Sage software question

[johndon68]

Sorry to bring this up again. Is v28 the last version that does not have any of this TLS issues or v27?

I am seeing a few v28 on ebay. Are they legit?

v26.3 is the oldest version that does not have the issue with TLS.

As for whether the copies of v28 are legit it impossible to answer I'm afraid. If they are being sold by genuine Sage Business Partners then you should be OK, if not, I'd steer well clear...

Bear in mind though that even through a Business Partner, v28 is only available with a monthly subscription licence, not a perpetual one.

John

 

[ktsotr]

I ended up purchasing a v28 on ebay claimed to be perpetual ..... I am hoping that my v22.3 will keep working without internet access so won't need to use it but better to be prepared. Any issue with both, I'll export the data and move to an even older version of Sage accounts essentials I bought over the years. My worst option is to move over the free agent bundled with my business account

 

[johndon68]

I ended up purchasing a v28 on ebay claimed to be perpetual .....

Not sure how that could be done legally as Sage don’t offer perpetual licences for v28 for end users. The only perpetual licences that I’m aware of are for internal use by Business Partners and Developers but they cannot be used by ends users.

 

[Onion4Sage]

I know, as it has always been since it was introduced 20+ years ago, I was involved in it's testing at Sage when I worked there

However, having checked, Sage discontinued it at the end of February 2021 so there is no v28 of it. If an existing user with Essentials affected by this TLS change wanted to upgrade to v28, they'd have to go for Sage50cloud Standard which, on Sage's site, is £72 per month not far short of the old outright purchase price of Essentials.

John

Hi John,

Curiously, according to the information on their Help > About screen, we have a client on Version Number - 28.1.404.0, Variant - Sage 50 Accounts Essentials and Licence Type - Subscription. I'm advised the annual subscription cost at last renewal was £88 + VAT.

Ian

 

[johndon68]

Hi John,

Curiously, according to the information on their Help > About screen, we have a client on Version Number - 28.1.404.0, Variant - Sage 50 Accounts Essentials and Licence Type - Subscription. I'm advised the annual subscription cost at last renewal was £88 + VAT.

Ian

I suspect (guess) that they may be still using an older serial number and activation key (they aren't always version specific) which means that 28.1 is recognising it as Essentials as the code that does so won't have been removed even though the variant is no longer sold.

John

 

[Onion4Sage]

I suspect (guess) that they may be still using an older serial number and activation key (they aren't always version specific) which means that 28.1 is recognising it as Essentials as the code that does so won't have been removed even though the variant is no longer sold.

John

Thanks John,
Mind you, whatever the label on the specific implementation, Version 28 for £88 +VAT per annum is good though is it not? Do you reckon the functionality would actually be better than "Essentials" level then?
Ian

 

[johndon68]

Thanks John,
Mind you, whatever the label on the specific implementation, Version 28 for £88 +VAT per annum is good though is it not? Do you reckon the functionality would actually be better than "Essentials" level then?
Ian

It certainly is and would be consistent with Essentials pricing.

Functionality will be unchanged as the software will still recognise the serial number (even though Sage no longer sell it) and turn off functions that Essentials doesn't have.

 

[Stuart2022]

I have a real problem with Sage- it's 1980s software on 2020s computers with 2030s prices. Some of the silliest things such as needing to remember the four digit code for each transaction type. If I want to add a box of paperclips I want to type P-A-P-E-R-C and have it auto fill the box, not have me remember that it is product code 5632.

If anyone is embarking in business I'd recommend one of the (usually free) templates for Excel, with an add on for MTD. I would never recommend Sage at all.

In fact I am so disappointed with it that I- an AMATEUR programmer- have already developed something that is better for all the jobs I've programmed so far.

Stuart.

 

[Stuart2022]

Thanks John,
Mind you, whatever the label on the specific implementation, Version 28 for £88 +VAT per annum is good though is it not? Do you reckon the functionality would actually be better than "Essentials" level then?
Ian

£88 per YEAR? They're charging me that per MONTH. How, what, where, why do you get it for that per year? Or was that a mis-type?

Stuart.

 

[johndon68]

£88 per YEAR? They're charging me that per MONTH. How, what, where, why do you get it for that per year? Or was that a mis-type?

Stuart.

The price depends on the variant of the software, the number of companies and the number of users so you can't compare what another user is paying with what you pay as the combination of variant/companies/users is likely to be different.

Sage Essentials was originally Sage Instant and it cost about £100 and was always far cheaper than the Sage 50 variants of the software.

Once upon a time, the software was available in the following variants (which are all the same program but with different features activated depending on the licence you pay for):

Instant Accounts (later Sage 50 Essentials)
Sage 50 Accounts
Sage 50 Accounts Plus
Sage 50 Accounts Professional

and the features and the price went up as you moved up the range.

Now, you only have:

Sage50cloud Standard
Sage50cloud Professional

 

[clyde123]

I'm getting confused now ...

When opening the programme, Home page Red Box 'Find Out More', it opens up a new window "Changes to Sage services with TLS 1.0 and 1.1"
This is a GB knowledgebase article dated 'Last modified 12 September 2022'.

I run through the questions, it asks me what version of Sage 50 Accounts are you using? I click on V23.1 and below - then it tells me "
Changes to Sage services with TLS 1.0 and 1.1
Great news!

Your version of Sage 50cloud Accounts is not impacted and will continue to work as expected." (my bold)

Confusion comes from (1) my programme version is Sage 50 Accounts Professional, 22.1.10.394
and (2) the info from Sage as above calls it Sage 50cloud.
and (3) all previous discussions have been quite definite that this installation will stop working.

Now I'm uncertain whether I need to do some upgrade.

 

[johndon68]

Sage50 cloud accounts is just a newer name for the software that you have, the ‘cloud’ part of the name just refers to integration with Office 365.

As for the version not being affected, I’d heard something about this last week but hadn’t seen anything official from Sage. If it is true then there are going some really annoyed customers who have already upgraded when they didn’t need to…

Ultimately, the only ones who can conclusively tell you if you need to upgrade are Sage although you could be brave and see what happens on October 1…

John