A couple of months ago, I was asked to test Sage One, a simple online billing and bookkeeping system. from the British company.
Sage, which acquired Peachtree accounting software in the late 1990s, sees a vast market from small businesses that are now moving accounting operations to the web, with the user paying a monthly charge. That’s change from the previous model of “shrink wrapped” software loaded on each computer and subject to regular upgrades.
Dominating the market is Quickbooks, which offers a powerful set of features a vast user base and the ability for your accountant to work with your files.
Quickbooks is also moving toward the subscription model. But Sage sees plenty of room in the market by attracting “micro businesses.”
When it comes to the tasks listed above, Sage One is a good fit for many small businesses in advertising, graphic arts, free-lance writing, catering and Internet retailers, just to name a few.
Sage One, accounts are set up via customer contacts and by importing bank account information. Users can also send out invoices and quotes. An especially nice feature is a system that tracks invoices and highlights customers whose payments are overdue.
Sage One also integrates smoothly with Pay Pal allowing customers to pay their bills via Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
The integration of systems allows the owner to quickly come up with a basic balanace sheet income statement.
It adds up to a slick basic accounting system for your start-up or part-time business. As Sage continues to note, the system is so easy that the chief cook and bottle washer owner can spend more time on the business.
What you won’t get is depreciation schedules, hard asset lists and other information.
Cost of the service is $25 a month, a bit more than buying a “shrink wrapped version of Quickbooks. But for the time-short business owner, Sage One may be worth the cost. We’ll take another look at Sage One toward the end of the year. – Doug Rainey
