Softwr

Software · head to head

Bill.com vs Sage 50

Bill.com logo

Bill.com

Software

Automate your financial workflows

From
Free
Rated
-
Sage 50 logo

Sage 50

Software

Powerful desktop accounting for small businesses

From
$29/month
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Bill.com has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bill.com limited customization of approval workflows and user permissions for complex business needs; Sage 50 sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams
  • They diverge on capability: Bill.com covers AP automation, Sage 50 covers General ledger.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bill.com and Sage 50 actually diverge.

Attributes where Bill.com and Sage 50 differ
AttributeBill.comSage 50
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWindows
Founded20061981

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bill.com

  • AP automation
  • AR automation
  • Payment processing
  • Approval workflows
  • Document management
  • Vendor management
  • Cash flow insights
  • Mobile approvals

Only in Sage 50

  • General ledger
  • Invoicing
  • Inventory management
  • Job costing
  • Budgeting
  • Microsoft 365
  • Local encryption
  • Backup

Both cover

  • Salesforce

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bill.com

  • Invoice processingnot Sage 50
  • Bill paymentsnot Sage 50
  • Vendor paymentsnot Sage 50
  • Cash flow managementnot Sage 50
  • Financial automationnot Sage 50

Sage 50

  • Desktop accountingnot Bill.com
  • Job costingnot Bill.com
  • Inventory trackingnot Bill.com

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bill.com

  • Limited customization of approval workflows and user permissions for complex business needs
  • Limited international payment capabilities compared to specialists like Tipalti
  • Customer support response times are slow, with agents often lacking product expertise

Sage 50

  • Sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams

Pricing, plan by plan

Bill.com

Free
  • Essentials$49/month
    • Core AP and AR functionality
    • Manual CSV import/export
  • Team$65/month
    • Automatic 2-way sync with QuickBooks Online, Xero
  • Corporate$89/month
    • Procurement features
    • Custom approval policies
    • Sync with NetSuite, Dynamics

Sage 50

$29/month
  • Pro Accounting$50/month
    • Core accounting
    • 1 user
    • Basic reports
  • Premium Accounting$85/month
    • 5 users
    • Job costing
    • Inventory

Which should you pick?

Choose Bill.com if

  • You need ap automation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want ar automation.

Choose Sage 50 if

  • You need general ledger.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want invoicing.

Questions people ask

Is Bill.com or Sage 50 better?
Neither clearly leads. Bill.com starts at Free and Sage 50 at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bill.com or Sage 50?
Bill.com has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bill.com and $29/month for Sage 50.
Does Bill.com or Sage 50 run on more platforms?
Bill.com runs on Web. Sage 50 runs on Windows.
Can I use Bill.com for free?
Yes. Bill.com has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sage 50 starts at $29/month.
What is Bill.com best used for?
Bill.com is most often used for invoice processing, bill payments, vendor payments, cash flow management. Of those, invoice processing and bill payments are not what Sage 50 is typically brought in for.
What can Bill.com do that Sage 50 cannot?
Bill.com covers AP automation, AR automation, Payment processing, Approval workflows. Sage 50 covers General ledger, Invoicing, Inventory management, Job costing. Both handle Salesforce.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bill.com: What payment methods does Bill.com support?

Bill.com supports ACH transfers, checks, corporate cards, and international transfers. ACH payments cost $0.59 per transaction, checks cost $1.99, and card payments incur a 2.9% fee.

Source
Bill.com: Does Bill.com offer a free tier?

Yes. Bill.com offers a free Spend & Expense plan for access to credit lines from $1,000-$5M with corporate cards, budgets, and expense tracking.

Source
Bill.com: Which accounting systems does Bill.com integrate with?

Bill.com integrates with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Enterprise, Oracle NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics, and Xero, with automatic two-way syncing on most plans.

Source

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