Sage 50 Quantum Accounting 2014 is a member of the largest global software family represented in my latest batch of ERP reviews. Over the years, its parent company, Sage, has acquired numerous small and mid-sized business solutions, primarily in the accounting field (though it also publishes an old, familiar contact manager, ACT!). It now supports several previously-independent lines, including Simply Accounting, BusinessWorks, DacEasy, and Peachtree.
Sage has left the entry-level Peachtree lineup (Pro, Complete, etc.) intact, changing only the applications' names to Sage 50 (Sage 50 Pro Accounting, Sage 50 Complete Accounting, etc.). Sage 50 Quantum Accounting sits at the top of the list, maintaining the look and feel and core feature sets of the junior Sage 50 products, but incorporating functionality that brushes up against the low end of the midrange accounting solutions. This includes more generous data capacity, support for more users (up to 40), more sophisticated job-tracking, and role-based security levels.
All Sage 50 products—with the exception of the relatively new Sage One—are desktop-based. This allows growing businesses to move up through the ranks without having to learn a new application and appeases the large number of small companies who are uncomfortable doing their financial work in the cloud. But while some elements of Sage 50 Quantum Accounting look fresh, most of its working parts use the same interface and navigational tools that have existed with little change for years.
A Solid Base
The products formerly known as Peachtree have matured to the point where there's little more they can add in terms of small business financial processing features. In fact, they hit that wall a few years ago. So the emphasis in upgrades has been on how work is done, rather than what the products can actually do.
This means that Sage 50 Quantum Accounting is quite capable of handling the basic work required of a GAAP-compliant, double-entry accounting PC application. Its front end—the part that you as a user see—is designed to be understood by non-accountants. Behind the scenes, the software is busy doing the technical work—the debits and credits, journal entries, etc., that are necessary to keep the books balanced.
All of that work you used to do on paper or in Excel—or in another accounting product—can be done quickly and accurately using Sage 50 Quantum Accounting. You can track receivables and payables, manage your inventory and jobs, and process your payroll. Your paper forms and manual processes will be replaced by the software's records (customer, vendor, item, and employee) and transaction forms (invoices, purchase orders, quotes, and sales orders, etc.).
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