Sage unveils next generation of cloud solutions

Sage has announced new products and features that will take Africa and Middle East’s business builders and entrepreneurs closer to a world where admin is invisible.
From industry-leading cloud and desktop accounting and payroll software for start-up companies to fully integrated business management solutions for large enterprises, the new product announcements from Sage enable organisations to streamline admin and make better business decisions. Key product launches and developments announced included Sage Live, Sage One Payroll in Kenya and Nigeria, Sage X3 with Cloud deployment and Fast Start configuration options.
“Sage’s vision is to empower entrepreneurs and business owners to spend less time on admin and more time on what they love doing,” says Anton van Heerden, MD and executive vice-president: Africa & Middle East at Sage. “We see our customers as the heroes that build the region’s economy and we are giving them the tools and technologies they need to be successful.”
Built on the Salesforce Lightning user interface, Sage Live is a powerful, customisable, and cost-effective cloud accounting solution for scale up businesses. Customers can manage multiple locations and currencies all in the palm of their hand, while taking advantage of the add-on solutions available on the Sage market place and the Salesforce App exchange. Sage Live will be available to business builders in South Africa later this year.
Sage plans to launch Sage One Payroll in Kenya by end-March and in Nigeria by end-June. The cloud solution integrates smoothly with Sage One Accounting, offering a complete business solution for start-up and small businesses.
Easier than spreadsheets, Sage One is the essential online accounting and payroll solution for start-up businesses. It lets companies conveniently manage everything from sales and purchasing to cash flow and taxes. It offers online invoicing and allows collaboration with the bookkeeping or accounting team from anywhere.
The new online entry level offering of Sage One Accounting, Sage One Invoicing, will be launched in sub-Saharan Africa by the end of April. It gives start-ups the ability to produce professional quotes and invoices from a mobile device or PC, at any time or place they have access to the internet. It also provides reports and dashboards to monitor the outcome of quotes, and track due and overdue invoices.
In addition, a Customer Zone provides customers with the ability to easily pay invoices by activating a secure Pay Now service through Sage Pay. Full reporting is available to monitor gross profits and identify popular and fast-selling items. Customers can upgrade to the full Sage One solution as their business needs change.
The latest release of Sage X3 is an open and modular solution for companies who want to move away from maintaining their own data centres. There are no hidden costs as it is priced per user per month and includes upgrades and maintenance. It gives enterprises even more control over and visibility into their businesses with features such as ecommerce management, manufacturing project management, automated bank statements and a Salesforce CRM connector.
Sage X3 Version 11 also introduces a rapid implementation methodology called Sage X3 Fast Start. This enables growing enterprises to deploy a preconfigured Sage X3 solution with the financial and distribution modules in a matter of weeks rather than months.
The solution is ideal for businesses that have less complex processes and that are open to adopting best practices from a business management solution – for example, companies in the services sector. It delivers a solid, integrated enterprise backbone, which gives organisations the freedom to plug in modules for extra functionality as and when they need them.
The smart choice for growing services and distribution businesses, Sage 300c is a hybrid web-based business management solution suite that provides small and medium businesses with a highly adaptable solution for finance and operations. New enhancements include any-device mobile access to business and transactional data, critical to supporting today’s increasingly mobile and geographically dispersed operations, as well as a new modernised interface, customisation options, and inventory management capabilities. Independent Software Vendors can look forward to the new Sage 300c web APIs to help accelerate the products into the cloud.