We have owned and used this software extensively since 2012.

Pros

Standardization. We were doing a lot of process work through excel, word, email, etc. This forced us to standardize how we operated and gave our clients a consistent experience over multiple projects. Job costing is capable of being more accurate than we need.

Cons

Lack of significant improvements to the software given the annual support and maintenance amount paid. Features tend to be minor with more significant improvements coming in the form of additional optional products for purchase.

Sage 300

Overall the program is satisfactory.

Pros

The modules are easy to use . The screens are easy to navigate and they are user friendly. there is excellent audit tracing for each module.

Cons

The reports are minimal. The more useful reports require you to purchase a separate license for Sage intelligence which is very expensive. the stock reports require another software program (Crystal reports ) in order to modify them. The set up screens for the customer and vendor screen do not allow for more than one email address which reduces the ability to email directly from Sage. The payroll module does not email EFT check reports to employees. You have to buy another program in order to do this (Print Boss). Overall there is a hefty price tag to purchase all the modules and add on programs to use. If you can stay with Simply, then you should.

There's better options out there

Pros

I started my business accounting using this software and quickly realized it had way more features than I needed for a sole proprietor. If you run a large organization with lots of employees you will probably utilize more of those functions.

Cons

There's a huge learning curve, it's not intuitive, and it's very expensive. There are lots of accounting programs available that are easier to use and a lot more affordable (ex. Wave is free and gets the job done).

The work of SAGE 300 ERP with Me in Lusaka, Zambia

We were trying to address the issue of going green meaning working in a paperless environment. We benefit in many ways as we had reduced on stationery cost, and work become faster as processes were integrated in the systems. It still requires improvement and the environment in which it works does not fully support or become compatible with local Vendors. The advice I would give to others is that they need careful planning so that they only ask for installation of packages suitable for their environment.

Pros

It automates manual work of processing purchase orders and eliminates physical postage of paper documents to third party (Suppliers). It integrates separate pieces of transactions into one, making work easy and shorten the overall time spent on processing one simple transaction e.g. Purchase requisition is generated by someone else then converted into a purchase order without altering many details. The system is able to make basic or advanced calculations of cost and taxes hence eliminating the burden of errors and omissions.

Cons

It is somehow expensive to run as it requires a perpetual subscription to be made. It is a system that cannot just be installed on the PC for a lifetime. Room for improvement is still available because it has a lot of steps (clicking is too much). We could not achieve the go-green aim as most of the time we were printing out physical copies of contracts as the environment in which we used the system did not have many vendors connected to the internet.

Sage300 and why you should use it

We use it as our basic accounting package for dealing with all of our vendors and all of our clients.

Pros

It has all of the basic features of a full accounting system including AP, GL, AR, Sales order, Inventory mgmt.

Cons

Customization is not simple to do. It is not simple to add new forms or understand the table structures. Table names are very short and obsure.