iplicit vs Sage 50
Sage 50 does a solid job for smaller businesses. But as organisations grow — more entities, more users, more complex reporting — Sage 50 starts to show its limits. This guide explores the differences and what migration actually involves.
How they stack up
What drives Sage 50 customers to switch
Most Sage 50 migrations are triggered by one or more of these issues. Do any of these sound familiar?
- Finance team spending more time on workarounds than analysis
- Manual multi-entity consolidation taking days at month-end
- No remote access without Citrix or RDS infrastructure
- Performance degrading as transaction volumes grow
- Reliance on Excel exports for any meaningful reporting
- Separate licences for every entity adding unnecessary cost
The time savings are real
Finance teams typically save 100+ hours per month after migrating from Sage 50. See the breakdown below.
Check the Time Savings section below for detailed metrics.
How much time you could save
What customers achieved
"Faced an on-premises server at end-of-life and the risk of losing everything. Manual processes consumed finance team time. After iplicit, eliminated risks and freed up team capacity to focus on strategic work."
The Grand Theatre Blackpool
"Grown to £10m–£12m turnover; the legacy system couldn't keep up. Bank reconciliation went from half a day to five minutes. Management reporting is now real-time instead of a month-end scramble."
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Frequently asked questions
Is iplicit better than Sage 50?
For businesses outgrowing Sage 50 — particularly those with multiple entities, remote teams, or complex reporting needs — iplicit offers significantly more capability. Sage 50 remains suitable for single-entity businesses with straightforward requirements and low transaction volumes.
How long does migration from Sage 50 to iplicit take?
Implementation typically takes 16–18 days from project start to go-live. This includes full data migration with 7+ years of historical data.
Can I keep my chart of accounts when migrating from Sage 50?
Yes. Your chart of accounts, supplier and customer records, and historical transactions are all migrated. The process also gives you an opportunity to clean up dormant accounts and redundant nominal codes.
What happens to my Sage 50 data after migration?
Your Sage 50 installation remains available for reference. Historical data is migrated into iplicit, so you have a complete record in the new system. Most businesses keep Sage 50 accessible for 12 months as a safety net before decommissioning it.
Ready to explore the switch?
We’ll walk you through the benefits, the process, and costs. No sales pitch — just honest advice about whether this is the right move for your business.
Talk to a Tick9 consultant