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Discover Sage small business software solutions

Big solutions for small businesses

Powerful, incredibly easy to use software for small businesses.

Sage Accounting

Perfect for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses. Make invoicing quicker and easier, automate your bookkeeping, and master your cash flow. 

Get 50% off for 3 months, then from $17/month.

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Sage 50

Get the reliability of desktop accounting software and the flexibility of the cloud. Enjoy less admin and get paid faster with Sage 50.

Sage Payroll

Manage your payroll with peace of mind. Pay your people securely, accurately, and compliantly every time.

Monthly prices start at $20 + $3 per employee.*

HR and employee solutions

Attract, engage, nurture, bill and track time, and pay your talent with cloud-based HR and people solutions.

Sage HR

Onboard your employees, automate your HR process, and get meaningful insights.

Start a 30-day free trial today

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Great software, support, and insight to help your business grow

As a member of the Sage community, you'll enjoy benefits that help elevate both you and your business, including connecting with brilliant experts and industry peers.

Expert human support

Experts on hand to help you get the most out of your software and enhance your productivity.

Member Masterclass

Dip into talks and articles from the world's leading experts to help with business challenges, like building business resilience.

Community forums

Hear from industry experts and connect with businesses like yours to gain useful advice and insights.

Customer stories

"Sage Accounting has enabled us to take on more clients. We're at least 20% more efficient than we were previously."

Colleen Hoggarth
Freedom Accounting Inc.

Small business software FAQs

Although it's possible to run a small business without accounting software, this approach is more time-intensive and error-prone. For example, spreadsheets typically don't update in real-time and can't be used to automatically reconcile lots of payments across multiple bank accounts, but accounting software does! It can save businesses up to five hours of week typically spent on admin. Accounting software also enables effective collaboration with other people in the business or with an accountant.

If you're running a small business, you may need a variety of software for marketing, sales, and managing the books.

A basic CRM system can keep track of customer details. If you're running an online business, you may use software like Google Analytics and Google Suite to manage a company web presence and business email.

You may also need software specific to the nature of your business. For example, a graphic designer running a small agency may require software like Adobe Creative Cloud.

Accounting software is essential to small business. It enables you to get paid faster, spend less time on admin, and feel confident about your business books and finances. 

The software needs of a business vary depending on its size, industry and requirements.

For example, a micro-business may need project management software, like Trello or Asana, for managing projects with contractors. They may also use file storage software like Dropbox and Google Drive to manage and store files securely.

A business who accepts payments from customers may use a payments portal like Paypal or Stripe.

Similarly, a business with several dozen employees may use HR software, like Sage HR, to manage people across the business. They may also use software like Sage Payroll to pay employees quickly and accurately. Most growing businesses use some form of accounting software, like Sage Accounting, so they can manage the books more efficiently.

Accountants use software that can help them collaborate with clients and or submit tax returns on their behalf. Sage Accounting is an example of accounting software popular with Canadian accountants who work with small businesses. It's a more modern solution than Sage 50cloud, which is also popular.

Accountants also use accounts production software for running their practice and payroll software for paying people they employ.

If a practice supports a larger business, they may use an advanced financial management solution like Sage Intacct.

Ideally, online financial software for small businesses should solve a particular problem.

For example, if Jane struggles to keep track of all the items on her to-do list, she should consider investing in project management software to keep track of multiple projects. Similarly, time-tracking software is sometimes useful for billing.

If Jane works with people remotely, she may find software like Slack and Dropbox useful for collaboration.

Similarly, if Jane spends several hours a week examining profit and loss spreadsheets and reconciling bank transactions, she may be spending her time ineffectively.

Although understanding profit and loss is important for business owners, Jane's time is probably better spent growing the business by serving customers or creating better products. In this case, accounting software should free up several hours in Jane's week that she can spend on higher-value activities.

There are many benefits to working in the cloud for small businesses. Working in the cloud can be a great way for small businesses to save money, improve their security, and increase their flexibility. Here are some of the benefits of cloud computing for small businesses:

  1. Streamlined workflows: Automate and simplify everyday small business tasks like accounting, payroll, and more from anywhere, enhancing productivity and efficiency.
  2. Secure data: With the cloud, you get automatic backups and robust security, safeguarding your valuable business data.
  3. Real-time insights: Stay in the loop with real-time financial data, enabling data-driven decisions for your business growth.
  4. Effortless collaboration: Collaborate seamlessly with your team on a user-friendly platform, promoting enhanced teamwork and communication.

Working in the cloud can help you run your business more efficiently and simplify tasks so you can focus on what matters most—growing your business!

Discover more about small business software

Sage advice

Read our blog and get articles, insights, and tips for your small business.

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