Advice needed on Sage package

System · February 2007

Hi. I have recently set up as a bookkeeper and would really like some advice on which package to go for.

I have two clients. One who uses Sage Instant Accounts Plus (sinle user) and another who uses Sage Line 50 (single user). This client is going to obtain a second user license for me to work from home.

I would like to take on more clients and am considering buying the Sage Professional Bookkeepers Club package. However I am unsure how this works. I contacted Sage for information but spent half an hour being transferred to different people but no-one could tell me exactly what I would be buying and how it would work in practice. I gave up in the end and decided to post here instead.

Can anyone tell me:
Is there an electronic link to clients PC's from my home computer?
If I have the second user licence Sage Line 50 from my client operating on my PC can I also install the Bookkeepers Club Package as well?
Does the client have to have a license for me or is this covered by my 5 licenses?
Which version of Sage is included (Sage Line 50, Instant Accounts or both (I know it has Client Manager but not sure what that is either!) :?

Any help would be much appreciated

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

I'm not sure that this second user licence will allow you to work from home. Are you planning to work from home at the same time as your client is also processing information on Sage?

My contact at Sage for the Sage Accountants Club is a Paul Maguire, his email address is Paul.Maguire@sage.com. I'm not sure whether he can also help with the Bookkeeper Club queries. If you email him your phone number he will probably ring you back.

I do have to say I have had a lot of problems with Sage recently!!!

If you have the Client Manager version you can use the Accountants link, but it's not as good as it sounds, really I would say the answer is no you and your client can not post to Sage at the Same time.

As far as I know you will not be able to run two different versions of Sage on one computer.

I would suspect that you will be offered Sage Line 50 Financial Controller as a member of the Bookkeepers Club.

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

Don't talk to me about Sage at the moment grrrrrrrrr :evil:

"your call will be answered in approximately 15 - 20 minutes"

Do they never work?

Claudia

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

I'm waiting for response to several emails I sent during last week!!!

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

Hi
I believe the Bookkeepers Club package is a 5 company version of Line 50 Client Manager which is really just a multi company version. This comes with the Accoutants Link, which enables you to restore you clients' data, (provided they have a fairly recent version of Line 50 or Instant) make any necessary changes / updates / adjustments, and return the file to the client. The client can then update your changes to their data without overwriting anything they may have input in the meantime. This might help you if you want to work on your clients' data from your own premises.

Is there an electronic link to clients PC's from my home computer?

If your client is buying a second user license, this means he can have the software on two networked PCs and two people can use it at the same time. If you want to work from home for this client you could set up a Remote Desktop Connection which would give you access to the client's PC as if you were sitting in his office.

If I have the second user licence Sage Line 50 from my client operating on my PC can I also install the Bookkeepers Club Package as well?

Yes, you can have various versions of Sage on one PC - just install them in different directories.

I hope this helps to make it a little clearer.

Sue and Claudia - I have pretty much given up calling Sage, unless it's early morning. However I have found the email response pretty good but it can be hugely frustrating if you need an answer in order to carry on with your work.

Sheelagh

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

Hi Sheelagh

Do you know how to install Sage to different directories? I have tried in the past and couldnt see how to change the default.

I've used the Accountants Link in the past, but didnt find it very successful. I think with Sage 2007 it has moved on slightly, but previously I spend ages doing a bank rec that wasnt carried accross, plus a lot of the transactions ask the client to renter them manually, it didnt just happen automatically, so I found it a waste of time.

Sue

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

Hi Sue

I didn't realise the accountants link was so poor - i have never used it myself.

When you install different versions of Sage, you need to choose the custom install option, then change the given default path to something else
eg c:\Program Files\Sage\Accounts is the default, so you could change it to
c:\Program Files\SageV13\Accounts

Before you can go ahead with this, you would need to create the SageV13\accounts folder in the Program Files folder.

I hope this makes sense

Sheelagh

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

Hi Sheelagh

Thanks for the instructions on installing Sage to different directories - I'll give it a go today.

The Accountants link has supposedly improved since Sage 2007, but I haven't tried it so can't say for certain. When I used it I spent ages sorting out a clients books and reconciling his bank, when he was trying to import the books back he kept ringing me because it kept crashing. The next time he sent me his books I found that very little of the work I had done was in his version of Sage and I had to start again. I worked on his computer that time!!!

A few weeks later I was working on a different clients books, then went to their premises to try doing the import myself and found that you have to work through the list of transactions changed by the Accountant, some will post automatically, some you have to accept and a lot of them you have to re-enter manually. If the Accountant had set up a new Nominal Account Sage would crash when it reached that point, because the Clients system couldn't see the Account - you had to make a list of all Nominal Accounts you set up and create them in the Clients books first and finally you had to re do the Bank Reconciliation. (Although I have heard the Bank Reconciliation is one of the improvements made to Sage 2007.) So actually I ended up doing double the work!!! I seem to remember it was the transactions posted to the Supplier and Customer Accounts that had to be re-entered manually!

Sue

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

Sounds horrendous - If my clients had enough accounting konwledge to work all that lot out they wouldn't need me in the first place! :roll:

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

I couldnt understand what the problem with my client was until I decided to try it for myself, after that I couldnt see the point of if!

The one good thing is Clients have found it's not always possible to back up and email the back up to me, but by using the accountants link to email the file it seems to work!!

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

Thanks everyone for your advice.

You would think in this age of technology, linking remotely should be easy.... :?

One further question Sheelagh.The Bookeepers Club package is Â£395 whereas Line 50 Client Manager and Line 50 are both quite a bit more expensive. So even if I didn't use the accountants link, do you think on the face of it, the BKC would be better value for money?

Sounds too good to be true and as my old granny would say, if that's the case it probably is!

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

I have got client manager which cost, I think, about Â£325 ex VAT which gives me accountants link and up to 25 clients.

Give Sage a call, and be prepared to haggle on price - you can use their disastrous launch of V2007 as a good bargaining chip!

Claudia

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

Hi Claudia

Sorry I made a mistake. The Bookkeepers Club package with a copy of Client Manager is Â£350 ex VAT for 5 clients, Â£400 for 10 clients and so on.
For 25 clients this costs Â£550 ex Vat. Includes Sage cover.

And Client Manager is retailing at Â£495 ex Vat for 25 clients. (you did well getting it for Â£325 ex vat - not sure I could haggle them down to that!)

So it would appear that the BKC is aimed at bookeepers with not so many clients. As I am only starting out, I don't know how many I will need. I suppose it is best to start small and see how things go.

At least I am a bit clearer now on what I would/should be getting. Thanks for that

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

If you start with The Bookkeepers Club and Client Manager for 5 Companies, you'll probably find if you need Client Manager with more companies at a later date they will just charge you the difference between what you originally purchased and the upgrade.

I don't think Sage will negotiate the price of the 25 company version, Â£325 is the price for upgrade rather than the first purchase.

System · February 2007

Re:Advice needed on Sage package

I think that we have been here before - it rings bells - sorry if I have misled anyone, mine was an upgrade.

Claudia

Advice needed on Sage package

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