As scary as it sounds, this software can range from £100 to several thousand. Which package is right for your business?

During my time working for the accounting practices, I discovered that several of our clients had been mis-sold on Sage software. Companies spend a lot more money than they should have, and not just for the software.

The problem also lay in the lack of training, support and guidance. Sage is a wonderful company, and not many people know that if you buy a low-level starter pack, you can actually pay the difference to upgrade? So the common line from some of Sage’s “experts” is “Well, you should get the biggest package to grow your business.” Total nonsense, but first example of gift money.

Software not installed correctly – some customers don’t even know they have been sold a network version while using it on 1 PC – another big waste of money.

However, the biggest single financial implication is poor training. Sage is an in-depth accounting package, and with the constant onslaught of new releases and features, it’s very difficult to always keep up. The Sage 50 Account Manual certainly used to be several hundred pages long. There are manuals, CD roms, online training schemes, classroom training or even 1 to 1 offers.

So how do you choose the training solution that’s right for you? You could read the manual, though without going through it several times, and without someone explaining some of the more complicated areas to you, it would be a waste of time. You can view the CD roms, follow the online training programs, some of them are from Sage, some are from third party providers.

In reality, for 95% of Sage newbies, classroom training is the best solution. Classroom training will always be the preferred option: someone to guide you, answer your questions, and keep you focused on something that isn’t really the most exciting subject: “Accounting and Bookkeeping” – exciting!

Sage has a series of training courses hosted at various locations, which can, over several days (5-10), take you through all the intricacies of the software. Imagine if someone did that with every car you bought: a 30-minute lesson on how rear seat belt pretensioners work or how to change your pollen filter in case you don’t want to pay a shop to show you around. The list could go on and on, and you really just need to know if there’s any real difference to what you already know and go.

Sage is doing exactly what it should be doing: showcasing the wonders of Sage 50 accounts, showing how you can record a customer’s DUNS number (which, in case you were wondering, is a 9-digit number used for purchases). Electronic Zanzibar, UK Governments). portal), how you can record every detail of conversations, notepads to jot down useful information, and all the customizable fields you can imagine or want. In reality, however, 98% of bookkeepers will never record a DUNS number or wonder what part of their accounting system they can use to record the birthdays of customer daughters’ kittens.

So if you don’t want to spend 10 days learning all the ins and outs, who can you go to for training? Maybe you could just spend 5 days with Sage? maybe 2 days? Sage Courses, for just Sage 50 Accounts Introduction, Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3: a total of 7 days and cost approx £1,800 excluding accommodation, travel and living costs.

So you don’t want to spend £1800 and waste 7 days of your time? What is the alternative? Sage Onsite Training is currently running at £600 – £1000+ per day.

The country is full of people claiming to be “Sage Experts”, so what exactly is a Sage Expert? To become Sage certified, you must complete an exam, which Sage can run and have a manual by your side, as well as the online help file, so that every answer can be provided by someone who has never used the software before. – certainly not what I would consider an expert.

Perhaps someone in the “Club of Wise Accountants”? The prerequisite is to pay an annual subscription, you are not an expert yet.

In short, you should consider all options when adopting a computerized accounting package.

1. Am I being sold the right package for my business or vendor commission?
2. Does the person selling this to me know my business and the software?
3. If I don’t have training, can I afford to do the wrong thing and end up on the wrong side of the tax man, or face a big bill from my accountant?
4. Can I afford the time and financial cost of training with Sage and pay for the information, 75% of which I will probably never use?
5. If I’m going to be trained by someone other than Sage, do they really know enough to train me?

Hopefully this guide and article can prevent you from being one of the hundreds if not thousands of businesses that have been duped by these salespeople, experts, and even in some cases, their own accountants.