Startups and small businesses have more potential to grow than their larger counterparts. But, growth demands changes, and of course, a transformation from Sage 50 to SAB Business One! You may wonder- why we mention these two names? Well, here we are going to give you an outline of both Sage 50 and SAP BUSINESS ONE to clear it up.
Let’s start with the introduction.
What is Sage 50?
Sage 50 is one of the most popular general-purpose accounting tools for small industries in the UK. Sage company has disclosed that almost half a million SMEs in the UK and Ireland rely on the current version of Sage 50 to meet accounting, invoicing, and other related requirements. For many years, Sage 50 Accounts (formerly known as Sage Line 50 and Sage Sterling) had remained the default choice for small businesses of the UK and Ireland.
People who understand book-keeping can easily use this basic accounting package. Fundamentally, Sage 50 is an entry level accounting package that hasn’t changed in many years. It uses fairly old technology but does the basics very well. Accountants can use a range of ‘add-ons’ with Sage 50 accounts to enhance its functionality and scope.
What is SAP Business One?
When it comes to cost-effective and easy-to-implement business management solution, SAP Business One (SAP BUSINESS ONE) knows no competition! What’s more, it is designed particularly for SMEs to ensure growth, increase profitability, and bring automation in the processes. Even startups can use it to grow. Currently, SAP BUSINESS ONE has more than 47000 customers across 150 countries. This ERP software has started gaining ground in the UK and other markets gradually.
The software has a clear technical architecture to make sure that its performance remains the same even with specific location-based products developed by SAP partners. SAP Business One is an integrated ERP system that offers great operational control to small businesses. It has a wide range of features with customisation options. SAP has authorised partners globally and offers all services like implementation, support, and training to the customers through partners.
This subscription-based software solution has a clear roadmap and it effectively addresses ever-changing business needs of SMEs and startups. The company brings major upgrades in the period of eighteen months to two years and releases patches regularly. As an ERP solution, SAP BUSINESS ONE goes beyond just an accounting tool. The software can be easily customised to meet the challenges and changes in modern businesses. Add-ons can also be integrated with the software to get the desired outcome.
Related Reading- Comparison between SAP Business One and Sage 200
It’s about accounting program vs ERP solution
We can consider SAP Business One as a complete ERP solution for startups and SMEs that can easily accomplish all the tasks of Sage 50 Accounts. Here we cover a few of the key differences in features of SAP BUSINESS ONE and Sage 50 without discussing their impact on their functionality.
| Features |  |
 |
| Languages | 27 International languages | Only English |
| Multi-currency | Offers support for spot exchange rates and users can easily revalue foreign debtors and creditors | Only one exchange rate is given per currency. It does not facilitate users to revalue foreign debtors/creditors. |
| Prefixed Rules | 41 different rules | Rules only for the UK and Ireland |
| Accounting Periods | A flexible number of accounting periods. It is possible to have different years with different periods in the form of number and length. | 12 months in every financial year |
| Nominal Accounts | They are part of one section of the accounts chart. Nominal codes can be extended as per the requirement. User can add up to 5 segments or dimensions in the nominal codes. | Nominal accounts on the balance sheet can float between assets and liabilities depending on the balance records. Users can have nominal codes of different length. |
| Period Closing | Period closing is possible and transactions are posted to open periods only. | ‘Lock date’ feature is available to prevent posting before a particular date. Transactions can be posted in a one month period from the transaction date. |
| Customisation | Many options for personalisation and customisation are available. Font size adjustment, hide parts, remove unnecessary fields, custom fields, and other features can enhance the readability and usefulness of the software. An SAP Business One partner can easily integrate new functionality within the interface. | Limited options for personalisation and customisation of software. Add-ons are available for improving functionality and scope. However, the overall customisation ability is minimal. |
| Analysis ability | The flexible analysis enables the users to define their fields through free-text or checkboxes. It is also possible to select fields from the available list of data entry. | Three analysis fields per record are available and different areas of accounting support them. Users need to remain cautious because chances of human errors are high due to text-only fields. |
| Tagging | Transactions can be tagged with alphanumeric codes in line with the project code. | Transactions are tagged by a department code up to 999. Project-wise tagging is not possible. |
| Authorised Access | Authorisations can be set for different projects. Users can get access to ERP software on the basis of their designation. | No provision of authorised access for the users. |
| Location Control | Stock can be readily traced thanks to the support for multiple warehouses, locations, and batch/serial numbers. Full visibility of stock movement and ability to restrict warehouses from holding specific stock. | No location control and traceability for the stock. Sage 50 is accounting software that has nothing to do with inventory and demand-supply chain. |
| Database | SQL server or SAP HANA (in-memory) databases are robust enough to include higher user count and larger transaction volume | File-based limited database that can include only simultaneous users and their transactions |
| Reporting | Crystal reports, integrated Microsoft Office, and pervasive analytics make the reporting process rich and comprehensive to make informed decisions. | Limited reporting capability with Sage Report writer and Excel plugin. |
Features related to workflow, invoicing, MRP, service, and production give a significant edge to SAP Business One over Sage 50 Accounts. What’s more, CRM functionality is not available in Sage 50 Accounts.
Talking about the pricing structure, there is a big difference between SAP Business One and Sage 50 Accounts. The license of SAP BUSINESS ONEis for individual persons, whereas the license of Sage 50 Accounts is for the simultaneous users. The price for SAP Business One license starts from £26.00, and that for Sage 50 Accounts starts from £28.49. Simply put, though SAP Business One is cheaper for a single user, you need to pay more if there are more users. However, you can certainly get a higher ROI over the period with a custom SAP BUSINESS ONE solution.
Why should you upgrade to SAP Business One from Sage 50 Accounts?
As your company grows, you need to manage resources more actively and effectively. There, merely an accounting program is not sufficient. Here we mention a few reasons why you should upgrade from Sage 50 and take your enterprise to the next level.
- To meet ever-changing requirements and growing competition
- To simplify complex business processes
- To add new business operations
- To analyse processes in a more sophisticated way
- To facilitate M&A (Merger and Acquisitions)
- To enhance productivity and increase international trade
- To integrate capabilities without adding separate systems
- To operate from various locations
- To provide more options for transactions
The biggest indicator for upgrading your existing business system is you need add-ons for managing daily operations or additional database to store more data.
Wrapping Up
It is fair to mention that both Sage 50 and SAP Business One are useful for startups and SMEs. But once your company grows to the next level from Sage 50, the SAP Business One solution is capable of meeting changing ERP and other business requirements. It is better to consult a reputed SAP Business One solution provider to know about the best-fit solution for your enterprise.
As a global SAP Partner, we have implemented over 125 SAP Business One ERP solutions across various industry sectors. We have footprints in four countries and over 10 years of experience in SAP implementation. Welcome to Silver Touch Technologies, UK! If you want to avail advantage of our holistic approach ranging from consultancy to extensive support, just drop us a line at info@silvertouchtech.co.uk.
