Accounting vs. ERP

If you need a robust accounting solution, Sage Intacct is worth considering. As a best-in-class solution, Sage Intacct specializes in accounting and offers extensive financial management capabilities. It is the only financial management software endorsed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Sage Intacct provides some operational functionality, and while its capabilities are continuously improving, the software may not meet all the requirements of companies with complex operational needs. 

Acumatica is a traditional ERP solution that offers financial management features and functionality for project accounting, inventory management, manufacturing, distribution, and field service. It has broad capabilities to fulfill many needs for your business while maintaining a centralized data structure. Many of Acumatica’s features benefit product-oriented, retail, manufacturing, and distribution companies. 

With this in mind, Sage Intacct is a good fit for professional service organizations, while Acumatica is helpful for businesses that manage physical products. 

Pricing

Unlike most ERP solutions, Acumatica uses resource-based pricing. This means you pay for the number of transactions you process through the software, not the number of people using the software.

Think of this model like a home utility bill; you pay based on the amount of electricity or water you use, not the number of people living in your house. 

This model benefits rapidly growing or seasonal businesses with a fluctuating number of users. However, it does make future costs unpredictable. 

Acumatica also structures its pricing in tiers, with a maximum transaction number for each tier. You’ll be charged for the extra usage if you have several busy months and go over your transaction limit more than three times a year. 

While Acumatica won’t force you to upgrade to the next tier, the software will slow down and perform poorly when you reach the transaction limit for your current price tier. 

Sage Intacct follows more traditional pricing; you pay an annual subscription fee for the modules you’ve purchased and the number of users you have. Your subscription cost will increase as you activate more modules and onboard more users. But the cost is predictable, and you can use the software as much as you’d like without fear of exceeding your transaction limit.  

There are pros and cons to both solutions regarding pricing, so it’s best to check with your team before making a software decision. Who will be using this software? How often will users need to access it? What features are most important? 

Deployment Options

Sage Intacct is solely a cloud-based solution. Sage Intacct cannot be deployed on-premise or hosted in a cloud environment managed by another organization. It is an authentic multi-tenant product, meaning every Sage Intacct customer is always on the same software version. 

Acumatica is a cloud-first solution, but it can also be deployed on servers at your office location or hosted on cloud servers managed by a third-party cloud hosting provider. In that sense, Acumatica offers flexibility for companies that aren’t prepared for a full-cloud experience. No matter your deployment option, you’ll pay for Acumatica with a software as a service (SaaS) model.  

If you opt for Sage Intacct or the cloud version of Acumatica, you’ll benefit from automatic software updates, hands-off server maintenance, high-level security, backups, and disaster recovery. You’ll also cut down on your hardware and IT needs. 

Upgrades

Acumatica and Sage Intacct offer rapid upgrade cycles, regularly developing new capabilities in addition to bug fixes and service packs. If you want exciting new features, Sage Intacct pulls ahead of Acumatica, offering four upgrades a year over Acumatica’s two. 

For Sage Intacct and Acumatica cloud users, upgrades are deployed automatically at no additional cost to you and with no downloads or installation required. For Acumatica’s other deployment options (on-premise or hosted in the cloud), upgrades must be scheduled with your Acumatica partner. You may incur fees for the service work associated with the upgrade. 

Sum It Up

Sage Intacct is a proven accounting powerhouse. For functionality outside of Sage Intacct’s accounting stack, the software offers extensive integration capabilities to synchronize it with third-party solutions to get additional features you need (like inventory or sales management). Sage Intacct is committed to the cloud and produces valuable upgrades four times a year. 

Acumatica is a cloud-based ERP solution that offers traditional ERP functionality and specialized editions for specific industries. Acumatica offers flexible deployment options, including on-premise, cloud-hosted, and fully managed cloud deployment. The company uses resource-based pricing, where you pay for the number of transactions you process through the software, not the number of people using the software. 

At Cargas, our expert consulting team specializes in ERP and financial management solutions, including Sage Intacct. As a Sage Intacct Premier Partner, Cargas has been recognized for its exceptional growth, customer satisfaction, and strategic expertise. If you’re struggling to determine which of these solutions is the best fit for your business, we’d love to help. Let’s connect to talk about your needs and what you’re looking for in a software solution.