When comparing Sage Intacct versus Sage 300 to choose the best accounting system for your needs, it is vital to focus on those needs versus what you are getting from each solution. Sage Intacct is a native cloud financial management application with modern reporting features, while Sage 300 (formerly ACCPAC) is a legacy ERP (Enterprise Resourcing Planning) software built for businesses that require additional visibility into areas like inventory management. While both of these products provide you with some level of process visibility and automation, only one will help you future-proof your business with advanced financial reporting and other streamlined features.
Here is everything you need to know when comparing Sage Intacct versus Sage 300:
Comparing Sage Intacct vs Sage 300
There are a few shared characteristics between both of these solutions at face value, including the ability to capture insight into transactions and automate bookkeeping across your business. However, overall Sage Intacct outpaces Sage 300 by a wide margin when it comes to the level of features and technology updates it can provide. Comparing the differences in functionality, accessibility and scalability are critical when looking at both to decide on which is the best accounting system for you.
Sage Intacct: Cloud Accounting Software
Sage Intacct is a cloud-native solution delivered totally as SaaS (Software as a Service), meaning that it is hosted in a remote server and configured to deployed completely in a digital environment. It is also a market-leading, best-of-breed financial management application that comes equipped with advanced accounting and reporting features, and that provides deep insight into finance workflows via a modern UI (user interface) with intuitive data visualizations.
Here are some of the key features of Sage Intacct:
- Cloud Flexibility & Insight – Working with a SaaS environment allows you anywhere, anytime access to your system and data, including from any device via a mobile app or web browser. As long as you have access to an Internet connection and the right user permissions, you are able to log into your system from any location, whether from your desktop or a smartphone.
- Granular Visibility – Take advantage of deep dimensional reporting capabilities and pre-built dashboard templates that allow you to dig granularly into every transaction, expense, revenue stream, and more at the push of a button. With an unlimited number of dimensions available, you are able to slice your data up by as many filters as you need to apply.
- Customization & Integration – Sage Intacct is a highly flexible, modular and scalable solution, with built-in customization options for structuring your data visualizations and a large marketplace of available third-party integrations. It is built to be able to connect with other best-of-breed software natively via API and pass data seamlessly between each application, including for CRM, payroll, sales tax reporting, etc.
- Enhanced Data Security – Enforce cybersecurity on both sides of your deployment, from internal security controls to persistent monitoring of your data by Sage. Permission-based access and approval workflows can be configured from within your system, ensuring privacy compliance and data integrity.
- Multi-entity Accounting – Sage Intacct allows you to automatically consolidate accounts from multiple entities and simplify your shared chart of accounts (CoA) without manual reconciliation. Inter-company workflows and elimination rules can be manually configured without losing any automation, while transactions can be centralized in one consolidated ledger or broken out into individual books.
Sage Intacct for Distribution and Manufacturing Operations (SDMO)
One area where ERP usually stands out against standalone accounting software is in adding insight into supply chain operations, from production planning to inventory management. However, Sage is releasing a new module – Sage Distribution and Manufacturing Operations (SDMO) – that can be integrated with the core financial management system to provide additional visibility and connected automations for order fulfillment, quality control, stock management, production scheduling and more. This means that manufacturers and distributors would be able to gain many of the same capabilities as they would with a system like Sage 100 as with Sage Intacct, while still being able to take advantage of its modern reporting features, streamlined workflows and cloud accessibility.
Sage 300: Legacy ERP
Sage 300 is a comprehensive business management solution designed to help SMBs capture visibility into all sides of their operations. With the launch of Sage 300cloud (formerly Sage 300c), users are able to take advantage of cloud-connected features while their software remains on-premise. However, you do not gain the full advantages of a true cloud environment unless you decide to host with a Strategic Hosting Provider with the Sage Partner Cloud or directly with a third-party service provider such as SWK Technologies.
Here are some of the key features of Sage 300:
- Unified Business Management – An ERP system connects your financials with operational tracking capabilities, granting you end-to-end visibility over the moving parts of your business. This allows you to bridge the gap between siloed departments and gain a 360-degree view of your projects and operations.
- Inventory Management – The Inventory Control feature enables you to maintain detailed perpetual records of all items and produce reports tracking your stock management and levels. The system also automatically generates lot and serial numbers to assign to inventory and keeps you informed on counts in real-time.
- International Scalability – Sage 300 is designed to empower businesses expanding internationally, including support for multiple currencies and languages in order processing and reporting. Supported multi-language functionality includes translations for English, French, Spanish, Italian, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.
- Excel & CRM Integrations – With Sage 300cloud, users can take advantage of built-in connectors for reporting and data management. These include a native integration for Excel that allows you to export reports directly from your ERP as well as two-way support for Sage CRM.
Key Differences: Cloud Agility & Enhancements vs. Legacy Suite
Legacy software is a system that is built on an aging architecture, with a lot of implications about the long-term viability of such applications. Sage 300 is a suite-based ERP built in a time when an all-in-one solution hosted on a local server was the norm, but in contemporary times this approach has been outpaced by modern digital transformation.
Sage Intacct’s design offers a lot more agility for your business on top of the strength of its core features. In addition to better availability on any device, users receive consistent updates and enhancements delivered over the web automatically, without having to force a manual upgrade. In contrast, Sage 300cloud users will have to take steps to migrate their ERP that could include having to shut down for the interim.
Understanding the Cost of Cloud vs. On-premise ERP
Total price is a significant point of comparison between Sage 300 and Sage Intacct, but the actual cost of ownership can be obfuscated if you do not know all of the details. The latter may have a higher sticker price, yet can end up being cheaper to pay for over time depending on circumstances. Even while cloud-connected, Sage 300cloud will still require server maintenance on top of the subscription price if not hosted, and charges separately for support. True cloud accounting software eliminates many of the additional capital expenses, and its total investment cost is reduced to the base pricing and for any add-ons.
Preparing for Tomorrow: Future-Proofing Your Business with Sage Intacct
Migrating to the cloud is long past being a novelty for modern businesses, and is almost a strict requirement for many that live in fast-paced markets and need the agility it offers to keep up with competitors. Continuing to rely on desktop software today is like waiting on a letter to send instead of using email instantly – it is no longer practical when speed and efficiency are key factors.
See Why Sage Intacct is the Best Accounting Software Choice
When comparing Sage Intacct versus Sage 300, its is clear that the former’s strong features and scalability win out over the latter’s age and other limitations. Reach out to SWK Technologies today and see for yourself how this cloud accounting software will transform your financial management and help bring your business into the future.
Contact SWK here to see Sage Intacct in action and discover how this cloud accounting software will accelerate your processes.