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Accounting software review

Sage 50 Accounting

Sage's long-standing desktop accounting, now sold with cloud access on a one-year commitment. Premium with 2 users costs $260.50 a month paid monthly, with bank feeds, reconciliation, supplier bills and reports by department.

By SageParent company: The Sage Group plc

RTC SCORE

5.2

#9 of 9 with enough data

Our verdict

Traditional desktop-style accounting with deep features and phone support, now with cloud access, on a yearly commitment. For a restaurant it is pricey per user and has no connection with the common restaurant POS systems.

What we like

  • Full double-entry books with supplier bills, purchase orders, inventory and job costing on every plan.
  • Premium adds multiple companies and reports by department.
  • Unlimited phone and chat support included, with a dedicated Customer Success representative.
  • If you leave, you keep read-only access to your data.

What to watch

  • Expensive for two people: $260.50 a month for Premium with 2 users, and Pro allows only 1 user.
  • Minimum one-year commitment with automatic yearly renewal.
  • No connection with Toast, Square, Clover, Shift4 POS or SpotOn; restaurant sales come in as bank deposits.
  • Bank feed downloads land only in the reconciliation window; each unmatched line has to be turned into a transaction by hand.

How the score breaks down

RTC Score5.2out of 10

Methodology v1.0.0

Data completeness91%

We could verify 91% of the scoring data

Strongest points
Bank feeds, Bank reconciliation, Supplier bills
Weakest point
12-month cost (reference restaurant)

Score by criterion

  • 12-month cost (reference restaurant)Weight 20%Weakest0.0 out of 10

    $3,126 over 12 months

  • POS data that reaches the booksWeight 8%2.5 out of 10
  • Bank feedsWeight 7%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • POS systems that connectWeight 7%0.0 out of 10
  • Initial termWeight 7%7.5 out of 10
  • Bank reconciliationWeight 6%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Supplier billsWeight 6%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Live support channelsWeight 6%10.0 out of 10
  • Published pricingWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Access for your accountantWeight 5%No data
  • Payroll into the booksWeight 5%5.0 out of 10
  • Early termination feeWeight 5%2.5 out of 10
  • Results by location or classWeight 4%10.0 out of 10
  • Live support hours a weekWeight 4%No data
  • Notice to avoid renewalWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Customer invoicesWeight 2%10.0 out of 10

All the data, with sources

Each value links to its source. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't disclose it; "Unconfirmed" means we looked and couldn't confirm it. Data points we have for fewer than four vendors are left out until we can compare them.

Pricing
Data pointValue
Monthly price$260.50/moSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Premium Accounting with 2 users selected, Monthly toggle, with a minimum one-year commitment. Pro ($132.17 a month) allows only 1 user, so it does not cover the reference restaurant.
Monthly price if paid yearly$236/moSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Premium with 2 users on the Annual toggle: $2,832 a year, $236 a month.
Users includedPriced per userSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Premium is priced by the number of users, from 1 to 5: $182.50 a month for 1 user, $260.50 for 2, $320.92 for 3 and $493.83 for 5 (Monthly toggle). Pro has 1 user; Quantum goes up to 40.
Each extra userN/ASource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Premium and Quantum are priced by the number of users you pick (see the plans), not with a fee per extra user.
Published pricingPublishedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)
Free planNoSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)
Other feesPayroll is a separate subscription, priced by number of employees and bought by phone. Live bank feeds with document capture (AutoEntry) and invoice payments through Stripe or PayPal are add-ons. You must stay on the current software version to keep the subscription.Source: Sage (opens in a new tab)
Books and reconciliation
Data pointValue
Bank feedsAutomatic feeds from your bankSource: Sage Knowledgebase (US) (opens in a new tab)US banks only. Downloaded transactions land in the reconciliation window and match what you already entered; a bank line with no match has to be turned into a transaction by you.
Bank reconciliationYesSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)
Supplier bills (accounts payable)IncludedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)On every plan, with purchase orders and approvals.
Customer invoices (accounts receivable)IncludedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)
Results by location or classIncludedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Reports by department start on Premium, which also handles multiple companies; Pro does not have them.
Access for your accountantUnconfirmedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Sage's US pages do not say whether your accountant's login uses one of the users you pay for; we looked on the pricing page, the product page and the US knowledgebase.
Bookkeeping service from the vendorUnconfirmedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)We found no bookkeeping service sold with Sage 50 on its US pricing page.
POS and payroll connections
Data pointValue
Connects with these POS systemsOthersSource: Sage US Marketplace (opens in a new tab)Only AccuPOS, listed for Sage 50 in Sage's US Marketplace. We found no Sage 50 connection for Toast, Square, Clover, Shift4 POS, SpotOn or Heartland; the Lightspeed Retail listing connects to Sage's other cloud accounting product, not Sage 50.
POS data that reaches the booksOnly the deposits, through the bank feedSource: Sage US Marketplace (opens in a new tab)With the major restaurant POS systems, sales reach Sage 50 only as deposits through the bank feed. AccuPOS says it shares sales and items with Sage, but its listing does not describe a daily entry split by sales tax, tips and payment type.
How payroll reaches the booksOnly its own payrollSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Sage's own payroll module, sold apart. The US Marketplace listing for Gusto connects to Sage's other cloud accounting product, not Sage 50.
Contract and exit
Data pointValue
Initial term12 monthsSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)
Automatic renewal12 monthsSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Renews automatically every year; you are charged up to a week before the renewal date.
Notice to avoid renewal30 daysSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)30 days' notice to end the plan; the page sets no separate deadline before renewal.
Early termination feeAnother formulaSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)The page requires a minimum one-year commitment but also lets you end the plan with 30 days' notice and a pro-rated refund; it does not say whether paying monthly changes that. Full refund within 30 days of the first purchase.
Early termination clauseMinimum one-year commitment. Sage's pricing page says you may end the plan with 30 days' notice and receive a pro-rated refund, and offers a full refund within 30 days of the first purchase; it does not say what a monthly payer owes for the rest of the year.Source: Sage (opens in a new tab)
Right to raise pricesNo data
Your records when you leaveRead-only access after you cancelSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)
Support
Data pointValue
Live supportPhone and chatSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Included in every plan, with a dedicated Customer Success representative; the knowledgebase and community are available 24/7.
Live support hours a weekUnconfirmedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Sage's US pages list a support phone number for Sage 50 but no hours; we looked on the pricing, support and contact pages.
Language
Data pointValue
Software in SpanishUnconfirmedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)Sage documents no Spanish version of the US product; the Spanish-language Sage 50 is Spain's edition, which does not count. We looked on the US pricing and product pages and in US knowledgebase search results.
Invoices in SpanishUnconfirmedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)We found no Spanish invoice option on its pricing and product pages.
Support in SpanishUnconfirmedSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)We found no published Spanish support on its pricing, product and support pages.
Website in Spanish for the USNoSource: Sage (opens in a new tab)The US site's language selector offers only "United States | English"; Sage's Spanish sites are for other countries.

More about Sage 50 Accounting

How we score