We migrate with Le Chiffre a significant number of customers from the 2017 version of the software to other alternatives, and we still go to our sage of SAGE 50 to reveal his secrets to us many years later. This is because the software has not advanced in terms of functionality since that time.
Think about it, in 2006, we did not yet have an iPhone, but we had SAGE 50 and Acomba. Since then, the accounting environment of an SME has changed very little, but its technological environment has been completely transformed. These accounting softwares should have adapted to it, which is unfortunately not the case.
Accounting SaaS Software (SaaS for Software as a Service) have supplanted their congener on the job, for their connectivity, accessibility and real cost. Through anecdotes from my partner, I will be more than happy to explain why.
Sauge 50
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- Connectivity
“The man who mumbled”, in 2012, worked at GSOFT, a company specializing in software development, which had concocted a system of submission of spending reports home. To integrate this system with Simple Accountant, it was necessary for the champion-encoder of the box to interfere; the computer language of the software was so obscure. At the end of each month, “the man who mumbled» and his team imported .imp files into the software and prayed to the digital gods for everything to go well. It was not until three years later while he rejected a request to code in the dark language of Simple Accountant that that GSOFT surrendered to his request to move on to a more efficient system.
If connected objects are in fashion, so should the same be for administrative applications. The main advantage of SaaS cloud accountants is that they can connect to your administrative environment without having to hire a developer. Whether be it on your online sales site, inventory management software, CRM, integrations are available and easily deployable, to avoid double entry and speed up processing of information.
I like to compare our predilection software to a molecular environment, my atomic theory (sorry Mr. Dalton and Mr. Einstein!). The accounting system is central and we have just added a range of high-performance applications that allow API to whisper the accounting information allowing us to get out of the crucial financial information quickly, in addition to limiting the risk of error.
The Atomic theory in action
But the best achievement of the atomic theory is that it allows systematically to go and seek the best applications in their sector without having to make a painful renunciation. By cutting an atom to the administrative molecule to replace it with a more efficient one, one does not compromise the company while maintaining the dynamism and the flexibility necessary for a modern SME.
On the contrary, the monolithic blocks of all-in-one solutions do not allow this flexibility. Obviously, the integrations are perfect (sometimes not!), But you are caught with outdated modules that you can not replace without changing the software to full extent. You are also hostage to unreasonable prices charged to doing personalized development or adding a crucial section to your business growth.
Les blocs traditionnelsÂ
- Accessibility
The “Mumbling Man” team had an infallible way of connecting to SAGE, which consisted of connecting to a remote server to do the transactions. It was so slow that we had to wait 2 seconds before processing transactions, which at the time had the advantage to offer his team the opportunity to speak very loudly and to make tea while working.
The online accounting software, accessible directly through your internet browser, does not require any installation on a machine. It is therefore possible to connect to the accounting system from anywhere and on any post, provided with access to the internet. In addition to being compatible with more than one operating system, it is now possible to charge or save your expenses with a tablet or a smartphone.
This offers the advantage of allowing many more users to work together on the same organization, from anywhere with any equipment. It makes sharing tasks easier for your team, but also for the accountant, who can connect remotely. It can solve problems without having to move, or to exchange files.
Precisely: A last visit on the SAGE 50 website allows me to see many improvements and the possibility of having Cloud data. Although this is a great step forward, I do not think it will be enough to catch up with the progress that SaaS software has.
- The cost
The father of “the man who mumbled” had this wise advice: “If you do not have payments to make, you do not need the latest version of SAGE. And if you have a technical problem, you do not call support, you call my son. Thus, the informed client could avoid the $ 300 annual fee.
It is an argument in favor of the traditional accounting software to say that the related costs are quite limited. That’s good, but when you have to count all the efforts around it to integrate it, the costs quickly become very important. It is this option, or relegate the system to its strictest and sad accounting function, to ensure compliance and make the government happy. We believe that an accounting software can offer more in business intelligence at a reasonable price.
SaaS software by its nature, generic software developed for the maximum number of users, generates cost savings passed on to the customer. Likewise, the monthly payment obliges the companies to constantly renew their offer and be at the cutting edge of technology. Ultimately, a 30$ / month invested in an Online Quickbooks or Xero costs far less to the organization than the on-premise solution, or equivalent large enterprise software.
Conclusion
My first internal sales pitch, with Le Chiffre, was to convince my partner, “the man who mumbled,” that SAGE 50 was not the solution of the future. It was a wound to the heart for the one who knew the mazes and the tangles of the software, so that he was considered by all as the great mumbler. He has shifted his shoulder through the arguments above: he is now a fervent supporter of the cloud, even though he no longer needs to cajole cloud computing software, since it responds to orders without telling them. This is why desktop versions are at their last whisper, as they are already obsolete in the dynamic environment of the start-up and the current SME.
“The man who mumbled” is now working with us to create a breed of accountants who no longer mumble but who gossip to demonstrate the benefits of the Cloud to a younger generation of entrepreneurs.
