19/01/2011

By Max Clarke

Leading business software and service provider, Sage UK, today unveiled Sage One, the industry's eagerly anticipated and newest family of software as a service tools that are set to give small business owners a simple, secure, low cost way to manage their finances and collaborate with their accountants in real-time.

Sage One has been developed with customers at its heart and sole traders, small business owners and accountants have all been involved from the beginning in shaping the feature set, design and language. Sage One offers three different services, tailored to particular requirements:

Sage One Cashbook - Allows sole traders and cash-based businesses to manage customers and suppliers, enter transactions, record banking, and share data with their accountant.

Sage One Accounts - Provides the ability to create invoices, calculate and submit VAT returns online and view a snapshot of business performance. Ideal for small business owners who want greater control over their accounts.

Sage One Accountant Edition - Gives accountants anywhere, anytime access to client data and the ability to work collaboratively with clients in real time. Sage One Accountant Edition gives accountants the tools they need to save time, while providing their clients with a great experience.

According to Simon Black, Managing Director of Sage Online: "The launch of Sage One is a significant addition to Sage's online software and services. What's most exciting about it is the feedback from our beta customers as we're providing a real boost to their business and enabling them to manage their accounts in a way that suits them. That's why we believe Sage One will meet and exceed the expectations of a new generation of sole traders, small businesses and entrepreneurs that see the web as a natural way to work."


Unrivalled value for money:

With no upfront costs, no installation charges, no maintenance or support fees and free, automatic upgrades, the Sage One pricing model is well suited to business owners who want to spread costs and manage their cash flow. Sage One is one of the industry's best value for money accounting software packages:

Sage One Cashbook: only £5.00 per month (plus VAT)

Sage One Accounts: only £10.00 per month (plus VAT)

Sage One Accountant Edition is free to all Sage Accountants' Club members and just £250 per annum for non-members.


24/7 Telephone Support:

Sage One requires no formal training and is easy to use. However, free 24 hour support is available, either on the phone, via email or on the web, giving business users and accountants access to Sage's unrivalled infrastructure of professional expertise and software support whenever they need it.

"At Sage, we believe service and support are just as important as software. We understand that the type of business that needs Sage One doesn't necessarily work 9-5, which is why Sage One comes with 24/7 telephone support. We will be there at anytime to provide our customers with the advice, reassurance and guidance they need. We believe our commitment to peace of mind will be of significant appeal to Sage One customers and their accountants," added Sage's Simon Black.


Customer Centric Innovation:

Sage One has been built from scratch, using Sage's deep expertise and the latest web technologies to address specific customer pain points.

Sole-traders, small business owners and accountants have been directly involved in the development of Sage One. Their regular input helped the Sage One team shape everything from look and feel to language, giving users all the functionality they need to organise their business, presented in a way they understand.

Mat Peck, Head of R&D for Sage One, explained: "Getting customers involved from the outset has been invaluable in helping us get Sage One right, and building a development team capable of meeting and exceeding their expectations was just as important."

Sage One has a simple, flexible architecture with an appealing look and feel, developed using Ruby on Rails. It is the first software release by Sage UK that is designed to support both Mac and PC, and features highly customisable options, including invoice layout to help users present a professional, organised image to customers. Designed specifically for business users who want to take control of their finances without needing any accounting knowledge or IT skills, settings are automatically tailored to customer requirements to ensure users get the view that's right for them.

Security and quality of design have been built into Sage One from the ground up, including rigorous vulnerability testing throughout development, and 128 bit encryption to safeguard the integrity of data in transit.

For further information, or to sign up to a free 30 day trial, please visit: www.sageone.com