Sage 300 Construction for Real State and much more!

Pros

Reliable software with an outstanding and solid support team. Sage is one of the top industry leader for the construction software field, intermediate complexity level to integrate with third party apps makes this software an a remarkable solution for those companies that already have their Master set well defined within construction standards,

Cons

Total cost of ownership can be overwhelming without the proper capacity assessment. Sage University to train your Admins and staff can raise up the bar of the investment. Custom features requires special attention from specialized consultants.

2+ years in and we are moving on

Overall, our experience has been negative. Nearly 100% of our users dislike it in comparison to other systems we have used in the past. For the amount of money it has cost us in implementation (over $30k + staff time) and the ongoing maintenance fees (which are more expensive than similar products) we have not had a great experience. Other systems can do the same thing, much more simply, for a lot less money.

Pros

There is a lot of detail in what you can get out of this software, if you have the labor time to put into it.

Cons

Ultimately, the software is too cumbersome, difficult for staff to use, training not able to assist us in getting it working well for our organization. Functionality that used to be supported is no longer available with recent updates.

Pros and Cons of Sage 300

Pros

On par with some other offerings, but does not excel in any specific area, hence no one are where it really excels.

Cons

The overall accounting approach to how information is presented is lagging, in my opinion. Various inquiries need to be made in order to retrieve specific vendor, or client information, instead of making the reports and inquiries available through either the A/P, or A/R modules - all of them. The software also needlessly complicates interaction with the GL through the Cash Management and the Register feature(s), all this in my opinion should be centered around and through the GL module. Certain options under Agings are also puzzling, offering various reports that have little to do with actual aging(s), such as presenting the outstanding amounts in aged-buckets. When one is also more used to dealing with Debits and Credits, Sage presents some of these as 'Additions' or 'Subtractions'... which takes away the purely accounting approach to dealing with transfers, and debit and credit activity within various GL accounts, while a non-accountant might find the 'Additions' and 'Subtractions' easier to work with when it comes to dealing with actual bank accounts, the layout becomes more puzzling when dealing with other, non-cash accounts, where straight up Debit and Credit columns would be a lot more appropriate - for any entries. The 'Register' module mitigates this to some extent by a pop-up box, where some of this is automatically pre-filled, but in my opinion it's just an extra step that adds to the confusion and easiness of entries through GL only.

Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate Review

I would recommend this software due to all areas of Project Management costing, accounting reports and the range with which you can manipulate data to get different reports.

Pros

The ease of retrieving reports and manipulating reports for my business needs .

Cons

There are many components that are not easy top navigate and can get confusing without daily use.

Bang up Piece of Software

I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to take their accounting system to the next level

Pros

I would highly recommend this software for any large sized (5 million and above) construction business. It tracks your fixed assets, as well has a variety of other strong accounting functions.

Cons

This isn't exactly the most user friendly software, and alot of the times it will be people switching from Quickbooks to this software. It may have a steep learning curve.

Great for Accounting and Job Cost Function; Not so much for Project Management

Pros

You're able to have custom reports associated with cost reporting for projects.

Cons

The Project Management software needs some work to be integrated and functional. The user interface is basic and could be updated to be more user friendly.

Sage 300 Construction

It seems like the software has a lot of possibilities but everything seems to be manual and not update automatically. Should have more reports available at purchase vs. needing to have someone create custom reports.

Pros

Job Cost module is very helpful. It could have options that are more easily accessible to add change orders and paid date on the job cost reports.

Cons

That the entries in one module don’t post to every other module.

Sage Recommendation

Pros

I started to use Sage 300 back when it was called Timberline. I implemented it at the Drywall company I was working at. The software is very user friendly and is very easy for anyone to use. I perfected the software use when I went to a General Contractor that was already using the software. When I first interviewed for my current position, in my interview I couldn't stop talking about Sage. That was the reason I was hired. I have once again implemented Sage from a manual system.

Cons

I don't like the was the Job Cost module changed and would love it to go back to the old set-up screen. I used to use the condition button for looking for set up mistakes and not I literally need to go thru each job looking at the set-up. Also in the Payroll module I wish the reports and generating accruals would be able to use the daily entry grid instead of have to enter the date for each entry. I went for one entry per employee week to forty. That's not cost effective to get the work done.

Good but seeking for more

Pros

There is a lot of flexibility with this product, but in many cases it requires a Sage Expert or extensive training. With this product our company managed Industrial Construction Projects of various sizes and cost and utilized different project costing. Overall our experience was good.

Cons

Needs a nicer UI/UX for the consumer, the next generation of user is accustom to ease of use and a clean UI/UX. Give the consumer more control, create a solution that allows us the ability to manage our data, our way. Salesforce has a great solution for this, although not directly related their model for consumer control and product support is one of the best I have ever seen/used.

RELIABLE AND ACCURATE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM FOR THE CONSTRUCTION JOB

SAGE is an amazing application for preliminary stage cost estimation of construction works, and at the post contract stage, great for project management.

Pros

Easy to customize for report generation, navigation on the interface is also very easy, the accounting system is very reliable organised and accurate, it’s a versatile and rich application, I think I still need to learn more to maximize the potential of SAGE

Cons

The customer support needs to be more responsive to questions about some of the application features, the application is a complex one, I think, we need a tutorial program or forums to learn more about this application, so many features I need to know about. Thanks.

Sage is complex, amazing and expensive.

If I wasn't working such long and demanding hours, I would like to look into Sage University educational opportunities...as I do believe many questions I STILL have, could be answered there. ONE THING that would be useful, IMHO, would be a detailed listing of the online classes/tutorials that are available, and the list of topics/subjects that they deal with.

Pros

Sage is an amazing product, with so MANY complex programs and modules. There are (literally) dozens of reports and functions that I still know little to nothing about (after 3 yrs of working with the product). It's got everything a general contract would ever need, and then some. Customer support (GOLD) is awesome (tho expensive) . 99% of the time, I have had pleasant, knowledgeable, helpful, experienced assistance from Customer Support. The individuals who work in Customer Support helped me make it that first year, and there is no question of that. Their patience and their availability (and their sense of humor) helped me retain my sanity, that first year (04/14 - 04/15)....hands down.

Cons

The complexity of it....each module is multi-faceted and highly complex (and complicated). If a person comes on the scene (such as myself) with no prior construction experience, it's very difficult to simply "pick it up". Also, In order to have Gold Support (a genuine necessity, unless the office employee has a degree in accounting...OR...10 years of prior construction experience) is very expensive. We are a small construction company, and the thousands of dollars we pay, each year, for Gold Support, is not an easy check to write.

I am a CPA and have implemented this software in the last year with a large underground utility construction company.

In deciding to purchase this software, you need to determine your real commitment level. You can use an easily implemented software such as Quickbooks, but you'll need to manually enter a great deal of estimates and information. The implementation and training is costly - be sure and get the total price of all the software modules that you will need in addition to the estimated cost of implementation and training.

Pros

I like that in general you are able to import tables from other software or ones created in Excel rather than either not having history or having to manually enter it. There are many very sophisticated modules to help you manager your business. There are awesome video's with lessons that you can use (over and over) for a period of time to learn each module broken down step by step. The job cost is able to import estimates created in Timberline (SAGE) Estimating, another very sophisticated program. From those estimates you can actually create purchase orders for items estimated, and email them directly to your vendors. Very slick if the program is set up correctly.

Cons

This is a complicated system and not for the average AP person or Controller/Accountant. You will more than likely need to hire an expert to train and walk you through implementation. The reports are rarely exactly what you want, so you either have to pay the expert to change them or to learn to change them yourself. The whole implementation process is lengthy - there is a learning curve.

Sage Customer Service Cannot be Beat

I highly recommend Sage 300 to any contractor out there. It's ease of use and numerous modules make tracking things like inventory, job costing, cash management etc a breeze. All modules sync up to the General Ledger and at the end of each month, we are able to see how we are progressing. This has helped us catch numerous mistakes on our end. Whenever there is a problem, we will phone the Sage call center. They are able to troubleshoot things in no time. Not only do they help fix the mistake they also teach you how to spot them yourself. The odd time we have had to escalate a problem to the programmers they always end up contacting us back the same day. I started using Sage 2 years ago with very little knowledge of the platform and accounting in general and through the proper training, customer service, excellent help articles and Sage U I can confidently say that I have mastered this program. I could never see myself using another product after Sage 300.

Pros

Ease of use Customer Service Training and Sage U Reporting Custom Reports to fit your business needs.

Cons

Other than the odd Software Glitch which Sage is more than happy to fix I have no real complaints. Anytime I seem to bring something up that would make the product better Sage seems to be working on/implementing that change.

Very Capable Software with Tremendous Support

Pros

By far the best thing about Sage 300 is the customer support. It is simply phenomenal. For whatever shortcomings the software has, it is made up in the ability to pick up the phone and directly contact Sage employees who speak our language, understand our concern, and our very knowledgeable of their product. You don't get the "run-around" when you call in. They are very willing to remote into your computer to explain and help with troubleshooting the problem or implementing the solution. They aren't perfect as some experiences have been disappointing, but many times as I conclude a customer support phone call I am reminded just how impressed and pleased I am with their service.

Cons

Many of the user interfaces are somewhat archaic and not the easiest to work with. That said, there seems to be a modernization process underway that will be addressing this in future versions. There are minor quirks/irregularities with the software, but that is to be expected since it has so many capabilities and tries to fill diverse needs.

Timberline Customer Support

We are a $30M A&E/Construction company.

Pros

Decent functionality once you get it working. Price to function seems good. I have a hard time saying anything else good. If you can live with the cost of frustration, you will probably eventually say its worth it. I've used it for 10 years!

Cons

Sage provides almost "ZERO" support. Don't let them lie to you. I have used this product for over 10 years and my level of frustration remains very high. They will not support you after the software/conversion is done. You get pushed to a very few, custom Crystal Report writers who are incredibly overloaded. So all the promise of great dashboards, custom reports (which you have to have! For your own business!) is for naught. Just add 6 months to your process which is absolutely not an exaggeration. Let's just say it like it is. After the sale, Sage does not care about you.

Accurate and Reliable with Minor Drawbacks

The software does what you need it to do for daily accounting functions with minimal crashes or delays. However, the reporting function needs to be updated to a usable format so that it takes the end user less time to gain the information needed.

Pros

The software is very reliable and there are very few hiccups in day to day use. It's also very handy to have features such as: - Attaching documents/invoices to an AP or Journal Entry - Recurring journal entries - Project Coding

Cons

I find the interface layout to be a little archaic. It is not very modern in comparison to other accounting software. A troublesome area is when making entries in the General Ledger module, the entries are not reflected in the AP, Bank, or AR modules. However, making entries in the AP, Bank, or AR modules are transferred correctly in the GL. Lastly, the reports that are generated by Sage 300 can be put into Excel 97-2003 only. Furthermore, the reports are generated in a very complex manner with poor formatting and many merged cells. Trying to manipulate and sort data can take a long time. It would be very helpful to be able to search/filter through Sage by the invoice/document number. The only option to do this is to either export the data to Excel, or search by vendor.

A good construction project tracking software

I don't have a reason to change software products.

Pros

Ease of use Easy to learn and get accustomed to Has been around a long time Recent improvements (last 7-8 years) to the software (Xcel downloads, employee set ups, My Assistant) More 3rd party products that communicate well or easily with Sage 300 (i.e. PO/AP software, electronic clocks)

Cons

I don't like the extra layer on support. It is inevitable that we need the 2nd level for almost every call. No drill down links between modules. There are a few things (I can't think all of now) that you can tell an accountant was not completely involved in setting up. One example, putting a negative in front a number in the credit column on some reports and not on others. The inconsistency can be confusing. Is it a credit or a negative credit (which = debit).

Accouting Software for the Construction Indusrty

Pros

The best part of this software is the ease of use and navigation. Each department can customize their own platform whether its is the AP department,AR or even the VP of Finance. The software is very user friendly and forgiving. Also I can work in multiple platforms without any interruption or delay. Most importantly the reporting part of this software is very customizable so each department can look at the information that pertains to them directly without unnecessary or unwanted information.

Cons

Sometimes the reports take a little more time but that is due to the amount if information that it is pulling but this is not a downside to the software its just we are pulling a lot of information at once.

Sage 300 CRE User

I feel that the knowledgebase needs a lot of work. Too many steps to get to your product. Most of the time, if I pull up a request that has more than one page of listings, I get an error message when I try to go to the second page. It has become almost useless.

Pros

I like the simplicity of the accounting side and the integration between job cost and general ledger. I feel it is user friendly for learning the product in almost all aspects.

Cons

Would like to see a simpler change order process with more connections between the subcontractor and the owner changes. Would like to see fewer glitches such as the "use last job" option does not work in project management under certain versions and occasionally I get invoices that show that the payment is open when the checks are cleared.

Sage get the job done

Sage is the software we utilize for all of our PM/project accounting and budgeting tracking. This program allows us to enter budget, commitments, costs and track and report on these with up to date information and integrate with our other PM software for a more streamlined workflow.

Pros

For the price, this can't be beat. It can do all of the same things as the more expensive software out there. This communicates with our online PM software, and our invoice review and approval software to streamline all aspects of our project management work flow and improve productivity.

Cons

Not the most user friendly. It doesn't have the fancy icons that other software does, but once you past that first layout learning curve and develop any custom reporting it is easy to understand and does everything you need.

Where have you been all my life

If you already have SAGE 300 ERP and need to manage projects and job costings, you need not go any further. Truth be told, if I didn't have all that stuff and found this first it would convince me to buy the other stuff.

Pros

I have SAGE 300 ERP with the PJC module and to tell you the truth we had been looking for a system to manage costs of our projects for years that the years would actually use and not complain about. PJC is great but we just couldn't get the users to be all in with its use. Then I discovered CRE aka Timberline. I cannot believe this thing existed, where have you been all my life. This solution integrates with my existing ERP modules and PO making my life so much simpler. It integrates with outlook, I can export to excel and do analysis. I can manage invoices, check late payments, make change request and manage contracts and subcontracts ALL in the same solution!. I can manage project retainage and even choose when payments and costs hit my GL. I can give my managers the reports they need on the fly and customize them as needed. I cannot say enough about this software. I also love that I am not crowded with information. The drill down feature makes everything clean. I am literally in love and the users are all smiles now. It makes you happy to see a pile of paper to input. soon I will be almost paperless.

Dennis Anderson Construction Corporation began using this software in 2005 when the product was called Timberline; however, at that time we only utilized some of its many functions, such as Accounts Payable, Payroll and General Ledger. In 2013, we decided to extend our contract with Sage and to take advantage of some of the other functions that we had not previously been using, such as Project Management, Billing, and Contracts, in hopes of tying all of our project information together into one software. Personally, I have only been using Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate for about five years but I utilize this software multiple times every day. It is my opinion that Sage 300 CRE is a user-friendly software (for the most part) and the modules we utilize capture all of the information exactly how we want it.

Pros

Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate support are PHENOMENAL! Whether it be through a live chat or a phone conversation, Sage support is always very helpful and they always show such care and concern in making sure your issue is resolved.

Cons

Year-End Support is very slow (1 hour + wait time) due to the high volume of customers in need of support. I would recommend that Sage hire additional support members to assist customers with Year End issues.

Responsible for original setup and training of employees.

Pros

Support is great. Every problem I've had they have been able to walk me through the steps to fix. The integration of all the modules eliminates duplicate entry (except as detailed below). Ability to customize fields and use the Desktop to customize My Tasks.

Cons

Some areas need definite improvement - Address Book! No easy way to access or send emails to groups. Address Explorer (an Add-on) helps connect to Outlook, but lots of room for improvement. Sage Construction Anywhere should connect to Address Book. You have to manually add contacts to the companies to be able to give them access to the software, even though they are already set up in Sage Address Book. Some fields are too short to enter all the information needed. Flexibility with documents - Most are created in Crystal and hard to customize. Hopefully the new Word Integration program in development will solve this problem.

I have used Sage 300 since 2010 and have found it the most troubling accounting software I have encountered. It has the capability to do a lot, but the product is so difficult to use that it makes doing a lot impractical, at least for a smaller company. Sage acquired Master Builder in around 2008 and has yet to implement many of the "smart" features I had expected after they bought it from Intuit in that acquisition. In Master Builder/Sage 100, you can drill down on just about any field or report for more data. This drill down does not exist in Sage 300. The built-in calculator in Sage 100 is so handy; it does not exist in 300. The feature to advance the date using the + and - keys in 100 does not exist in 300. The feature to verify successful check runs through a certain check number does not exist in 300. The use of non-accounting terms intermixed with accounting terms is frustrating to me. When looking at the Cash Management Module, it refers to Debits and Credits as Additions and Subtractions. It posts certain entries as a Negative Debit instead of a Credit or vice-verse. GL is driven by the modules and never the opposite. In 100, you can enter accounting entries and have the job costs updated, but not in 300. If you have to enter a GL transaction that will affect job costs, you have to then go into the job cost module and enter a direct job cost and debit and credit the same account for a net zero GL affect. It can only print one thing at a time. Let me clarify; you open one report, an AP aging. You realize you paid a vendor more than you thought. You then run an open invoice list for that vendor. You realize they haven't been paid on a draw that they should have. You then decide to print the Open Invoice list to give to the PM, Controller, etc., but you can't. The first report that is open gets the print priority. Then if you try to close your AP aging to print your Invoice list, you can't. When you opened the second report, apparently the first report tells the second that it is not allowed to print. You then have to close the second report and re-run it. My biggest issue with 300 is that it is extremely prone to being out of balance with itself. That phrase may not make sense to most accounting users. I am referring to the concept of the GL not matching the AP, AR, Cash, etc modules. I have had so many instances of something being off; most recently, certain sales accounts were showing a previous balance after closing the fiscal year. This required manually changing the previous year account balance on the sales account and changing the retained earnings by the same amount. These sort of internal errors are very scary to me because Sage doesn't know why they happen, and if it can happen in one place, it can happen just about anywhere, I would think. Sage support is decent; they are all pretty used to the odd quirks and defects of the program, so they seem to be able to get these problems solved. If you are a daily user of the software, I would recommend not getting Sage 300.

BEST CONSTRUCTION ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE OUT THERE !

Have been a user for over 30 years, dos based till current

Pros

Very user friendly, the help button and the knowledge base are awesome places to go to when you need help in finding an answer to how to. Each application is easy to do the work flow. If you make an error in any one entry, the process to fix the mistake or the entry to reverse the error is a very easy step in all of the applications. I love the software!!

Cons

My only issue is job cost is not user friendly with cash management in respect to if you enter a line item job cost that affects cash then you also have to enter the same in cash management to stay in balance.

It was great and integrated with our timberline estimating software

Pros

It was extremely easy to use and our accounting department even said it was fantastic. On the project management side, the staff liked the cost codes you could integrate and use. and the ease of sending financial information in. It was also used for monthly job cost review meetings with project management and operations. I believe it was relatively easy to generate thorough documents for review.

Cons

You couldn't do things through a mobile device. A lot of field staff and other personnel in various industries were always on the go and we couldn't have remote access on smartphones.

Sage 300 Review

Coming from Simply and QuickBooks this software take you way beyond their functionality. Highly recommend for any construction companies to take this software on as it really goes above and beyond allowing you to track multiple projects, invoice using different products. The app entry allows such variations including Manual Cheque, E-transfers, Credit Card (entry by a vendor) and regular cheque runs. As a company we want to streamline double payments and this system allows us to catch many duplicate submissions. I can't say enough of how happy I am that it integrates with Excel and if you don't want to invest in excel custom reports if your accountant uses ODBC at all they can extract the information easily.

Pros

AP system (easy of entry, avoid duplicates Job Cost (track multiple projects, ensure they are invoiced, reports by vendor, by code) Cash Management System(reconcile your statements so easily, transfers between companies are so simplified, make an entry on the fly) GL (reports ...allow you to analyze your accounts)

Cons

Financial Reporting (out of the box reports are functional but not friendly to them eye comparable to simply/QuickBooks) but they do the job but would be nice to have better out of the box reports. That being said you can also order customer reports if that is what you are looking for.

Stay away!

Pros

The Project Management portion works fairly well. The reports are very clunky and hard to work with, but it's possible to get the info you need.

Cons

The accounting side of this software is horrible! Did you know that you can have a negative debit and negative credit? That's just part of the nightmare. If you want to see all entries going through both AP and AR, they only show up as summary entries. There is no detail as to vendor, invoice # or anything other than the date and amount. It groups AP entries together into batches depending on how you post. If you post 10 invoices in one AP session, it will group all 10 invoice amounts into one lump sum in the AP gl. Even if you go through the tedious process of posting everything individually, you'll still only have an amount to look at. There is no journal like in QuickBooks and Simply Accounting, so there's no possible way to see what was posted during any given timeframe. Nothing is intuitive and everything takes longer than it should. God forbid you need to reverse something. We always had to call the support line to get help, as it was not easy. Sometimes it glitches and values don't get posted from one module into another. Again, you have to stay on your toes to try and avoid this from happening. Phone support is expensive, and good luck trying to do anything without it. I have now switched back to Quickbooks and export my job costs over once per month into the Job Costs module. We spent a lot to switch to this software (including training), so that decision was not made lightly. It was a bit of a pain, but way less painful than having to stress everyday about how to find something, how to reverse something, or how to figure out where something was posted. I'm very technically advanced and I managed, but it wasn't easy. Accounting isn't difficult, and Sage 300 seems to go out of it's way to over complicate the simplest things. Payroll in Quickbooks takes me 30 minutes. Payroll in Sage 300 took me 3 hours. The software is like playing a computer game on a PS4 and then playing on an Atari, seriously!

The software is relatively easy to use.

Reporting is relatively easy once you have done the set-up. Able to export to excel for outside users such as auditors is helpful.

Pros

Input is quick and easy. It has been around long enough that most bugs are sorted out unlike some software. Once you learn some of the tricks/shortcuts it is even easier.Updates are frequent and the help desk resolves issues quickly. Able to customize reports.

Cons

Like most software it takes some time to setup. Customizing to your business is a feature but then you need to learn to us crystal in order to make updates. Closing month in one module doesn't always update or close the others.

I really enjoy using sage 300 and very easy to learn.

Pros

process data very quick, strong customer support, user friendly, Easy upgrade from entry-level accounting applications. Easy to change dashboard widgets. Customizable, ribbon-based navigation menus. Successful mobile access from multiple operating systems using Google Chrome. Customer relationship management (CRM) available in the 300 product line.

Cons

Custom report design is not easy to learn; Payroll and inventory unavailable as 300 components. No hard timetable for adding modules. No flowchart/process navigation. Limited dashboard widgets on screen. No drill-down or navigation capability.

Sage 300 CRE

Again, Sage Customer Support can not be beat with their knowledge and professionalism to their clients.

Pros

Our company specializing in millwright, rigging and custom metal fabrication and Sage 300 CRE helps our company with certified payroll, union payroll and dues, job costing, purchase orders and subcontractor tracking. Also account payable and accounts receivable modules are easy to use, and it really helps us to streamline our operation. Sage Customer Support are most wonderful people to help solve issues you might have with financials or with a payroll.

Cons

The only con with Sage 300 CRE - it will take time to be trained all the modules this software has to offer. If you make a mistake my advice is to look at Sage Knowledge Base for answers or call Sage Support Team to make an appointment to help resolved the issue. You have to be very careful and pay very close attention with accounting dates and closed months with this software.

Stable software with lots of add-ons by 3rd parties to enhance it

Enabled us to use more efficient processes and procedures - we are now entirely paperless with respect to A/P and becoming more so with the rest of our processes.

Pros

Stable backend software that has been around long enough to have lots of 3rd party add-ons to do pretty much anything you would need.

Cons

Some of the architecture is a little dated so some things require convoluted workarounds. The user interface can also be a little dated. Newer modules have modern interfaces, original modules have old interfaces. Service Management is a backend processor only - the user interface is terrible.

Sage is a bit clunky but gets the job done

Pros

The separate modules work very good. Certified Payrolls are easily done thru the payroll module. Payables and Receivables modules work nicely, with some help. Has a ton of reports available.

Cons

Although it has a lot of reports, they are hard to find the one you want/need. The separate modules seem like they came from separate companies sometimes and without an expert help or customer support, it would be really hard to get what you need out of them. I have had to pay for custom reports to be done to get what I need several times.

Good project management software

Pros

Sage 300 is a user-friendly, fairly easy to navigate software. It is especially helpful in tracking subcontractor change orders and budget adjustments. The standard reports provide information that is easy to understand and is very helpful in figuring out where your project stands financially at any given point in time.

Cons

It is easy for users to document change orders inconsistently, there is a lot of room for variance which means that the documents produced can vary in appearance from one user to the next.

28 year Sage/Timberline user

I've tried other programs, but Sage/Timberline is the best and most efficient accounting program I've found.

Pros

1. outstanding customer service and technical support 2. excellent job costing and subcontractor commitment tracking, both of which are most important to me 3. custom reports are a fantastic way to see exactly what I want to see and not a bunch of unnecessary info

Cons

it can be a little picky about the server it likes best. software updates need to be done one at a time, so if your IT misses a couple, you can't skip ahead.

Great system for construction. Efficient accounting software. Works great with Timberscan software.

Pros

Good accounting system to use in the construction industry. Accounts payables module is very efficient and ties in well with the General Ledger. Project management module is easy to use and to track commitments is a simple process

Cons

Occasionally we find certain functions that do not work well and have to contact Sage support. It is a little challenging when adjusting receivables especially when you have to void payments first and then later go back in and apply the payments again.

Sage 300 Construction, Good Product, Some Issues

It would be better if it would connect freely with programs similar to Procore that perform the Project Management side of Construction so it matches better with the accounting side.

Pros

It will allow you to link payroll with Accounting with Subcontractors, Change Orders and then Billing to the Client

Cons

The product is slow to use and the program does not have defaults for items frequently used. You have to select where you want to be, every time you make a new entry rather than automatically going to where you just were

Hard program to self teach, thank goodness we have gold level support. Knowledgebase has improved.

Ability to handle multiple companies with part time hours. Currently on the road to paperless.

Pros

Ability to drill down for detail. Ability to find help in several different places IE Sage City, knowledge bases, help menu, customer support, Sage University.

Cons

Sage University is too pricey. There should be more free classes. Now they are only for the new features or modules. Frequently I have to wait for a level 2 to answer questions; however I've been using the software for 13 years!

Easy to use accounting and project management software

Easy to use and easy to select reports and project management information.

Pros

Easy to use and provides excellent reporting capabilities. I like how all the different applications interact with each other and I am able to keep track of everything. All users can pull the required information and print reports.

Cons

Sometimes I have trouble converting reports to and excel or word format. I believe that they have additional software for this but we have not purchased this portion.

Powerful Software for Construction Companies

Pros

The software can pretty much handle any situation you can think of with construction accounting from certified payrolls to joint checks and lien releases. Tax updates are done timely for payroll. We also use contract billings with AIA documents.

Cons

reports are NOT user-friendly - most of the time, we must use conditions and/or ranges to get what we need - we have tried several times to get our PM's to run their own reports but they are too complicated. I bought the Report Writer - but again, not easy to use and I simply don't have time to set up new reports and teach others how to use them. Also it waste ALOT of paper - the whole report-writing functions just need to be updated - in every single module.

Sage/Timberline Job Costing

Pros

I have been using Sage/Timberline accounting software since 1989. I find it user friendly. I like that I am able to have custom reports that show the information that I need in the format that I want to see. Not that I use it very often, but I have found the Sage/Timberline customer service the best of any company I have ever worked with. My very picky IT person has never had a complaint about the customer service and has actually complimented it, which, for him, is unusual.

Cons

the software can be picky about being on a server with other software.

5 year Sage User

Pros

Vendor is very responsive and customer service is knowledgeable. Also several methods available to look for answer to your questions.

Cons

Hard to figure out how to write reports to meet our business needs. Or report can't pull all the information together in one spot. Took report write courses but still had to contract with outside business intelligence service to pay them to write our custom reports and information "digestion". Also the fact that you cannot access information older than a few years is a huge drawback to a company like ours that develops land projects over 10 or 15 years. And finally I have had a lot of trouble trying to do a live a chat or even get into some of the customer service portals so there is something in Sage there that does not "talk" to our servers.

Great product but needs some more evident enhancments

Overall I think Sage 300 is the best software in the JC accounting area that there is.

Pros

most of the time it is very self evident about how to get around the software and how to use. The menus are easy to follow and the support from the consultants, TUG and Sage is very helpful to the user.

Cons

Need so have some better enhancements to AR ( Zero Deposits) some things that are so easy in other software programs seem so hard to complete in Sage 300

Robust by antiquated

Sage 300 CRE is a very detailed system but needs a complete revamping. It is able to store a lot of pieces of information, but getting them out of the system require a lot of work. When I evaluate software, I look at how many steps (clicks) it takes to accomplish my task. Sage is the absolute worst of all the software options available. Unfortunately our accounting has been using it forever and the cost to change would be too expensive right now. It can best be described as a Windows 95 database because that's what I think of every time I have to use it.

Pros

Able to store a vast amount of information. Everything is broken down into modules and works well with multiple users. Does allow for customization of certain tables and modules.

Cons

Requires too much work to get to what I need. Tables of data cannot be sorted. For example, a list of contacts on a project cannot be sorted. They are listed in order of entry, which means I have to scroll through an entire list to find a contact. Same goes for some drop down lists. If I don't know the person's name, I can't search. I have to scroll through the list one click at a time because the scroll bars on the side don't scroll proportionally. One click on a side scroll bar takes you down 75% of the bar even if the list is really long. Getting information from the system requires customized reports, which you either pay for or get trained in Crystal Reports. I used to use Quickbooks Enterprise and was able to get more relevant information faster and easier than I do from Sage. Some of the screens can be expanded but do not show more information. It just creates more blank space so I spend a lot of time scrolling to get to what I need. The system as a whole is very out-dated. Search options are very basic...can't search for MEDICAL if the contact is entered as GREATER AREA MEDICAL CENTER. You would have to know it starts with GREATER AREA.

Account Receivable usage

Pros

The pros I liked most about this software is that is was extremely user-friendly. It helped in the accounting world for the company i worked for at the time. Such as sending invoices, processing payments, and running statements.

Cons

From what I can remember is that there could of been several other options to help us in the AR/AP side of things. Certain reports were hard to run etc.

Sage 300 Review

I've used this software for the past 5 years, I think it's very easy to use and very easy to understand. It's a very simple software to use, it is self explanatory when it comes to inputting data and what to input, as well as where to input.

Pros

Very easy to follow! Easy and quick to use. Self explanatory links and icons. Functionality is great! I've never had any issues with it.

Cons

You have to be looking for the information you want, you wont be able to just come across the information you need.

Sage 300

Pros

I like how it offers printouts for every single thing you do on there and finding what I need for resident statements is simple after a while of using it.

Cons

I dislike how it's not easy to use all of its features. I use it for resident statements mostly, but it's still unclear on how to get everything on there correctly. It's easy to make mistakes on there and I wish there were a way to edit those mistakes before it's set in stone. Also, inputting some data doesn't automatically update everything else, you still have to do that by hand.

Window based software with specialized applications

Pros

I like how the applications/modules are separate allowing for more detailed information within yet they communicate with one another. It allows to customize beyond belief from which modules post to one another (or simply tracking entries) to custom descriptions/fields. I like how the security features allow for you to grant an individual tasks or simply only reports/inquiries. I also love the built in report designer.

Cons

Often with upgrades there are features that were capable in the past but aren't available in the future. Also, some data is striped from application to application causing problems when trying to customize reports.

Sage300 User

Great system... you have to have staffing to use all the features. One person may not have enough time in a day to properly use Sage300 for job costing and accounting.

Pros

I like the conditioning of items and how an individual may customize a report. It handles multi-company accounting... very helpful.

Cons

The learning curve is a little steeper and their are some "canned" reports still not available. Requires a fair amount of processing staff.

Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate Review

This is a great Accounting software for Construction industries. We track all job costs, payroll, AP, AR and contracts with this product.

Pros

This is a great tool for a General Contractor, you can create different types of reports using Crystal reports.

Cons

Many of the data you enter you have to enter twice or more into different modules. Sometimes you may wait a very long time for Customer Service.