Opiniones de Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate

"Sage Recommendation"

Puntos a favor: 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.

Contras: 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.

"Robust by antiquated"

Comentarios: 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.

Puntos a favor: 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.

Contras: 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.

"User for 25+ years"

Comentarios: Overall, my experience has been very positive. Other peers, and our external auditors, are amazed at how quickly a company our size can complete month-end and year-end procedures and how detailed we can get our reporting.

Puntos a favor: One of the best things about the software is that the core applications were designed together, unlike other software that tries to integrate applications from several sources. So, Job Cost, Payroll, AP, AR GL and CM flow together very well. Also, the software was originally designed specific to the construction industry so it really incorporates most of the financial needs of our industry.

Contras: We are running into issues in payroll due to the size of our current file. We are subject to job audits and we have many large projects so we like to keep several years' data in one file. However, Aatrix is not able to generate quarterly reports without archiving some payroll data. Also, it's really nice to have the ability to post to future GL periods. It would be even nicer to be able to roll FORWARD for financial statement the way we can roll back.

"1990s product still held together with duct tape"

Puntos a favor: I have experience with it and can cope with it.

Contras: It's insane that recording transactions in AP need to be separately posted in other modules. It's crazy that I can't run a general ledger transaction report with a job number. Why do we have to purchase separate software (Office Connector) in order to extract data with the flexibility we need? If I run are report and print it from the report menu, you shut the menu down and make me reselect all of the filters, is this intentional just to piss me off? Why can't I resize and save the screens such as the AP invoice inquiry screen or the GL inquiry entry screen? Why are so many screens kept as small as possible so that I am forced to function like I'm looking through a key hole(GL Change Entries) Why can't I enlarge that screen so I can see the full line of data and a much larger list of lines? This program needs to be at least brought into the 21st century if you can't get it modernized to today's standards. We are seriously considering modern software such as CMIC.

"Sage 300 Only Software You Will Need"

Comentarios: Our company has been with first Timberline then Sage 300 which we started in 1997 with our original setup.
We have always been happy with the product and have attended seminars and workshops that really make a difference in new ways to use the software.

Puntos a favor: Our company uses Sage 300 exclusively for Construction, Job Cost, Property Management , Financial Statements and Payroll. Every aspect integrates with what we need. We do export and use Excel with the Sage 300 when needed.

Contras: Unless you really familiarize yourself with the report writing, that can be difficult.

"Has great features once you learn how to use them"

Comentarios: I like Sage. When I started at my company I had never used it before, now I am more advanced than the rest. For construction with a larger company it makes it easy to organize information. And I REALLY like how it connects with ODBC. I have created 100+ reports in the past 5 years and they make things so much easier.

Puntos a favor: I like how it organizes invoices, how you can customize SOME field name and how you can add customized fields. It connect with ODBC to excel or access with Microsoft query. This comes with the software. And you can make so many live reports that you can refresh with a button. Also the option of make crystal reports.

Contras: Everything is additional. Crystal reports you have to purchase a license, paperless, each module, etc. This can become frustrating, especially when you have 1 license for AP and try to open it and it says "Someone else is using this". Most people that haven't used it take a long time to understand it. There is a conference but it isn't ran by Sage.

"Falling Behind the times"

Comentarios: I have used The full suite of Sage 300CRE products long before Timberline was acquired by Sage. Unfortunately it seems that innovation and product/feature development has been very slow since the acquisition by Sage. My biggest complaint over the past 5-years is the lack of web access, which in this day and age is unacceptable, especially in a collaborative environment such as construction. This is why we have transitioned from the PM module to Procore. Fortunately Procore is fairly compatible with Sage300 CRE accounting. It’s just a shame that Sage couldn’t keep up with the times and get a cloud based PM product to market in a timely manner.

Puntos a favor: Sage 300 cre is robust. It can be all encompassing with “modules”. From Estimating (which is an excellent product) through the accounting modules to project management, the workflow is pretty seamless.

Contras: The annual maintenance cost for a product that is not SAS is pretty high. It is not clouds accessible and project management modules has fallen behind the times, especially compared to a product like procore.

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

Comentarios: 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.

Puntos a favor: 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.

Contras: 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 300 CRE is an average database system"

Comentarios: Overall, we have used Sage 300 CRE (Timberline) for 15 years. We stick with it because we have invested so much time and money into customizing it and forcing it to work like we want it to work. It is a good database, if you can figure out ways of extracting the data you want (i.e. Access, ODBC, etc.). In general, the software is old and not as dynamic as others on the market, but switching is too much of a painful process to make us jump ship. We will keep sailing (and bailing) with Sage 300 CRE, at least for now.

Puntos a favor: We integrate other estimating and purchasing software for our home building division and that works fairly well. As a database repository, it works well. It is easy to get information in the system and you have a lot of ability to customize and create fields.

Contras: The reporting tools in Sage 300 CRE are not good. Getting information out of the system has always been our challenge. We end up extracting the data via other tools and creating our own reports in other tools (i.e. excel). The financial statement and other report writing tools are not easy to work with, and frequently have issues that need to be corrected (or acknowledged... still not sure why Sage can not figure out how to round properly to make a balance sheet balance)...

"Pros and Cons of Sage 300"

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

Contras: 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 is complex, amazing and expensive."

Comentarios: 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.

Puntos a favor: 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.

Contras: 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.

"Good with Property Management, Mediocre with Accounting"

Comentarios: Whereas Sage 300 CRE does have some good functionality for property management, we are also suffering from poor accounting functionality. Some days I'm happy with the software, some days not so much.

Puntos a favor: I like the Property Management side of Sage - our office manages a number of commercial real estate properties, and we are able to track the leases, and the PM side of things does link in with the accounting side of things. And I know there are more features in the PM side that we don't even use.

Contras: Sage 300 CRE does not mix well with any outside software. We recently took over management of a dozen new properties and we had to manually input all the data to get the new companies in our system. There was no reasonable import feature available. We could have paid someone thousands of dollars to bring basic information into the system for us, but what they could import was not everything we'd need, and there would be no previous year data option. That was frustrating.
And the accounting system is also lacking. As much as all of the modules to integrate with each other, the accounting system does not perform to my expectations. And if you want to export a report into Excel, forget it! Sure it will export the data, but not in any kind of usable format! The numbers don't export as numbers, the formatting is all skewed. I just found out that there is a 'third party' software to use as a fix, but I just spent $2500 on that fix and found out that if we want to export the income statement and balance sheet, that is an extra $800. I'm not happy with the accounting system.

"Solid Construction Accounting Software"

Comentarios: The tracking of costs and billings is great in this software. You are able to capture just about every detail you could possibly need and it's all integrated together. With the available 3rd party add ons this is a very good product.

Puntos a favor: Sage 300 CRE, formally known as Timberline, is a very robust construction accounting software. The customization is really endless and although the software platform is older, the 3rd party software packages available allow you to use current technologies with it. It is not the most user friendly as new software is but it is a very solid working product that has been around for years. I like being able to customize the software to how we do business. I have not run into too many situations in which the software was not capable of handling something. Certainly you might need a consultant to help you create complex reports and other processes but at least it is available if you need it.

Contras: I would say the biggest con is the fact the software is built on an older database platform and the screens are a bit older and do not scale well with newer systems. Although there is a SQL database replicator now to move your data to SQL for enhanced and faster reporting, the program itself still runs on the Pervasive database. It tends to run slow when you have a large database so you constantly have to keep up on the archiving. I also wish the program had a few more preventative features when it comes to posting transactions to closed GL periods. Certain tasks do not validate if the GL is closed prior to posting which I find to be a pain. Sometimes the fix is easy but other times it is very difficult to figure out.

"Good for Construction"

Comentarios: I have used Sage 300 for years. Many companies use it although I find that it needs some element of support or a strong user on the team to resolve things that come up. Office Connector is a nice addition as many reports are not available out of the box...such as a CashFlow Statement and a good WIP report that can be modified and adjusted. You can write into the software so many applications can share data which is a plus. I feel like we have multiple additional technologies to make up for all the short-comings of Sage. Their support however, is amazing. Very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Additionally, the SageKnowledge Base can answer most questions a user has so there are solutions, but takes a bit to get familiar with how to find what you are looking for.

Puntos a favor: I like its ability to link with multiple applications including PROCORE, HH2, Paperless.

Contras: Out of the box financial reports are limited and it is not super intuitive in my opinion. We are currently running desktop in a hosted environment. I think I would have preferred the cloud based package.

"Sage 300RE"

Comentarios: I am a moderate user because of my position but I was the person that took on the Service Module back in 2005 as we switched to Sage. I was very disappointed then with the SM module as it was not going to do what I was told it could but it was to late at that point as we had made the switch.

Puntos a favor: It had the ability to customize features in the program

Contras: The service module is way behind the times and will be the ultimate reason we leave Sage at some point. Even though we haver added SSO for some time now it still does not change the fact the back office program is the problem. We need more flexibility with departments and costing to meet the real service world.
Also in order to make Sage work to meet todays requirements we have had to add third party programs such as Timberscan, Cabbage, hh2 and any even a program to get better access to your data. Sage is exactly the kind of program third part developers want and keeps them in business. Having Sage 300 Re means you will be forced to use other companies to get what you want out of the program. I did not realize how the programs we pieces bolted on and that there not actually built together. Once I knew how the purchasing module had to use Macros to make it work and communicate to the rest of the program was extremely disappointing. The program does not easily allow you to perform the payroll function easily with Payroll companies. Basically you cant get job costing to pickup until you process a weekly payroll to get it on the jobs. You are left handcuffed to do payroll in house when smaller companies want to move that process out of their company. The program was moved into the cloud last year in my company but it is really not cloud based. So you have to work in a remote desktop way verses a true cloud based program.

"Good but seeking for more"

Puntos a favor: 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.

Contras: 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.

"Bang up Piece of Software"

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

Puntos a favor: 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.

Contras: 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.

"Okay software for multiple companies but many glitches"

Comentarios: Took us 2 years to sort out the issues caused buy a Sage consultant not setting up the system correctly with us.

Puntos a favor: The ease to show combined financials for multiples companies works great.

Contras: We have run into many glitches where things do not post correctly due and Sage cannot tell us why. Does not do everything that the sales rep told us it would.

"2+ years in and we are moving on"

Comentarios: 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.

Puntos a favor: 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.

Contras: 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.

"A Proven Total Construction and Accounting Package"

Comentarios: Very good experience with the product and dealing with support and the knowledgebase. I have been using this product now over 15 years. I have worked for 2 General Contractors during this time and this product has served us well.

Puntos a favor: I like the fact that Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate software (modules) is a total solution for a few different industries, mainly construction. We have all the modules from Job Costing to Payroll to Project Management, etc. We do everything in house. I also like the fact that it integrates with Aatrix for Government and State e-Filing and reporting. That is very nice that it pulls everything from Sage and makes the reporting process seamless and easy. There are many other products that integrate well including MyAssistant.

Contras: I wish the software was cloud-based which would make upgrading and future improvements much easier and attractive. A smaller investment of hardware and resources would be needed since the server would pretty much be eliminated. Updates would be automatic. Sage does have other products that are cloud-based but this one will not be going that route.

"Where are the user instructions available for special reports and features?"

Puntos a favor: I did not do the integration, that was done by IT and they do not use the same day to day features that most users deal with. I'm sure the system is much easier for the IT people, but it needs to be easy or have instructions available for the every day majority of the users in the office. It seems very easy for day to day use for the majority of the work done in the office, there are just a few reports and features that would be nice to have. Possibly they are available but I'm not sure where to get instructions.

Contras: We were not provided with any sort of ongoing instructions or help for specific issues that we encountered after we fully implemented and starting using the software. Sometimes it will take a while to get use to something to realize you need other types of reports/information or functions, we had to just learn by trial and error. There is limited space when adding Vendors and no way (at least not know to us) to get rid of a vendor once it is added. We ended up with MANY double entry vendors. Additionally, making a vendor inactive in AP does not stop that vendor from being used in the SM module which creates issues importing. One of the biggest problems we have had is that the PO field allows users to accidentally type in random various characters, such as a / or lower case letters, which causes an error in the program importing. The system does not recognize the random characters which has cause a never ending loop posting. The system should not even allow someone to put in a character it will later not recognize, as we now have no way to get rid of these errors. Even customer service cannot fix the problem. We have POs that now have 492 lines as they are stuck in a loop and every day that we post another line gets added. Also we could use a reference guide on how to run specific reports we desire.

"Needs More User Friendly Features"

Comentarios: We would not purchase it again and would prefer to go back to our old system, but we've invested too much to do that at this time.

Puntos a favor: Widely universal so integration software more readily available with management systems and customer relation software.

Contras: We came from ComputerEase, which is very user friendly. Sage appears to be outdated. The installation and upgrade process is very time consuming and for most would require hiring their services to install or your IT personnel. The biggest issue we have is the font size. If you try to change the font size in your screen, the windows will distort and you cannot access certain information within Sage, so it strains your eyes to view the information. My other big concern, is that when processing applications for payment within Billing, it will allow you to go over 100% on a scheduled line. If you don't manually check via print preview, you can very likely overbill. Additionally, when voiding applications, there are some major hassles when it comes to stored materials on jobs that don't carry over stored each month. Lastly, if you do not post in the order and timeframe that you are trained to do, it results in a large hassle and time-consuming elimination process. There are several other items that are not favorable, but these are the top ones on our mind most frequently.

"Overall Experience"

Comentarios: Overall satisfied with the software but there are areas that need to enhanced to allow more flexibilty.

Puntos a favor: The reporting is good but could use enhancing. The Job Cost module works very well. The General Ledger is very useful and somewhat flexible.

Contras: The Service Management interface with the other modules needs to be enhanced with more flexibility. The Report Designer needs more flexibility with report writing as well. Some what simple. The purchase order system in Job Cost needs enhancements as well with Sales Tax, etc.

"Versatile and Allows for Growth"

Comentarios: I love this software but feel the customer service has tanked over the years. If I have an issue I want to pick up the phone and reach a person, not hours of hold time and voice mail only to be told to go look up the answer myself via the knowledgebase. It is extremely frustrating.

Puntos a favor: There is a lot of versatility in this software that I know we don't even tap into.

Contras: You can post, or rather the software allows for, negative debit and credit postings. For me it is fine but when you have someone on staff who maybe doesn't understand it can make things tricky.

"Sage 300 Construction for Real State and much more!"

Puntos a favor: 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,

Contras: 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.