Sage 50 and Sage cloud services licensing covers the products Sage sells to small businesses. In the United States, Sage 50 is desktop accounting software licensed by Sage Software, Inc. under the Sage 50 End User License Agreement. It is sold mainly as a subscription, with Sage-hosted access under separate Sage 50 Hosted Terms of Service.[1][3] In the UK and Ireland, Sage 50 Accounts and Sage 50 Payroll are a different code base under a different agreement. That agreement has three parts: a fixed term licence (Part A) and two subscription forms (Parts B and C).[4] Sage’s UK cloud products, including Sage Accounting, Sage Payroll, Sage HR and Sage Sole Trader, share one set of Sage Cloud Services Terms of Service.[5]
Editions
Sage 50 (US)
| Plan | Users | Notable additions |
|---|---|---|
| Pro Accounting | 1 | Core accounting, inventory, job management |
| Premium Accounting | 1 to 5 | Multiple companies, advanced budgeting, audit trails |
| Quantum Accounting | 1 to 40 | Role-based permissions, workflow, project management |
The pricing page sets out these plans and states that each requires a minimum one-year commitment. It describes the subscription as “an annual subscription with a lease to the software license”, so the software can be used only while the plan is active.[2] The EULA lists other versions: a not-for-resale/demo version for partners, an accountant edition under Sage for Accountants, educator and student versions, and a 30-day trial.[1] Catalog SKUs: Sage 50 Pro Accounting, Sage 50 Premium Accounting, Sage 50 Quantum Accounting.
Some versions can be bought as a subscription, some as a perpetual licence, and some either way. A subscription gives access to the most current version for as long as the recurring fees are paid. A perpetual licence gives “indefinite access to the version you’ve purchased”, but updates cost extra.[1]
Sage 50 (UK and Ireland)
The UK agreement applies Part A to fixed term or perpetual licences, Part B to subscriptions for Sage Accounts and Sage Payroll, and Part C to subscriptions for Sage 50cloud. It defines a perpetual licence period as 15 calendar years.[4] Sage UK’s product page sells Sage 50 Accounts in Standard and Professional plans, with users added on request for additional fees.[7] The subscription part caps Sage 50 Accounts Essentials at two Users and one company.[4]
Sage cloud services (UK)
Sage Accounting has three plans: Start for one user, Standard for three users and Plus for unlimited users. After introductory offers, the standard monthly prices are GBP 20, 43 and 59 excluding VAT.[6] Catalog SKUs: Sage Accounting Start, Sage Accounting Standard, Sage Accounting Plus.
Metrics
- Sage 50 User (US): “a person that is listed in the software’s maintenance screen”.[1] The hosted service instead uses a named-individual User with a subscription.[3]
- Sage 50 User (UK): an individual authorised to use the Services with a user identification and password, alongside limits on companies and employees.[4]
- User (Sage Cloud Services): “a named human authorised by you to use the Services and the Documentation, for whom you have purchased a subscription”.[5]
Counting / floors
Sage 50 (US): users and devices
A single-user licence may be installed on one device and used by one user. An extra licence may be ordered for backup or remote use on another device, but the two may not be used at the same time. With more users, the software may be installed on as many devices as users paid for, or on a local network or server. Either way, “the number of devices permitted to access the software must equal the number of users you’ve paid for”, and no user may use more than one device at the same time.[1] A device is “a hardware system (whether physical or virtual)”, and a hardware partition or blade counts as one. Users may be replaced without new licences, but a licence may not be shared.[1] The Remote Data Access add-on allows one extra installation.[1] Catalog proof: Sage 50 (US) devices must equal users paid for.
Payroll features may be used only for the number of employees purchased, and Sage may check this automatically. Payroll may not be run for third parties, except in the accountant edition.[1]
Sage 50 (US): activation, renewal and read-only mode
The licence must be registered and activated within 15 days or the software is disabled. Subscriptions need periodic internet access to confirm the subscription is still active.[1] If a subscription is not paid, the software and data revert to read-only mode, in which users can view records but cannot create or change them. A subscriber may terminate on 30 days notice, after which the software becomes read-only.[1] The pricing page adds that a terminating customer receives a pro-rated refund, keeps read-only access to data, and must stay on the current version to keep the subscription.[2] First-time customers can get a full refund within 60 days of payment.[1] Catalog proof: Sage 50 (US) must be activated within 15 days; Sage 50 (US) subscriptions revert to read-only when they lapse.
Sage 50 (UK): users, companies and employees
Under the subscription terms the product may be used only for the agreed number of employees, the specified number of companies and the number of Users, “whether named or concurrent”, in the Documentation.[4] A “company” is “a single set of your own records and information containing a unique VAT, PAYE or applicable sales tax or income tax reference number”, and an “employee” is anyone managed in the software, whether or not still employed. A single-user licence allows one User on one computer. A multi-user licence, sometimes called a concurrent user licence, allows up to the licensed number of Users at any one time.[4]
Increases take effect at once and are charged pro rata. Reductions lower the fee only from the end of the following calendar month for monthly subscribers. Annual, 24-month and 36-month subscribers see the reduction from their next payment date, provided it is at least 30 days away; otherwise it is deferred for another 12 months.[4]
Part A requires activation with an “activation code” issued after registration, and re-activation at the end of a fixed licence period on payment of the current fees. A user who runs the software on a laptop away from the premises needs an extra licence, and Sage may visit premises in office hours to check systems and records when it has evidence of a possible breach.[4] Catalog proof: Sage 50 (UK) is activated with an activation code; Sage 50 (UK) laptop use away from premises needs an extra licence per user.
Cloud services (UK): named users and Service Plans
Each User of the UK cloud services needs a subscription “on a named basis only”, which cannot be shared but may be reassigned when a user leaves. Sage may monitor use against subscription limits.[5] If a customer exceeds the volume limits of its Service Plan, Sage may move it to a higher plan or invoice the extra volume pro rata to the end of the term. Sage must give at least 30 days notice of fee changes, and payment obligations are non-cancellable and non-refundable.[5] Fixed term subscriptions renew unless either party gives 30 days notice before the end of the term. Subscriptions without a fixed term run until either party gives 30 days notice.[5] Catalog proof: Sage cloud services (UK) are licensed per named User; Sage cloud services (UK) renew or run until 30 days notice.
Audit and transfer
The US EULA lets Sage audit use “at any time”; underpaid fees are payable at the price list in effect at the time of the audit.[1] In the UK, Sage says its software licences are non-transferable. Used software that was registered to someone else does not give the buyer a licence, and Sage will not issue a new serial number for software bought outside authorised channels.[8] Catalog proof: Sage may audit Sage 50 (US) use at any time; Sage UK software licences are non-transferable.
Virtualization & partitioning
Sage 50 (US) may not be used with hardware or software that multiplexes or pools connections to get around user or device limits, and its features may not be virtualised separately. Premium and Quantum Accounting may run in a Windows terminal server environment only as the documentation requires.[1] Because a virtual system counts as a device, each virtual desktop that runs Sage 50 counts toward the device limit. Catalog proof: Sage 50 (US) forbids multiplexing and limits terminal server use.
Cloud / BYOL
Customers who host the US desktop software with a third party get no Sage support for problems that relate to the hosting.[1] Sage’s own hosted Sage 50 is a separate time-based subscription under the Sage 50 Hosted Terms of Service, in which each User must have a valid subscription and Sage may monitor use.[3] The UK cloud services are hosted by Sage, so bring-your-own-licence does not apply.
Programs
- Sage Business Care: included with a US subscription and available separately for perpetual licences. It runs for 12-month terms that renew automatically and covers support and certain updates. Cancelling it removes payroll features, Remote Data Access, integrations, support and updates, and puts a subscriber’s software into read-only mode.[1]
- Remote Data Access, formerly Sage Drive: shares company data over the internet during the Sage Business Care term.[1]
- Sage for Accountants: the accountant edition, open to licensed CPAs and bookkeepers who serve US businesses. It may not be installed on a client’s device, but the accountant may open a client’s files with the client’s own licence.[1]
Out of scope
This article does not cover Sage 50 in Canada, Sage payroll and direct deposit services provided by third parties, Sage Expenses, or the Sage Payroll Services addenda.