Sage targets SMEs with cloud-based accounts suite

Sage has unveiled a cloud-only offering aimed at sole traders and SMEs as the firm looks to enhance its cloud strategy with more software-as-a-service tools.

Sage One is designed for businesses wanting to move beyond paper-based accounting or simple tools like Excel, and has three modules.

Cashbook allows firms to keep track of finances such as banking information and transactions with customers and suppliers, and costs £5 per month plus VAT.

Accounts gives small businesses the ability to manage accounts, create and send invoices and calculate VAT returns, and costs £10 a month plus VAT.

Accountant Edition allows companies to give accountants access to their information, and costs £250 a year for accountants or free to Accountant Club members.

Simon Black, online managing director at Sage, explained that Sage One has been in development since 2009, and in beta testing with customers since July 2010, and addresses a key need in the SME space.

"Most small businesses don't want to spend time managing their accounts, and want a straightforward system to give them the confidence that they are managing their money correctly," he said at a launch event today.

"We gathered feedback from over 100 small companies to get their thoughts on what they want most from a product like this to help them run their businesses more effectively."

Updates to the product will be delivered throughout the year as Sage responds to customer feedback and follows its own roadmap of adding extra functionality, according to Black.

Paul Stobart, chief executive for northern Europe at Sage, explained that Sage One represents a new era for the company as it attempts to build up its online presence.

"This product is very important as it's a fundamental building block in Sage's emerging web strategy," he said.

"In the next 12 to 24 months we will be moving a lot of our applications aimed at the middle market to the cloud so that customers in this space will have the choice to access the tools online or stay with on-premise systems."

Sage One is built on the Ruby On Rails web app framework, and is compatible with Mac or PC and all web browsers.