Advantages of Sage 50 Accounting Software Program Research (Essay Sample)

SAGE 50 SOFTWARE ACCOUNTING PROGRAM
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Introduction
Sage 50 is an accounting software program that allows one to make security levels for the individuals or employees using the software in any organization. The sage 50 accounting software has pronounced reporting functions that allows one to customize information collected or one that are being collected. It’s therefore important for the business people to look for a local expert that can assist them with receiving the maximum benefit out of Sage 50. The non-accountant users of the software can be trained so that they poses the capability of using and handling the application. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of sage 50 accounting software program as used for local company named Trafco Bahrain for the importation of food and non-food products, recommendations for possible improvement to the software, implications of new developments in IT and financial reporting requirements, and the effects of these developments on the usefulness of future accounting package.
Advantages of Sage 50 Accounting Software Program
As used in class for the local company known as Trafco Bahrain for the Importation and distribution of Food and Non Food products, Sage 50 helps organizations and businesses for the reporting requirements (Trafco Group B.S.C, 2016). Sage 50 helps in areas such as taxes, management and banking. Organizations and businesses through the use of this software are able to create an enhanced information concerning their financial undertaking.
Additionally, Sage 50 is an all-encompassing accounting software application or program. It provides an individual with the capability of creating security levels for every persons in organization that is using the accounting package. This provision of privileges from the super admin to the simple user of the package ensure that the accounting data are protected and for any tampering with the data, it’s possible to trace one who tampered with the data. One can be able to retrieve past year files in the accounting software (Kelly, 2015). This software actually ends the expenses and income at the end of each and every year. Sage 50 accounting software has the capability of preventing an individual from making prior accounting period changes in the present accounting period.
Besides, the software has the capability of Change Order Processing that can print and email documents giving details on the changes to estimate of jobs as well as showing net changes to estimate totals or projected completion date and contract amount. From similar data entry window or screen, one is able to record change order acceptance and apply for changes to job's projected quantities, revenues, and expenses.
Sage 50 accounting software program again has departmental Financial Statements that makes it easier to produce financial statements by the company departments. The software can produce same reports. It also gives a method that enforces proper accounting segments while creating the GL accounts, as well as adding an option for choosing a department when one wants to print financial statements. This protects users from having to cram on setting up department screening in the financial accounts designer and saving isolated layouts reports for every department.
Furthermore, Sage 50 accounting software possesses a very robust reporting function. The software have the capability of producing monthly, quarterly as well as annual monetary reports, like the financial reports on the income statement, the balance sheet as well as cash flow statement. The software can also produce a comparison financial statements that compares two different accounting periods, such as four months, four quarters, and four years. The software provides possibility of creating custom reports on the data and information correctly provided to it using Excel in addition to Crystal Reports.
Moreover, Sage 50 accounting software permits an organization or company such as Trafco Bahrain to modify the information that the company collects from the imported and districted food products from their vendors, customers, and employees. The software provides capability of creating an Accounts Payable invoice or Accounts Receivable invoice to be fully in use 90 percent of the time of operation. One can be able adjust the Account Receivable invoice and or Account payable invoice for each specific vendor or customer when it is needed. The company’s’ information from the employees can be easily customized in the same way. The software also provides the capability of keeping track of the employee's birthdays.
In addition, Sage 50 Accounting Software has a strong or robust Inventory Reporting System. One can be able to choose between First in First out (FIFO), Last in First out (LIFO), as well as Average costing. The software has the capability of reordering the quantities as well as setting up minimum stock levels. Every item can be given a separate descriptions for their purchasing and sales. One can be able to set up assembly items using the bill of materials. On the other hand with sage 50 Pro, it’s not possible to edit the bill of materials as soon as it has been used and therefore this requires the use of Sage 50 Quantum or Premium.
Besides the true inventory items, one can be able to set up service, non-stock, labor, and items description-only that are accessible in order to make purchasing and invoicing easier although it does not track costing history and quantity on. Through the inventory system the software is capable of giving error response and guidelines or help on how to solve the error problem. Inventory is an essential area for the businesses. Once the software inventory has been properly set, the software user is able to get numerous important inventory reports.
Again, sage 50 accounting software program has the benefit of quick search capability in which it can be able to conduct quick search within a list. This quick search functionality significantly increase efficiency of the software. The software has also the quick printing default layouts where it’s capable of setting up a default layout and make use of the quick print functionality. This also significantly increases the efficiency of the software functionality. For example in a case where the company has a large number of customers, the sales ledger clerk will mostly spend a lot of time sending statements to the customers. The quick print functionality will significantly save the clerk time with every statement he/she sends.
Disadvantages of Sage 50 Accounting Software Program
Sage 50 accounting software have the disadvantage of being complex, requiring an expert to install it in the computers and set up. The software company should therefore emphasize that businesses, companies or organizations looks for a local Sage 50 professional or expert they like, subsequently Sage 50 software is a robust accounting software with diverse capabilities. The software can be difficult to set up considering all the corporate parts for the company, organization or businesses (Magloff & Media, 2016). These parts are customers, chart of accounts, employees, vendors, banking, services and/or jobs, and reports. It’s therefore important for the user of the software to involve an expert so that they can be able to get all the crucial aspects of the software for their companies, business, and organization.
In addition, the users that do not have accounting knowledge and are not accountants finds it very difficult or gets hard time navigating through the Sage 50 accounting Software. This therefore calls for training of the company employees on the use of the software which subsequently becomes very expensive to small companies that would wish to use the software and therefore may shy away from it
Moreover, the work costing features in Sage 50 is very complicated. It’s very possible for an individual to get confused in the whole difficult process such as among raw materials, finished goods, job phases, work in process, and estimated income and actual expenses.
Furthermore, on opening the Sage 50 accounting software homepage, one can simply become imposing and cluttered. The users can easily customize the homepage in order to perceive what they may consider to be important. This weakness of the software may lead to alteration of the normal operation of the program and sometimes results to a halt of the system. Even though very small number of Sage 50 users may be aware of the customization of the home page, it can be prevented to avoid any interference and normal operation of the software at any given time.
Finally, maintenance of Sage 50 accounting software doesn’t only comprise performance of the software upgrades to accounting software package, but also the maintenance and upgrading of every necessary parts or equipment so that they can use the accounting software as if it’s a new version. These equipment mostly comprise laptop or PC, Internet connection, monitor, modem, printer, and flash disk backup drive as well as the operating system (Media, 2015). If one doesn’t wish to expend time and money keeping the equipment updated with the accounting software program, then sage 50 software would not be the right accounting software for him.
Recommendations for Possible Improvement to the Software
Sage 50 accounting software needs to be improved to reduce its complexity and make it friendly to the users so that even non-accountants can easily operate it without help from the experts. The following are the possible recommendations for the improvement of the software to a better quality product like Quantum.
Sage 50 should have Driver enhancement such that the user c...