Sage One Accounts review

Sadly, the same isn’t quite true when it comes to filling in the details, as Sage One Accounts is a little stricter about data entry than rival service Xero. While the latter simply lets you type a name when raising an invoice so you can define the other contact details later or not at all, Accounts asks you to select an existing contact or enter a new one in full. It’s easy to do this, but we skipped entering a contact’s email address, and when we later entered the email and sent the invoice the invoice, a duplicate contact was created.

This is a deliberately simple service, and as such it isn’t suitable for more advanced or experienced users. Only five reports are available, for example, and these can’t be customised. It’s also not possible for users to access or modify their chart of accounts (the detailed ledgers that keep track of how money moves in, within and out of the business), but accountants can do this. Bearing the target market in mind, both are sensible simplifications.

Other omissions are less welcome. While we like Sage One’s clear presentation, data is presented almost entirely as text. There’s no use of charts or other elements to provide insight on key business indicators such as aged debtors or cashflow. Sage One also lacks the e-banking support found in many other Sage products, such as importing bank data and can helping reduce the tedium of reconciliation.

Overall, Sage One Accounts does a commendable job of simplifying bookkeeping without skipping vital items. Demanding or accounts-literate users would be better served by Xero‘s £23 per month Medium service, but Sage One is a cheaper and better choice for the inexperienced.