Sage Line 50 - Multi user on a network

[CableGuy]

Hi all,

My first post here

I have a question about Sage Line 50. Is it possible to have multiple users on this product on a network? It's not really the case that two people will be using the software at the same time, it's more likely to be two different users, at different times, on different (networked) machines. Can this be done?

Similarly, one user has expressed a desire to work remotely from the office. Is it possible to have a copy of Sage on a laptop but perhaps connect into the office (via VPN perhaps?) to ensure there is one copy of the Sage file. My main concern here is that we may end up with two different copies of the Sage config files etc. For this reason I am doubtful whether it can be achieved, but thought I'd ask anyway!

Also, if any members have any experiences of using Sage (or other accounting packages) remotely (i.e. spending those long weekends entering invoices at home!) or on two machines then I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Any help/assistance greatly appreciated.

 

[Leo-InstallingIT]

Hi

Yes this is possible with the professional edition. Is this the version they are using?

Also you can get this working with a VPN if their is just one remote user it should be fine. However if you expecting more it may be worth moving to a higher version line 500 etc which are built more for networking.

I hope this helps.

Many Thanks

Leo

 

[CableGuy]

Yes this is possible with the professional edition. Is this the version they are using?

Also you can get this working with a VPN if their is just one remote user it should be fine. However if you expecting more it may be worth moving to a higher version line 500 etc which are built more for networking.

Thanks for the quick reply.

At the moment we're using Line 50, but our accountant has advised us to downgrade to Instant Accounts. Upgrading to professional would cost over £1,000 so I'll have to assess how much benefit we'd get

 

[Jenni384]

If you downgrade to Instant, then technically you can only have 1 copy on 1 PC.

If you bought 2 copies and had one on each PC (or were naughty and installed once copy twice!), then as long as both people weren't working on it at the same time, you could run it on both PCs. You'd have to send a backup file from PC1 to be restored onto PC2, before someone could carry on with work on PC2, and then email a fresh backup to PC1 and PC1 restore to this backup before work could continue on PC1.

Be very careful if working this way that you are sure you are working with the right set of data, and take plenty of backups!

 

[Nig]

As an alternative, have you had a look at "KashFlow"? (kashflow.co.uk)

It is a very comprehensive but inexpensive online bookkeeping/accounting system which seems, from your description to be an ideal match for what you need. If your accountant is suggesting you downgrade to Sage Instant then KashFlow will easily do everything you need (and more).

The main benefit for you would seem to be that you can access it (and your data) from anywhere you have an internet connection so you do not need to worry about duplicate files or arranging remote access (with associated security!). They take care of security and backups but if you are really paranoid you can download all your data and back it up yourself as often as you like.

They offer a 60 day free trial following which the list price is £149 for the first year then £99 per annum thereafter. If you choose to sign up with an accountant that supports KashFlow (I am one or you can find one here > kashflow.co.uk/accsearch.asp) you may well pay less than list or even nothing depending on the accountant you choose. Also because it is online, your accountant can log in to your accounts remotely to check how you are doing and to offer advice or to discuss problems you may be having without needing to come to your premises.

If you have a look at it I think you will be impressed.

 

[jonathan.kempson]

If you want to work from home, then you should plan on running Sage remotely.

The best way of doing this will depend on what IT you have in the office, but the common ones are to connect to your server as a "terminal server", or to take remote control of a desktop in the office.