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All industries · head to head

Sage 50 vs Workday

Sage 50 logo

Sage 50

All industries

Powerful desktop accounting for small businesses

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Workday logo

Workday

All industries

Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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; Workday high implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
  • They diverge on capability: Sage 50 covers General ledger, Workday covers Human capital management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sage 50 and Workday actually diverge.

Attributes where Sage 50 and Workday differ
AttributeSage 50Workday
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWindowsCloud/Web
CategoryUnknownAll industries
Founded19812005

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Sage 50

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

Only in Workday

  • Human capital management
  • Financial management
  • Planning
  • Analytics
  • Payroll
  • Time tracking
  • Talent management
  • Procurement

Both cover

  • Salesforce

What people use each for

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

Sage 50

  • Desktop accountingnot Workday
  • Job costingnot Workday
  • Inventory trackingnot Workday

Workday

  • HR managementnot Sage 50
  • Financial planningnot Sage 50
  • Workforce planningnot Sage 50
  • Compliancenot Sage 50
  • Analyticsnot Sage 50

Where each one falls short

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

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

Workday

  • High implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
  • Long deployment timelines (12-18 months standard) before ROI
  • Steep per-employee pricing at enterprise scale ($408-504 PEPM)
  • Limited pre-built templates and customization; often requires extensive configuration
  • Requires significant IT and change management resources during implementation

Pricing, plan by plan

Sage 50

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

Workday

On request
  • Small Business$undefined/month
    • Core HR
    • Payroll
    • Time tracking
  • Medium Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Full HCM suite
    • Financial management
    • Advanced analytics
  • Large Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Complete platform
    • Custom configurations
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose Sage 50 if

  • You need general ledger.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want invoicing.
Sage 50 review

Choose Workday if

  • You need human capital management.
  • You work on Cloud/Web.
  • You also want financial management.
Workday review

Questions people ask

Is Sage 50 or Workday better?
Neither clearly leads. Sage 50 starts at $29/month and Workday at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sage 50 or Workday?
Sage 50 starts at $29/month and Workday at On request.
Does Sage 50 or Workday run on more platforms?
Sage 50 runs on Windows. Workday runs on Cloud/Web.
What is Sage 50 best used for?
Sage 50 is most often used for desktop accounting, job costing, inventory tracking. Of those, desktop accounting and job costing are not what Workday is typically brought in for.
What can Sage 50 do that Workday cannot?
Sage 50 covers General ledger, Invoicing, Inventory management, Job costing. Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Analytics. Both handle Salesforce.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Workday: What is Workday GO and what market is it designed for?

Workday GO is a product designed for small and midsize organizations, bringing together HR and finance solutions with transparent pricing and fast activation in 30 to 60 days. It includes HCM, benefits, payroll, talent, and more at a lower price point than standard Workday.

Source
Workday: What is Workday Skills Cloud and how does it fit into HCM?

Workday Skills Cloud is an intelligent skills foundation built into Workday HCM. It is described as the world's most open intelligent skills foundation and fuels data-driven talent strategies across recruiting, learning, and workforce planning.

Source
Workday: Does Workday include payroll and benefits management?

Yes. Workday HCM includes benefits administration and payroll capabilities as part of its core suite. Global payroll processing is available across multiple countries and tax jurisdictions.

Source
Workday: What is the typical pricing model for Workday HCM?

Workday HCM uses per-employee (PEPM) annual subscription pricing. Companies at scale typically pay $34-42 PEPM. Enterprise organizations with 5,000+ employees typically pay $408-504 per employee annually. Pricing decreases with larger commitments and longer contract terms.

Source
Workday: How long does Workday implementation typically take?

Standard implementations are lengthy, often taking 12-18 months. Workday GO promises faster activation in 30-60 days. Implementation costs typically equal 100-150% of the first year's software subscription fees.

Source
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Related pages

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