Sage Instant Accounting 2000

Instant Accounting 2000 is Sage's entry-level business accounting software. Designed for companies with fewer than five employees (and including sole traders) and with an annual turnover of up to £250,000, it's also aimed at new start-ups. For the money, you get three essential ledgers - Sales, Purchases and Nominal - plus a basic stock recording capability and an invoicing facility. You can also link Instant Accounting to Sage's Instant Payroll software.

Among Instant's significant new features are its optional late payments facility, its online capability and its memorised reports folder. The late payments facility not only supports the legislation that lets you add a percentage to invoiced amounts for late payments, but also adds the percentage automatically.

The online capability links you to Sage's business advice pages and information. It's also supposed to automate your email from within Instant but we could not get this to work with Outlook Express. Other changes include improved analysis routines, new pre-set reports, a new start-up screen that can launch Accounting 2000, and an Outlook-like front end for your records of things to do, bills to pay and vendors to pursue. You get dummy data to practise on as well - a feature pioneered by Sage. There is a manual, but since Sage declined to supply a copy, we can't say how useful or useless it is.

Instant is playing catch-up with its competitors, but the final product is none the worse for that. It's a useful starter program for small businesses, with a file-compatible upgrade path to Sage's bigger business programs - worth considering when you've outgrown Instant.

Specifications
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• Three-ledger system with banking and invoicing, cash and accrual VAT management controls
• Product descriptions and prices database
• Aged debtor analysis
• Predefined reports plus custom forms designer

Contact Sage 0191 255 3000

See also:

Sage consolidates with product review

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MYOB Accounting

An extremely well designed and user friendly package for small businesses, at a very affordable price.  30 Apr 2000

E-Budget not all good news for ebusiness

The shine seems to be coming off Gordon Brown's Budget, at least as far as IT is concerned. From the Chancellor's words on Tuesday, you would assume that the industry was paramount in his mind.  23 Mar 2000

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