Outgrowing QuickBooks?

Thinking about switching to Sage MAS 90 or Sage MAS 200?

Unsure about what the differences between the products are and whether you’ll get enough of a benefit from making the move from Intuit’s Quickbooks software to MAS 90? Then take a look at this new 86 page QuickBooks vs MAS90 document that goes into depth about  the differences between these two products.

Here’ a quick breakdown of the included chapters:

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Chapter 2 – Price Value

• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
• Retail Limitations vs. Value Added Reseller Consulting
• Integration
• Customization
• Enhanced User Interface
• Flexibility to Add Modules as You Grow
• Core Accounting
• Distribution
• Manufacturing
• Resource and Project Management
• Business Intelligence and Customization
• Customer Relationship Management
• Business Management Applications
• Add Users as You Need Them

Chapter 3 — Feature and Workflow Comparison

• Feature Comparisons
• Available Modules
• System Options
• Accounts Receivable
• Accounts Payable
• General Ledger
• Inventory
• Sales Order
• Purchase Order
• Payroll
• Customizer
• Bar Code
• Job Cost
• Visual Integrator
• Workflow Differences
• Real-Time and Batch Processing
• Cash Basis vs. Accrual Accounting
• Audit Trail
• Adding Customers and Vendors
• Working in More Than One Company
• Memorized Transactions vs. “Copy From”
• Data Entry
• Navigation
• Viewing and Editing Open Sales Orders and Quotes
• Inventory Costing
• Functionality That’s the Right Fit
• Alerts vs. Business Alerts
• QuickBooks Welcome Window vs. Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users
• Business Insights Dashboard

Chapter 4 — Conversion Expectations

• Conversion Specialist Program
• Training Requirements
• Before You Begin the Conversion Process
• What Is Data Migrator?
• What Data Can Data Migrator Convert?
• Which Versions of QuickBooks Data Will Data Migrator Convert?
• What Does the Migration Process Entail?
• Printing QuickBooks Reports Before Migration
• Data Migrator Checklists
• QuickBooks Data Migration Checklist
• Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users Pre-Data Conversion
  Checklist
• Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users Post-Data Conversion
  Checklist
• Data Integrity
• Time Expectations
• Downtime

Chapter 5 — How to Get the Most Out of Your Software

• Implementation
• Training
• Tutorials
• Anytime Learning and Instructor-Led Training
• Authorized Training Centers (ATCs)
• Certified Trainers (CTs)
• Business Partner Training
• Support
• Certified Support Specialists
• Certified Support Centers
• Sage Software Support Plans
• Conclusion

From the guide:

What are Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)?

GAAP is a widely accepted set of rules, conventions, standards, and
procedures for reporting financial information that are established by
the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Sage MAS90
Special Edition for QuickBooks Users adheres closely to these
important industry guidelines.

For example:

In Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users, a user
cannot change or delete posted transactions without an audit trail.
With an audit trail of changes to posted transactions, you will
maintain a clean general ledger that will make your accountant
and the IRS much happier!

QuickBooks allows you to use either cash-basis or accrual-basis
accounting methods. Cash-basis accounting does not follow
GAAP. Sage MAS90 Special Edition for QuickBooks Users uses
accrual-basis accounting, which closely follows GAAP.

Although this guide has been designed by Sage Software (developers of Sage MAS 90 and 200) and can understandably be considered a little biased toward their product – it still contains lots of helpful information.

Whenever I review a vendor provided guide such as this I will use it as a starting point. If you can get even one question from it to ask about a prospective new accounting system then it is worth it.

Even though this guide is designed by Sage Software, there is an unusual amount of fact checking that happens before it is published.

For example, there are plenty of charts like this which compare and contrast the available features in QuickBooks and MAS 90.

The guide is available now through your friendly local Sage Business Partner. If you don’t have a friendly (or a local) partner to ask – then hit up the link below for your very own free copy.

Depending upon the version of Sage MAS 90 or 200 that you are considering, you should be asking as well about any promotions that are available for owners of QuickBooks (or other competing products) who are upgrading. Sometimes the promotions are only valid on certain versions of MAS 90 – but you won’t get the discount unless you ask!

Link: QuickBooks Conversion Guide
(PDF)