Quickbooks Online Payroll vs. Sage Accounting

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Quickbooks Online Payroll
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Online Payroll is a payroll provider in the US that integrates payroll, HR, health benefits, and workers’ compensation, helping small businesses pay and manage their teams in one place.
$50
per month +$6/employee/mo
Sage Accounting
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Sage Accounting is online accounting software made to simplify life for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers by providing the functions needed to take care of daily business to-dos. Users can create and send professional quotes and invoices, track income and expenses and know where the business' financials stand. Every Sage Business Cloud Accounting subscription includes unlimited access to support as well as automatic backups and product updates.N/A
Pricing
Quickbooks Online PayrollSage Accounting
Editions & Modules
Payroll Core
$50
per month +$6/employee/mo
Payroll Premium
$85
per month +$9/employee/mo
Payroll Elite
$130
per month +$11/employee/mo
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Quickbooks Online PayrollSage Accounting
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsVersions and pricing listed are for CA products. Versions available and pricing may vary by country. * 2 months free to start, or free for 1 month to try, then $19/$43/$62 +tax/mo (tier depending). Offer valid for new customers only on monthly subscriptions of Sage Business Cloud Accounting. After the promotional period, the monthly subscription rate will renew at the then current rate. May not be combined with any other offers or discounts. To ensure continuous service the subscription plan is an automatically renewing plan. Subsequent months will automatically be billed to the same credit card each month on the anniversary date of purchase. Plans can be terminated at any time prior to the renewal data and not charged for renewal.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Quickbooks Online PayrollSage Accounting
Features
Quickbooks Online PayrollSage Accounting
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Quickbooks Online Payroll
-
Ratings
Sage Accounting
9.3
Ratings
18% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Quickbooks Online Payroll
-
Ratings
Sage Accounting
8.6
Ratings
12% above category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Quickbooks Online Payroll
-
Ratings
Sage Accounting
9.7
Ratings
15% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Quickbooks Online Payroll
-
Ratings
Sage Accounting
9.3
Ratings
16% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings9.80 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Quickbooks Online Payroll
-
Ratings
Sage Accounting
9.1
Ratings
16% above category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings9.80 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings9.80 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings6.60 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Quickbooks Online Payroll
-
Ratings
Sage Accounting
6.9
Ratings
6% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings6.70 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings5.70 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Quickbooks Online Payroll
-
Ratings
Sage Accounting
8.2
Ratings
6% above category average
Pricing00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Quickbooks Online PayrollSage Accounting
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.5 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Quickbooks Online PayrollSage Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
-
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.2
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.2
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Quickbooks Online PayrollSage Accounting
Likelihood to Recommend
No answers on this topic
My experience comes from the integration and development level, and Sage Accounting has been overall great to work with. The tools provided and support offered have been extremely useful for our implementations, and they continue to update and improve at a quick pace. Any issues we've encountered with integrations have either been resolved by Sage Accounting through updates, or different methods brought to us from support to handle those issues from a different angle.
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Pros
No answers on this topic
  • Bank integration - being able to extract banking transaction into Sage Accounting.
  • Allocation rules - transactions are auto-allocated once allocation rules have been set up. This is a great time-saver.
  • Flexibility - the ability to view transactions, click on them to the allocation point and rectifying if required saves having to create journals, and therefore time. General ledgers therefore stay cleaner and more user-friendly.
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Cons
No answers on this topic
  • I find it difficult to record journals in cloud accounting. Maybe I just don’t have the knowledge.
  • It’s important to export all unrecorded sync bank transactions to Excel to send to clients to explain the payment receipts before being posted. This function is not available on the cloud and makes life harder, having to call out the transactions to clients over the phone.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
I could not live without Sage Accounting, it has become an integral part of my everyday. The more I have used Sage Accounting the more I have fallen in love with it. I am excited to be part of this ever-evolving accounting system that has grown from strength to strength, making life easier is something Sage does so well.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
I was new to accounts and am constantly doing more through Sage than we have ever done in the company. Our accounts software has taken the stress out of many aspects of accounting. Highlights would be statement runs, purchase automation, and quick and professional remittance advice.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
Sage has been always available when I want it. If there is any maintenance work to be done by the Sage team, you are told well in advance. Maintenance is generally carried out late at night or before the day begins for most of us. It continues to be the most reliable software I use.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
Performance is top notch, if it is not, it is probably your wi-fi connection. It has happened that pages load slowly because of an error on Sage side but almost never. Overall reports load fine, the site is fast, navigation is fine. I have a client that has so many invoices, it is slow or gets stuck when you try to load a report for a whole year but it is just too many invoices, it makes sense. Just take 2 report for 6 months and combine them, its not an issue for me. I am happy with Sage Accounting's performance.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
Sage Accounting are easy to contact and have knowledgeable and helpful staff. Whenever I've encountered a problem I've always been able to get assistance and guidance and it feels like the person at the end of the phone/screen knows the product well.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
Staff are always friendly, and patient, always work at a speed that suits you. You are never rushed, and In only a short time they seem to be able to help you make great strides. It has been a pleasure not a chore, learning how SAGE Accounting works and benefits me and the company.
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Online Training
No answers on this topic
I find the online training was very informative and they answered all my questions. I am also certified in Sage One and provided online training in the program which I have set up several people on and they love how it keeps them organized.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
The clients' business owner worked with Sage on implementation before I began working for them. After consultation with them it is clear the process was quickly performed and without complication. The key takeaway was that Sage is seen as a partner to the business. That said, it was always necessary to engage with an accountant such as myself to extract the best out of the software.
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Alternatives Considered
No answers on this topic
We’ve also used and evaluated QuickBooks Online, Xero, and FreshBooks. Each has its strengths, QuickBooks is feature-rich for North American tax workflows, Xero has strong multi-currency and reporting options, and FreshBooks is very simple and user-friendly for invoicing, but we found Sage Accounting strikes the best balance between ease of use, cloud collaboration, and reporting for our client-focused workflows
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
You can use Sage in your company for various aspects/positions such as bookkeepers, invoicing clerks, accountant, purchasing etc. Everyone can have their own user login and permissions can be set that specific people can do specific jobs without being able to access other peoples progress or accounts of the company.
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Return on Investment
No answers on this topic
  • It accommodates enormous amounts of data, and it is compatible with almost any laptop or desktop machine.
  • It works for almost any accounting issue, from normal daily receipting to month-end reconciliations, balance sheets, and payroll to maintaining and keeping a safe soft record of transactions and audit checks.
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ScreenShots

Sage Accounting Screenshots

Screenshot of the All-in-One DashboardScreenshot of the Accounting DashboardScreenshot of an Invoicing Quote EstimateScreenshot of the Purchases TrackerScreenshot of Stock InventoryScreenshot of a VAT Returns List