I was excited to try Sage 50 Pro Accounting 2023, hoping it would simplify my small business finances. The promise of easy payroll, inventory management, and cash flow tracking sounded perfect. But reality hit hard.

The payroll feature? Basically a bait-and-switch. The box says it includes payroll, but after 30 minutes on hold with support, I still couldn’t get a straight answer on how much the actual payroll subscription would cost. Not cool.

Data transfer from QuickBooks was a disaster. My previously closed checking accounts suddenly showed insane balances (hundreds of thousands!), and my active account was off by $1.4 million. Bad debts magically reappeared in accounts receivable. Fixing this mess manually is a nightmare—I can’t even trust my own books now.

Customer support? Worse than useless. They couldn’t find my account, locked me out of my own data, and then had the nerve to ask if I wanted to pay for a service contract to fix their mess. Paying $240 upfront only to get locked out after 8 months feels like a scam.

If you’re considering Sage 50 Pro, run the other way. There are better options out there that won’t hold your financial data hostage.