Comparing Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud? Look for This HUGE Difference

Discover the Easy Way to Compare Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud

It’s hard work comparing Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud because both powerhouse ERPs offer a lot.

On the surface, they both appear to be great solutions for distributors, manufacturers, and professional services organizations; they both seem to integrate with a wide range of third-party add-ons; and they both claim to be built specifically for the needs of SMBs.

But appearances can be deceiving.

If you look deeper, you’ll see that the two ERP solutions really aren’t that alike at all because they have one critical difference that changes everything.

In this in-depth comparison guide, we’ll discuss what you need to look out for when comparing Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud – and why that big difference matters for the future of your company.

Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud: The Details

You’re busy running your business, so we don’t want to waste your time. Let’s get right into the nitty-gritty and talk about how these two solutions are different:

Of the two, only Acumatica is a true cloud ERP. Sage 100cloud is… something else.

Let’s discuss the details on that.

True Cloud – A Big Differentiator

The biggest difference between the two solutions, and one that causes pretty much all the other differences, is the fact that Acumatica is a true cloud solution, whereas Sage 100cloud is simply “cloud connected.”

Here’s what that means for you:

• Sage 100cloud is “cloud connected,” meaning it has the capability to integrate with select cloud-based add-ons and can be hosted on the cloud. Originally called “Sage 100c,” so it wouldn’t be mistaken as a cloud ERP, the recently (and confusingly) renamed Sage 100cloud isn’t actually a cloud product. Instead, it’s an ERP that you can choose to host in the cloud (so you can access it over the internet), and which has the ability to share data with cloud-based add-ons that are approved to integrate with Sage.
• Acumatica is a “true cloud” solution that’s optimized to run smoothly anywhere, anytime, on any device, providing all the data you need, no matter how you access it. Because it was “born in the cloud,” Acumatica provides all the benefits that business leaders expect from cloud solutions, including straightforward integration with other cloud apps, fast and reliable online access, hassle-free included updates (on your schedule) – and the freedom to run your entire business seamlessly using mobile devices, no laptop or desktop required.

You can learn more about what “true cloud” is and does in the video below.

Note: Although Sage 100cloud isn’t a true cloud product, Sage Intacct Financials is. If you’re curious, you can read more about Sage Intacct here. However, it’s important to understand that Sage doesn’t offer a migration path from Sage 100cloud to Sage Intacct, and that Intacct only provides core financials and can’t meet the needs of manufacturers.

How True Cloud Affects Your Company

Not sure how all this “cloud connected” vs. “true cloud” stuff affects you? Here’s the quick explanation: choosing anything less than true cloud can harm your agility. Since flexibility is the key to modern agility, and agility is the key to modern business success, leaders who choose to limit their cloud flexibility may be unwittingly limiting their ongoing success.

Here’s what you’ll see with each option:

• Sage 100cloud maintains a specific format and also charges per user, which can limit your ability to grow your company. For some reason, Sage is still boxing their users in with outdated, traditional, “per user” pricing models. This entirely defeats the purpose of accessible cloud computing because it slows down operations by burdening busy employees with a lot of pointless tasks, such as sales order history lookup for customers.

In addition, though Sage is highly customizable, the software still requires users to follow specific system “rules” that may not apply to changing business needs post-growth.

• Acumatica’s modern ERP platform empowers users to modify literally anything in their ERP and supports business growth by allowing unlimited users. Because Acumatica considers themselves a technology company first and foremost, they aren’t interested in boxing their users in to specific processes, workflows, functions, or user counts. In fact, everything is 100% fully flexible and open in Acumatica – and we mean everything: the underlying platform, training opportunities, development abilities, user counts… you name it.

Here are a few examples:

• Acumatica Cloud xRP – The underlying Acumatica platform, known as “Acumatica Cloud xRP,” is built to meet the evolving needs of its users because it can flex to fit anything innovative leaders wish to do with it. A software company used Cloud xRP to build a custom software product and open a new revenue stream, a banking equipment reseller used xRP to create an entire repair depot component for their equipment, and a machine-made rug distributor used it to develop their own WMS. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
• Unlimited user pricing – Acumatica’s resource-based pricing is a big selling point for many of its customers. This model frees companies to extend access to partners, customers, employees, and vendors, worry free, which streamlines operations and encourages rapid growth.
• Free, comprehensive training – In addition to traditional formal training opportunities, Acumatica supports a wide range of 100% free learning options for users and developers, including a test drive of the software, the extensive Acumatica Help Portal, regional user groups around the nation (like the Acumatica User Group Southeast), and the Acumatica Open University.

When choosing between Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud, business owners must consider how flexible their solution is and how flexible they need it to be to support their decisions in the years to come.

Why True Cloud Matters for the Future

As you already know, choosing an ERP is a long-term investment in the future of your company, which is why selecting the exact right ERP is so important for your long-term success. It’s hard to predict where your organization will be in 10 years, especially in today’s quicksilver business landscape, but you definitely want an ERP that can support you no matter what you decide.

That’s why savvy leaders like you make sure to investigate their various ERP publishers’ visions for the future.

Here’s what you’ll find:

• Sage seemingly isn’t focusing on the “cloud” aspect of Sage 100cloud, because the product isn’t a true cloud ERP. Though Sage is the third-largest ERP vendor by revenues, falling just behind massive giants like Oracle and SAP, the company doesn’t seem to be reinvesting their vast revenues into true cloud solutions for SMBs. Sage 100cloud isn’t a true cloud solution and it doesn’t offer the same cutting-edge capabilities that other cloud tools offer – yet its cost and pricing structure rivals that of its cloud competitors.

When considering cloud ERP options, business leaders would do well to Question Sage: why hasn’t the company invested in true cloud ERP for the midmarket, what are their intentions for true cloud ERP for SMBs… and where are all their revenues going? These are important questions to ask.

• Acumatica maintains a tight focus on their goal of bringing cutting-edge enterprise tech tools to the midmarket, which has revolutionized the SMB ERP landscape. Business leaders looking to integrate today’s latest, greatest tech tools into their operations, either now or in the future, can rely on Acumatica to make these tools constantly available to them. Acumatica currently offers advanced AI capabilities, supplies built-in machine learning and natural language processing tools, and integrates with IoT devices.

Plus, since Acumatica allocates nearly 75% of their employees to R&D, you can bet that the Acumatica team will continue their focus on helping their customers leverage all the cloud has to offer with the most updated tech tools available.

What Users Said After Switching from Sage to Acumatica

Former Sage users tend to be particularly impressed by Acumatica’s price, ease of use, flexibility, and integration. Here are just a few comments we’ve run across from companies that recently migrated from Sage to Acumatica:

• A distribution business said:

“Acumatica’s pricing structurewas a big factor.”

• A manufacturing company said:

“One of the best things about Acumatica is how easy it is to train someone new on the system. All of our employees have remarked on how easy it is to learn and how intuitive it is.”

• A professional services firm said:

“Third-party integration was a priority and you can tell Acumatica is a modern system built around the flexibility you need in today’s world… with modern systems, I have the option to integrate with our systems with ease – without the need for customization.”

Make Your Choice Between Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud… and Then Easily Migrate Your Data

To be clear, we’re not saying Acumatica is better than Sage 100cloud – they’re just vastly different ERP solutions that manufacturing, distribution, and professional services SMBs often choose between.

However, after comparing Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud, a large number of business leaders decide on Acumatica’s true cloud capabilities – even if they’re already running Sage 100 or Sage 100cloud.

In fact, there were enough migrations from Sage to Acumatica that Acumatica took the time to craft the Cloud Migration Tool for Sage 100, which makes it faster and easier for current Sage 100 / 100cloud users to migrate their data simply and securely.

But we’re getting ahead of things here. Before you think about your cloud migration process, you should continue your research into Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud. That way, you can make 100% sure that you’re choosing the right choice for your business – now and in the years to come.

Need Some Help with Your Decision?

When you’re ready to learn more about how your company would benefit from true cloud vs. connected cloud ERP, get the help you need from the cloud ERP experts at SWK Technologies.

 

Get personalized advice about your cloud ERP options, so you can discover your perfect solution when comparing Acumatica vs. Sage 100cloud.

 

Still have questions? Then take your time and learn more about cloud ERP, research ERP solutions, or evaluate the ERP systems you’re considering.