rom for payroll, and designed a spreadsheet for the payslips. I think I will look at Moneysoft from next April because i need something a bit more efficient now that I have more payrolls to do.
Do Moneysoft also offer email support?

Sue

Hi Sheelagh

I've just checked and Moneysoft do offer support by email, I've read on forums that their Customer Support is very good, but I've not had any reason to contact them yet.

I thought the same as you last year, I waited until April to move to Moneysoft, but now I wished moved early as I save so much time.

sheelagh

Moneysoft

Hi Sue

Thanks for the tip - I might swap now, or at least start using for new clients

Sue

You could always download the trial version of Moneysoft run it with one live payroll and if you like it buy the licence at the end of the 30 days. You just enter the licence details into the trial version.

It is like excel, so you can test things out unlike Sage where you have to update after each payroll run.

Another reason I like it is because I have a couple of clients that like to receive payroll electronically. At the touch of a button I can run individual PDF payslips for every employee.

It is also very easy to run payslips for several periods in one go, if you have clients that don't want their payslips each time, there is a report to run the payslips in one go, so if there is only one employee you are not wasting paper. You can either print the payslips using pre-printed forms, or use plain paper and the forms will be printed.

Jayneylass

I cannot praise Monetsoft payroll highly enough...

It's easy to use, excellent value for money, support is included in the price and your can have multiple employers.

I wouldn't go back to Sage payroll for anything now!

Interesting comments about Moneysoft bookeeping software and I'll have to test it. Thing is, clients know of Sage and are often reluctant to change to a new provider, whether sage or otherwise.

Jayneylass.