Sage has announced the availability of Sage Expenses and Invoicing app for Sage One on Apple devices. The new app is available on both the iPad and iPhone and is free to download.
The new app allows small business to complete expenses and invoices easily without using spreadsheets or Word documents to generate the invoice. It also inserts the invoice and data into Sage One accounts system. This eliminates transcription errors and ensures that business owners are able to see all the transactions occurring across their business in real time.
Availability of Expenses and Invoicing
Customers of Sage One are able to access and use the app by subscribing to Sage One Start. This is currently priced at £3 per month for the first three months and £6 per month thereafter. Sage One Start is for sole traders. It has limited functionality compared to Sage One accounting (£10 per month for the first three months, £20 thereafter). These prices were correct as of publication and may vary.
The apps will initially be available in the US and UK markets. There is no timescale as to when Sage will extend the app to other regions. However, it is expected to happen over the next few months.
Point of Sale software available
Executive Vice President, Product Management at Sage
As Sage extends its relationship with Apple it is also engaging more deeply with other Apple partners. One of these is Talech, a cloud-based iPad point of sale software solution. Talech is aimed at the retail and restaurant business. It allows customers to take orders, accept payments and manage inventory using a simple interface. Talech now integrates with Sage One, integrating sales data into the financial applications in real time. This eliminates the necessity for importing and exporting data or even the rekeying of it. There is little information available about what the integration actually consists of and which application holds the master data.
Head of Business Development, Al Echamendi at Talech said: “We are excited about the potential this brings to our shared customers. We believe the corner store should know as much about their business as the big box retailers or ecommerce sites, so they can make smart business decisions. Partnering with Sage allows us to further empower small- and medium-sized businesses owners with the tools and insights they need to be successful.”
Start-up competition
Attendees at the Business Start-Up event which finishes today 18th November can also enter a start-up competition. Entrants will submit a five minute video pitch at the event. The finalists will pitch their idea to an expert panel on January 12th 2017. This will happen at the MicroBiz Rocks press conference in London. The winner will receive a large start-up package. This includes one-year’s free consulting, hardware, membership of the Sage Club for business builders and promotion throughout 2017
Nick Goode, EVP of Product Management at Sage said: “This is a step change for the consumer and as the champion of business builders, Sage is proud to be part of this new way for them to make decisions about the apps they employ to manage their business. Apps that are perfect for business builders is the fulfilment of our vision for entrepreneurs, who would otherwise never dream of using accounting software”.
Conclusion
Sage are not the only accounting company to deliver invoices and expenses on Apple devices. Xero, FreshBooks and Quickbooks also have the functionality. While Sage may have caught up with the competition it will be intriguing what they do next. Pure expenses firms are starting to compete with companies they once expected to integrate into. Expensify and smaller firms like Abacus may need to evolve in an increasingly competitive market.
