Today we’ll discuss one of the more popular accounting software packages available, Sage software. This line of software comes out of our beloved motherland England. We’ll start with a brief history of the company before we dive into the training information section. As usual other good tidbits will be shared along the way.
Sage accounting software has been around since the early 1980’s. Although in the beginning it was very small compared to what it is today. We always like to mention the start dates for these accounting packages, because we believe it is important that they age like any good cheese or wine. By aging these software packages work out a lot of the bugs. Unless you’re the adventurous type, you don’t want to be the first person using any sort of software.
Sage Line 50 is the basic model that sage offers. They have a line 50 plus and they also have a line 200. Most of Sage’s software is geared towards small and medium sized business.
List of Training Tools for Sage Line 50
The Sage Website: Who would have thought that the company who makes the software would also be a good place to go for training? Sage has the training area that consists of four types of people to train: Accountants, customers, partners, and developers.
Since you arrived at my blog, I’ll assume you are a customer or a potential customer of Sage. Sage offers several different types of training for Line 50. First you have to decide on whether you would prefer to meet in a classroom or if you would rather train yourself using a guide that Sage will provide for you. Note: if you want to meet in the classroom, you’ll likely have to travel to England.
For most of my readers, the training packages they offer will be the best choice. They have a Sage 50 Accounts Self Study training program that I would recommend for those interested in Sage Line 50 Training Courses. It will cost you around $150. This comes with four self-study workbooks and an 180 day version of Sage 50 so you can work through the workbooks with the program (a really good way to learn the material). One advantage of receiving your Line 50 training directly from Sage is that they can offer these 180 day versions for free for your practice.
YouTube Line 50 Trainings: Another good resource for understanding Sage 50 is YouTube. There is a lot of free content there and it is always nice to visualize how the program is working. The one beef I always have with YouTube is the training is scattered out all over the place. Most videos are 5 minutes long at max and then you’ll have to chase down another video and hope that it isn’t teaching the same thing the last one was. You get what you pay for.
Training-Classes.com: Another good online resource that tracks down training classes in multiple areas. Just go to their home page and type in “Sage Line 50 Training.” You can then check to see if there are training options available in your area.
Activia: These guys have made a living off of providing trainings, so you know that they are good at it. Just head over to activia.com and look for line 50 training options. They have separated out their trainings into three levels; introduction, intermediate, and advanced. They also give you the option to meet at one of the Activia centers or they will come to your office for training, though the latter option is obviously more expensive.
That completes the guide. We must admit we were unable to find anywhere that offered the training in the United States. It is an English company so it makes sense that most of the training would be over across seas. For those in the USA, you’re better off purchasing the self-help tutorials (unless you want to take a vacation to certify yourself in an accounting program). If you want to do that, you are more of a nerd than we are.
