What are the differences between sage50c and sage 50 hosting

Introduction

​Sage 50 is a premium accounting software tool designed for small and medium scale enterprises. It was formerly known as Peachtree. Sage 50C is the new version of Sage 50.

​The major difference between both versions is can be inferred from the additional "C" in the new version. The "C" stands for the cloud. This means Sage 50C is essentially the cloud-based version of Sage 50. We shall consider the differences between both versions in more detail.

What do users benefit from Sage 50?

​Sage 50 was created to meet the accounting needs of small enterprises. It comes in three main plans as highlighted below.

• Pro (supports only 1 user)
• accounts receivable
• accounts payable
•  cash management;

 

• Premium (supports 1-5 users)
• Budgeting
• audit trail
• automated tasks
• change order processing; and

 

• Quantum (supports 3-40 users)
• industry-specific features
• workflow management
• fast processing
• 
  

Although Quantum could support up to 40 users, it was found to perform optimally, when the users are down to 10 or less. This claim was confirmed by Sage 50's product manager. Since accounting for small businesses is mostly performed by one person or two at most, there was no big deal about Quantum support capacity. Add this to the fact that Sage 50 was made for small businesses.
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Sage 50 ran locally. Users needed to install and use the software on the office computer. Businesses that purchased multiple licenses had to share data from a local server or a desktop so the users can work simultaneously. Working on a local server has disadvantages when it comes to retaining the integrity of shared data, and the amount of waiting time required. The fact that users also needed to be physically present in their offices to work on the software started turning users off. The presence of early cloud-based accounting software also added to the pressure for Sage 50 to evolve. The result is Sage 50C.

What will users benefit from the new Sage 50C?

Sage 50c was developed to allow users to enjoy all the benefits that come with using cloud-based accounting solutions. Sage 50c comes in three plans: Essentials, Standard, and Professional.
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Below is a comparison of the features of the trio

Sage 50c features	Essentials	Standard	​Professional
Cashflow management	Yes	Yes	Yes
​Link bank account	Yes	Yes	​Yes
Create invoice and quotes	Yes	​Yes	​Yes
Multiple reporting formats	Yes	Yes	​Yes
Secure cloud backup and access	Yes	Yes	​Yes
​Payroll Management	Yes	Yes	Yes
​Mobile Apps support	​Yes	Yes	​Yes
​Office 365 support	​Yes	Yes	​Yes
​Stock tracking & management	No	Yes	Yes
Create purchase & sales orders	​No	​No	​Yes
Multiple department management	​No	Yes	​Yes
Regular product innovation & upgrade	Yes	Yes	​Yes
​Webchat & email support	Yes	​Yes	​Yes
​Telephone support	No	Yes	​Yes
Unlimited remote support	​No	​No	Yes
​Multiple currencies	​No	No	Yes
​No of core users supported	Max. of 2	Max. of 2	50
​Connected users	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Multi-company support	No	Yes	Yes

Here’s how the new Sage 50c version works:

Sage 50c is a hybrid cloud-based solution. It gives the features that cloud-based solutions give i.e remote access and secure backup. However, before using Sage 50c, it still needs to be hosted on a local desktop computer. Sage 50c setup differs from Sage 50 set up in that data files are stored and backup on Sage Cloud while the Sage Drive on Sage 50c grants access for sharing data. Other users can access the data remotely from the Sage Drive, which acts as the hybrid-cloud facilitator.

One limitation with the hybrid cloud solution is that not all users can work at the same time on data stored on Sage Drive. There needs to be offline coordination among users about who should work on data first and who follows. This means real-time collaborative work on data is only partially possible.
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One reason Sage gave for sticking with its hybrid-cloud solution is that it claims its customers are not ready for the intricacies of a fully cloud-based solution.

Conclusion

​Sage 50 users can easily switch to the new Sage 50c. Sage 50c is still as simple to use as Sage 50. You get more features with Sage 50c while enjoying secured data backup and remote access.