Sage 100 Contractor Reviews

Pros

Integration of job bidding to job costing to accounting to payroll.....all modules talk to each other in real time. We could not have any software that did not do all these things

Cons

The weak point is the estimating module that comes with it. I don't think it has been upgraded for 20 years.....no...really. They want me to buy the upgraded estimator which I think I will do soon.

Pros

Integration of accounting information with project management information; Real time information/status of the job; Ease of using drop-down to source; Ability to export information to excel and third party reports.

Cons

When the vendor is shown on a report or screen and the vendor number isn't. The reports section is missing a comprehensive (in detail) project manager report that captures and compares budget, contracts, change orders, purchase orders and costs to date. Learning how to use change orders as they impacted reports was difficult.

Alternatives Considered

Sectona Security Platform

Reasons for Choosing Sage 100 Contractor

Execudata was a single user software that became inadequate due to growth of the company. It was bought by another company who made it windows based software but that occurred after we purchased Masterbuilder .

Reasons for Switching to Sage 100 Contractor

We thought the integration of project management with job cost accounting was significant for us and it was from a reputable company (Intuit).

Pros

Sage 100 Contractor is relatively easy to deploy and use. It didn't take long to train my clients. Furthermore, it does require much computer resource to run this program.

Cons

The upgrade from 2016 to 2018 resulted in a significant performance degradation. Even though we moved the Sage 100 server to a more robust environment, not much was changed. In fact periodically, Sage 100 would crash due to unknown entries on an order.

Pros

That it worked well with Procore and gave us a more detailed accounting system.

Cons

The double entry with using Procore and Sage 100. I also don't like that it isn't very user friendly. Lots of clicks to accomplish a simple task. I will use looking at the checkbook register as an example. I should just be able to click and look at at it. It should take 5 or 6 clicks to get there.

Alternatives Considered

OpenGov Citizen Services and FOUNDATION

Reasons for Choosing Sage 100 Contractor

Quickbooks wasn't able to handle everything with Procore

Switched From

OpenGov Citizen Services and FOUNDATION

Reasons for Switching to Sage 100 Contractor

Sage's ability to work with Procore. However, as I said above, there is way to much double entry.

Pros

Ease of use:
A/R - client set up, job creation, invoicing and applying payments
A/P - vendor set up, invoice entry and payments

Cons

Self-teaching is difficult. KB, University and other resources are located in 3 different websites. This should all be streamlined. One website with one login that allows us access to our account management tools, KB and Uni. Since I wasn't here at implementation, I have found it difficult to utilize portions of the program that weren't used prior to my hire date. Customer service is great but don't offer training and any training that isn't self-teach is outrageous! We are glad to see you upgrade your annual services to include access to the various classes that otherwise are out of our price range.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop Pro

Reasons for Switching to Sage 100 Contractor

Cost and features that assist with construction and project management (that aren't currently being used as previous employees didn't set them up and without training, I'm not comfortable implementing)

Pros

Sage 100 Contractor is easy to use and quite intuitive. No one on my staff has struggled to learn it. For the price, I believe it is by far the best solution for my company. I'm generally happy with the built-in reports.

Cons

I would like for the built-in reports to be easier to modify. It's something we struggle with internally. We paid a 3rd party to develop some custom reports for us. However, when Sage has updates it sometimes causes the custom reports to crash. This is highly frustrating.

Alternatives Considered

Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate, Viewpoint Spectrum, FOUNDATION and Viewpoint Team

Reasons for Choosing Sage 100 Contractor

We switched products because we needed better job cost detail and reporting, especially for labor.

Reasons for Switching to Sage 100 Contractor

We purchased Sage 100 Contractor because it offered the most important features we needed at the most reasonable price.

Pros

What I really like in Sage 100 Contractor is when we start setting up the software it was very quick to go live after short period, The annual revenue for the company I was working for is 35+ million. we shifted from old software to Sage 100 Contractor within two months, I did few demonstrations for my colleague about how to use Sage 100 Contractor and all of them they found Sage 100 Contractor easy to use and very helpful for our business, and reporting in Sage 100 Contractor is great.

Cons

I didn't face any issue or something I didn't like in Sage 100 Contractor. but the developing in Sage 100 Contractor is impossible.

Alternatives Considered

SAP Business One

Reasons for Switching to Sage 100 Contractor

Sage 100 Contractor is less expensive from SAP Business One.

Pros

This software has each feature that we need. Payables, receivables , payroll and you can see a budget vs. actual

Cons

That you need to have it on a server, it would be nice to have it on an online platform. It feels a little archaic

Pros

We liked the fact that Sage 100 has Accounting, Service (work order management), and New Construction (Job management) in one package. Our goal was to make sure all programs are seamlessly communicating by having the same platform. None of these products really standout as special, but have the basic functions.

Cons

Basic functions in Accounting were set up strange and go against GAPP principles. Payroll is cumbersome to manage and Sage does not have a really good field time capture solution. SSO is basic and inconsistent. Basic navigation to look up customers and manage service contracts are not streamlined. It takes to many steps to access information and no easy wildcard "look up" functions.

Alternatives Considered

ServiceTitan and Viewpoint Team

Reasons for Choosing Sage 100 Contractor

CUC Soft was purchased by Service Titan and shut down.

Reasons for Switching to Sage 100 Contractor

The ablity to have all three components of our business in one platform.

Pros

Sage 100 Contractor provides a broad range of reporting and tracking options, but is affordably priced. Our company is able to utilize the software to complete payroll, budgeting, job cost tracking, equipment management, and billing. We could also easily add Timberline if the need arises and that would expand our ability to integrate estimating into our accounting system. It is also flexible enough that we are able to use it to manage the accounting for small side companies that we have formed.

Cons

While Sage 100 Contractor is fairly intuitive and easy to learn and navigate overall, there are nuances that can be confusing. Sage support staff is knowledgeable and helpful, but you may have to pay for that as part of your service package. An alternative is their online knowledge base. It is expansive, but it is not always helpful in providing simple, relative information to your query.

Pros

Accounting is great. The level of personalization for each user, being able to lock down per line what each user sees and use of PO/SO takes us to the next level of what we were looking for. Also personalization of reports and ability to change things how we need them is excellent. Have been using as our CRM as well. That there are constant improvements and ability to request them. Love the dashboard and how I can customize it. I feel much more informed about our numbers and the auto-reports are very helpful.

Cons

So much to learn and implement. Our onboarding was less than impressive (trainer distracted and taking another phone call while I'm paying for her time) Also very expensive. There was no information as to the set up of the computers required, or even how to go about implementing the program until we were involved with the trainers and they didn't cover that first part. Had to learn by trial and error. We felt like there was very little help and a lot of miscommunications. We need more field access (online) but that is not on the accounting side...all project management. Also, when exporting to word or excel it is in tables and not easy to manipulate.

Pros

This software is very detailed and will give you the information you need and depend on for daily use. We use only this product for all of our construction accounting /project needs. The reports it creates gives you the information needed per project, to see in daily figures what that project looks like from many aspects. You can also create specific reports if needed, but I have never needed to do that. They have GREAT customer service. They will log in with you and see what you have going on or what you're trying to do and will give you whatever help you need. I completely depend on this product.

Cons

Since this product is so detailed, some of the steps to "fix" something can be confusing and will have many steps to undo. Sometimes there can be more than one way to redo something and I get myself confused as to which action to take, but I know that customer service is completely dependable and they are only a call away to help.

Pros

I love the interconnectivity of this software. It really does a great job of tying everything together and it makes pulling union reports, workers compensation reports, etc easier than the spreadsheets that I was having to keep previously. After the long and difficult process of learning how to use the software, I am now seeing all of its benefits.

Cons

Learning how to use this software was not a good experience. I would love to be able to pull up videos on the internet and have someone walk me through the different screens. We used a company with live help for Sage 100 Contractor and it was expensive and I felt that I was often waiting for our schedules to align to get a simple question answered. It made me hate the software in the beginning and it was very frustrating. I am just happy to be past that!

Pros

My boss has a lot of money going out; with that in mind, I start my bank reconciliation early and keep it going until month end.
Sage far surpasses all other accounting software in this particular process.

Cons

Searching for an item could be improved dramatically!
Also, if I issue a check by copying an old one issued to the same person. It becomes a journal entry and if I ask the computer for all payments issued to that person that journal entry is not always included. I need to be careful and check job costs, not just payments made.
One other item, when issuing a check, I appreciate the manual check choice being added, I would suggest a small tweak, I wonder if you offered the verbiage "Debit Card", as well.
I would be curious to attend short 15 minutes or so, info meetings- that would focus on educating users on particular features, for example in estimating and scheduling.
Something that would have visual aids not just reading in the Sage Help.
Maybe a recording in Zoom or YouTube a meeting accessible through your help site.
I am a visual learner reading does not help me as much as a visual coach.

One last item I would like to see implemented, I doubt it can be but here goes.

If possible when I need to start a help ticket, sometimes what I need say is complicated. I need to type 2-3 paragraphs. I wish there was a streamlined way to get a person to talk to.
Using the chat box is great unless it is a complicated issue, I wish I could type ## or something and that would direct me to the call back Que.
Thank You so much for asking.

Pros

It is easy to input invoices and do most of payroll. The certified payroll still needs a little work for those of us not doing it electronically. I have never had an issue with the quarterly or end of yea tax reports. Archiving previous years and locking down transactions prior to archiving has become much simpler. I do customized reports from time to time and generally they are rather easy to do.

Cons

I would like to see a tab in the jobs that has all the information needed for the A1-131 top section report.

I would like to see date added when it notifies you in accounts payable that you have a duplicate invoice number.

Lately I have had to install the program onto new computers. The install was not as smooth due to Microsoft. I wish I had a updated list that said you also will need to download these applications as they are no longer automatically provided by Microsoft - ie Framework, SQL 2014.

Pros

Job costing, payroll direct deposit, ACH, Reporting, project work center, customized reports, archive features, integration with Outlook, the ability to input suggestions and vote on others ideas, etc

Cons

The initial implementation and setup. Our Consultant was not the best in the implementation process. We have since connected with someone who is FABULOUS and knows how to best help the Client to setup "best practices" from the start. I only wish we had connected with her at the onset.
Some of the programming still has "glitches" and boots you out of the program - annoying. F2 should be edit, and pulls up a calendar, Enter key and Tab key don't work consistently with other Microsoft programs - slight annoyance.

Pros

The software provides the needed accounting and payroll modules. The optional Inventory modules offers some basic tools to manage your inventory. Reporting tools are rudimentary, but adequate.

Cons

Receiving inventory items works strangely. A Sage invoice is created when receiving. At the point of vouching the supplier's invoice, the same receiving generated invoice can be updated. However, issues occur if you have used any of that inventory before getting the supplier's invoice entered. There's a work-around which involves copying and pasting, but the vouching process should not care what your current inventory level is.
The weighted average cost is problematic when working with projects. Any given transaction can result in a G/L record that doesn't match the project record, leading to variances. Need the option of last-cost, std cost, etc.

Pros

I work for a commercial roofing contractor. I think the project management system had the most impact, because non-accounting employees have access to it and they learn what it takes to keep a job moving forward.

Cons

This is not so much something that I "like least" about Sage, but the hardest part for me was getting others in the company to realize that I did not have to be the person to do EVERYTHING. They were capable of entering purchase orders.....they were capable of entering a change order.....they were capable of running a report. It has taken a couple years (we went live in 2017) for other staff to buy into the program. It is now going well.

Pros

The software help tracking expenses and history of job cost is top of the line. Progress billing is the best and easiest we have seen.

Cons

It does have a deep learning cure but once you are past that it is easy to use software

Alternatives Considered

Samsung Pay

Reasons for Choosing Sage 100 Contractor

There data base could not handle our needs

Switched From

QuickBooks Desktop Pro

Reasons for Switching to Sage 100 Contractor

Compatible with windows

Pros

I like the accountability features first and foremost. The AP, AR and Payroll are simple and easy to use.

Cons

I would like to see a little more ease of use for estimating. For a small remodeling company like ours, we do not need massive amount of data. And a HUGE improvement would be if you could set up a standard "Note" for each cost code. We prepare proposals by Cost Code with descriptions as to what "Tile" entails (our allowance, our standard running board pattern, inclusion of grout, etc.)
I would also like to see a running report that includes budget v. actual for hours, labor dollars, subs and materials. Right now I need more than one report to do that.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop Pro

Reasons for Switching to Sage 100 Contractor

It was Master Builder when we started with it. Cannot recall why we chose this over QB

Pros

As a construction company, we needed job cost to be detailed. We were originally with QuickBooks. This software definitely gave us the detail to figure out where our cost was going per project. I also like the feature that it records every transaction, so there is no guessing if someone changed the data.

Cons

I still struggle with tech support. I do not understand the Sage City, nor the Knowledge base.

Pros

Software is basically user friendly. I like how System Menu is set up and payroll is very functional.

Cons

Reports in this software are the worst part of it.
It needs to be updated and make it easier to build and customize reports to suit company use.
Also need to have an easier T&M workup system and reports.

Pros

It has more detail than our previous software. I really like the drill-down capability.

Cons

I would like to be able to work with someone at Sage to improve their Progress Billing fields. It is good for a basic set-up, but many of the Contractors that we bill have custom forms, requiring more fields that require the use of the Custom Fields tables. Good that the fields are there, bad in that they do not appear on the screen while billing. Makes the progress billing seem clunky. Also, would like more flexibility in the report writing (such as Outer Join, Left Join, Right Join).

Pros

We upgraded from an antiquated program called Great Plains we had used for 25 years, there was no way
to integrate or move our data to Sage. The process to get started was fairly easy, it was just a matter of reentering all our payable, receivable and setting up our GL. Once we got trained on it we found ways to streamline our work load.

Cons

The thing I liked the least was setting up my GL, they gave me way too many accounts and after entering them all, I discovered that I needed to delete half of them, they did not work for our business.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Dynamics SL

Reasons for Choosing Sage 100 Contractor

Our system was outdated and our GL got corrupted

Reasons for Switching to Sage 100 Contractor

Ease of entry and the program was 1/4 the cost from Microsoft Dynamics

Pros

This product is flexible and can be used for a variety of different types and sizes of projects.

Cons

Customer Support is through your local network. Sage provides zero customer support and treats their customers as if they are trying to steal from them.