Whether you’re just starting your own business or have been operating an SMB for years, odds are you’ve already encountered the age-old Sage 50 vs QuickBooks debate. It seems that finding a QuickBooks proponent or disgruntled user is about as difficult as locating a Starbucks in an urban city block (in other words, it’s absurdly easy).

Though the SMB accounting software space has seen great strides in the diversification of vendors and deployment offerings, QuickBooks and Sage 50 (formerly Peachtree accounting) have persevered as key players. Why? For starters, QuickBooks and Sage 50 are more or less adequate tools to address the somewhat limited financial management needs of home offices and small businesses. Both accounting platforms have also acquired substantial user bases and are backed by sizable software companies with the means to continually improve their products.
 

Comparing Sage 50 vs QuickBooks

quickbooks-v-sageShifting landscape aside, Sage 50 and QuickBooks are solid options for SMB accounting because they can vastly improve how small businesses manage finances, greatly reducing time spent configuring Excel spreadsheets and manually entering data.

But when it comes down to it, just how do Sage 50 and QuickBooks stack up? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the two leading accounting tools.

Functionality

First, let’s talk about how the two measure up in terms of core features. Despite what forums and user opinions might have you believe, QuickBooks and Sage 50 offer comparable capabilities. Both perform many typical accounting activities necessary for SMBs, from standard accounting tasks such as payment processing and accounts payable/receivable to customer management and budgeting.

Here are some features that QuickBooks does well:

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  • Efficiently creates invoices
  • Simplified billing and invoicing
  • App integrations
  • Preconfigured and customizable reporting

And Sage 50 excels at these functions:

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