I don't use any of these options.  Nor do I plan on ever using them.  But yet every year I have to pay for them.  What I would like to know is how you can make the payroll module and option but you can't make these an option to purchase instead of making the program unaffordable to small businesses.

Hello JNS, thanks for reaching out! We do still offer the standard perpetual license at retail that doesn't 'have to be renewed. If you buy the "with payroll" option though, the software becomes a subscription product. Sage (similar to other software companies like Microsoft, SAP, Adobe, Apple, etc) has moved to a subscription model (SaAS), and payroll plus other cloud features are a part of this.

Sage 50 is no longer the smallest small business product (though it is the last "desktop" installable product we have for small business). Find out what differentiates Sage 50cloud from Sage | Accounting here.

I'll be posting a blog soon on how to do your payroll with Payment Evolution and send the entry to Sage | Accounting . Something like this could be a more reasonable option for you. Are you using Sage 50 Pro?

If you'd like me to review your account to see what might be possible, fill out this form (link expires June 29, 2018 at 11:00am*).

Thanks for your response Erzsi.  But I don't think you understand what I'm asking.  I would like to know why I have to pay $300/year for options that will never be used when it is possible to have them as add ons.  I know it can be done because the payroll is an add on.  Yes, I need the payroll.  We have up to 15 employees and when I called customer service they told me if I didn't like it to just do the payroll manually.  (really not good customer service).  We have Sage 50 Premium and it very much meets our needs.  And not only do I have to pay $300 more per year just to have these options available, there are additional charges if I ever decide to use them. 

I appreciate your offer to review my account but the link only brings me to a "how did I do" link.  Not sure how that is suppose to help

Good morning JNS, sorry for the delay. Thanks for your form response. I checked with our Sage 50 sales team. Your account has the service plan "Sage 50 with Support - Payroll SP" also known as a Gold plan.
 
This is different from the option for "Sage 50cloud w/ Support-Payroll" which would be about $70 more expensive (includes features like Sage | Accounting, Pegg, and Sage Drive). In other words, you are not paying for the add-on cloud features. We do offer various levels of options.

The only other add-on on your account, is the Payroll Tier 2 (15 employees vs the basic 10 employees) option. This would have cost you about $30.

Note that Sage | Accounting  is rapidly catching up to the features of Sage 50 (right now it's equivalent to the Pro edition, see this Sage 50 Product comparison). If you don't already have a consultant / partner knowledgeable with various software options / resources, I'd recommend finding one on Sage Match: https://app.sagematch.com/ it's always useful to know what other options are out there so that you know if you're getting the best value for your money.

I am enjoying Sage 50c Premium Accounting Canadian Edition because I just used to practice and do some exercises.

Thank you.