By Hrayr Galoyan

I recently attended Intacct implementation training. Having more than 15 years of experience with Sage 300 ERP (formerly Sage Accpac), it was very interesting to learn another mid-market ERP. As is usually the case, each of the systems has its strengths and weaknesses, and different customers may prefer different ERP, depending upon their business needs, priorities and corporate culture.

Cloud vs. On Premise

Sage 300 ERP is designed on run on premise, on a Windows operating system. In case multiple locations need to have access to the system, Terminal Services or a similar solution is employed to allow remote users to access the system. On the other hand, Intacct is 100% cloud-based. It runs in a browser, so the issue of remote users becomes irrelevant. It can be accessed from anywhere in the world, any time, and it even supports Macs in addition to Windows.

Purchase vs. Subscription

Sage 300 ERP follows the more traditional approach where clients pay for software up front, and don’t incur additional expenses until the time comes for upgrade. Intacct uses a subscription model, so customers don’t actually buy the software, but rent it instead. There is less expense in the beginning, and relatively low monthly rental payments, but the payments are recurring.

Ease of Use vs. Sophistication

Sage 300 ERP has been around for a long-long time, so it is very mature and flexible, able to meet many business requirements out of the box. This sophistication comes at a cost of relatively crowded user interfaces, and a longer learning curve. Intacct, is more streamlined, but not as mature. If I were to compare Sage 300 ERP to Windows, Intacct would be the Mac. One is very flexible in business environment, but a bit more difficult to use and configure; the other being the eye candy, easier to learn and use, but has some catching up to do in the business world.

In addition, Sage 300 ERP has a large selection of third-party add-ons for any business purpose you can imagine. Intacct needs to catch up there as well.

Which is Better?

Both are great mid-market ERP packages, so it all depends on the business requirements. Both have very strong financial modules, but Sage 300 ERP is more powerful in operational modules and job costing. Intacct is likely to appeal to younger companies, with Internet-minded philosophy and relatively simple operations requirements. Sage is more traditional; Intacct is more modern. Sage has more features; Intacct is easier to use. So pick the one that works for you, you won’t go wrong.