Sage 300 CRE - Lack of Any Real Updates or Enhancements

We have been a long-time user of Sage 300 CRE (10+ years).  The upgrade and product enhancement process has always been poor, and it seems to have gotten progressively worse in the past few years.  I'd go as far as to say it's egregious - users pay thousands of dollars a year for upgrades and product support, yet all Sage seems to ever do is fix a glitch here and there.  For instance, users have been asking for Sage to make the font bigger in certain windows, or give us more characters on certain lines - even simple fixes like that are ignored, version after version after version.  We pay what I consider over-priced annual support (now it's at 22% of license costs??) for an utter lack of product enhancements and development.  I ask my fellow Sage users, is my company the only one that is absolutely incensed over this?  And I ask Sage - are you trying to sunset this product, and you're just not letting your users know?  Has the budget for Sage 300 development been slashed down to nothing?  A few weeks ago, I saw a thread pop up about this same issue, and the powers that be over at Sage quickly shut it down.  All I know, is we are SICK AND TIRED of paying exorbitant fees every year and getting little to no product enhancements in return.  It's almost criminal...

  • I agree! It's has an archaic feel and look that needs to be updated. The small font windows definitely need to be changed. The small, courier font on reports too needs to be updated.

  • Same... We have used Sage 300 since 2000. And NOTHING really has changed. Litte bit here and there....

  • Agree 100%. This is only our 4th year, but the changes made are so marginal compared to other products. From what I understand the product is so old with so many different programmers and things just patched together that what seems simple to us (i.e. adding more characters) is nearly impossible for them.  I am going to look into down grading our support package, because honestly I get more real answers from other users and user groups.

  • Agreed. Paying $2,500 a year for support (which we don't use) and upgrades (nearly non-existent) is a joke.

    We've been using Sage CRE 300 since 2003. It was expensive to purchase, and is expensive to maintain each year. I have no idea how competing construction software packages compare in terms of purchase price, maintenance costs, ease of use, etc.

  • in reply to Siegfried A

    I wish we only paid $2,500. Our Gold package is more than 4 times that. I just inquired about changing plans, but from what I see online they only have 2.

  • Every year, I ask why we pay so much in annual support for a system that has not progressed over time. Our company has had Sage 300 since 1999 and I have been using it since 2010. The Gold package is soooo expensive. I agree it does have an archaic feel and look.

  • in reply to Pati Guajardo

    I just inquired about down -grading our plan. And there are  really only 2 plans, Silver and Gold. With Silver you get 5 tickets per year and Gold is unlimited. There is only about a 10% pricing difference, which would make most people choose the Gold. The only upside is they apparently offer installment plans, which I had never been offered before. I would much rather have a pay as you go scenario with some kind of basic fee each year.

  • I agree 100%, especially since it's time to pony up our annual fee (silver) for $7500. We have been a user since 1997 and the interface has changed minimally since then and the price of the maintenance plan has increased exponentially for what I would call a sub-par product. They used to have a third-level lower priced plan that didn't include any tickets (which was fine for us) but they discontinued that plan years ago. Instead of improving their base product, it seems like they like to add new programs (ie Service Operations) so they can get you to pay more, or you end up adding an outside program like Timberscan. I dread having to upgrade every year, with all the time and hassles, only to be disappointed that there is no noticeable difference in the upgraded version. If I wasn't such an old dog nearing retirement, I would probably look into moving to a different program altogether.

  • Agree 100%. I've only been using the software since December 2015 but my company has been using also 10+ years now. Our Contract Administrator has asked for several enhancements over the years but hasn't seen any.  One thing that bugs her is running out of characters when setting up a new client or subcontractors. When a companies legal names exceeds the characters allowed they don't always like how we have to abbreviate their name. I've used other accounting software that when you run a Financial Statement on your screen you can drill down to find out what is behind the numbers. In order for me to find out what makes a number on a Financial Statement I need to go into Financial Statement Designer first to see which accounts are grouped together. Then I can go into the GL and look at those entries but since the GL doesn't give me any real detail as it posts entries into groups, I then need to look into AP transactions, GL Reconciliation and the list goes on and on.

  • Also 100% agree.  15+ year User.  No noticeable improvements.  Font size awful.  I now operate at 125% zoom at all times & while reconciling bank, using 150% to avoid a migraine.  Would definitely like to see some improvements!!    If it wasn't so expensive to switch, we would have done that years ago.  For small simple companies, we use Sage50...it's continually upgraded.  I just can't believe that Sage300 doesn't have some of the basic features Sage50 does...example - 1 touch "email direct deposit stub" for payroll.

  • I'm glad that a lot of other users feel the same way.  The question is:  Is Sage going to do anything about this, or keep forcing its user base to pay exorbitant fees for getting next to no upgrades or product enhancements, year after year?  This is software is some of the priciest on the market, not to mention the annual upgrade/support fees... what are we getting for it???  Whose attention does this have to be brought to in order for some real changes to occur??

  • Thank you, everyone, for these forum posts concerning the state of Sage 300 Construction & Real Estate. First and foremost, we want to assure you all that Sage is committed to, and continues to, invest in Sage 300 CRE. That said, we hear you loud and clear, and want to respond to your concerns regarding the state of the 300 CRE product and services.

    To that end, Sage will be holding a series of webcasts to answer all your questions and provide visibility of the product roadmap. These webcasts will be hosted by Sage product management and leadership with an opportunity for live Q&A. Please reach out to me either through SageCity or by email for an invite to those sessions, my email address is [email protected].

    Thank you, 

    Phil

    Phillip Wiering

    Product Manager

    Construction and Real Estate

    Sage

  • in reply to Phillip Wiering

    I could not agree more about the opinions expressed in this thread.  Sage 300 really needs to step up their game or they will be losing us, and based on this thread many others, as a customer.  After 15+ years, the complacency is just sad.  I've expressed my frustrations so often to Sage that I don't even bother any longer.  Supplementing deficiencies with third party software is NOT the solution.  I am now looking into processing ACH payments.  I plan on reaching out to support, but I already know the answer will be another product to purchase.  So very frustrating!

  • in reply to Phillip Wiering

    Phillip-

    I'd like to be included please.

  • in reply to Phillip Wiering

    Do you know how may Sage CRE Product Roadmaps I have listed to since 2008?  I was even in the control group that tested Mobile Projects and then tried Project Connector.  I'm like the others I have heard so many promises and enhancements that never happened. We pay over $10,000 a year basically for the payroll and tax updates.  We could even drop licenses but our support doesn't get reduced - just increases annually.  Until we actually GET some real enhancements the support price should be REDUCED.  

  • I also agree. 

  • Thank you, Pyramid Masonry, we could not agree more.  Our company purchased Sage (actually Timberline) in 1998.  I have to say things were better BEFORE Sage bought Timberline.   Support has become worse and worse, and we have been forced to build so many workarounds ourselves to make up for the deficiencies in this system,  it is ridiculous.  I am retiring, and have once again suggested strongly to the  owner that Sage be dumped as soon as possible.  Just one example of our biggest complaints -- in Accounts Payable, lien waivers do not include credit amounts.   We have begged repeatedly for this to be corrected, but both Sage knowledgebase and Sage Support offer only one solution:  go through all lien waivers after they are corrected, and recreate manually any that need to be adjusted to include credits.  Bogus!  I even got so far as a Vice President at one time on another issus, and asked for a resolution to the lien waiver problem, and suddenly, he ghosted me.  No further response to my e-mails, nothing.

    To Mr. Philip Weiring, I say, Sage Support for 300CRE would be a joke, if it weren't so sad.   Product Roadmaps, my eye!

    This is probably the most aggressive, confrontational business correspondence I have written in the 47 years since I have been working.   I prefer to be more professional, and cooperative.  Unfortunately, I have given up on Sage responsiveness. 

    Patty Ciresi, (Lame Duck) Controller for Storms-McMullen Electric, Inc. in Indianapolis, IN.

         

  • in reply to pec

    Very well said - agree 100%

  • Agreed! The annual increase in fees is outrageous. We are in the process of pricing other construction software.

  • I agree 100%! The annual fee increases are outrageous. We now pay over $9,000 a year and we are currently pricing other software options.

  • in reply to Kimberley W

    Kimberley W, we switched to Sage last year and I still dislike the program.  We were with A-Systems and I loved it.  The support was $150 a month for UNLIMITED support.  And they could answer the questions immediately.  No, let me look into it and no our system will not do that. All I can say about Sage is they have one heck of a sales team that sell the owners on reports that are special and the people actually doing the work have to put up with a system that doesn't work well.  I say I used to drive a cadillac and now, with Sage, I feel like I am riding a tricycle. We spent a lot of money on a system that doesn't improve. 

  • I started as a Timberline user.  They were wonderful.  Sage bought them out and little by little support has gotten worse, the yearly fees are excessive and there are little to no enhancements.  They farmed out the payroll reports, W-2's etc to Aatrix which is an additional fee yearly but you still have to pay the yearly fee for the payroll module.  I do have to say we are looking around.  I feel like I need to put my money where my mouth is.  Very discouraging.

  • I couldn't agree more with the opinions offered in these posts. I have been using Sage 300 CRE since 2013 and since that time there have been no real updates in the software, other than Sage Desktop which arrived with it's own set of issues. I thought the software interface seemed outdated when I began using it in 2013 and the software is essentially exactly the same as it was when I began using it.. Whenever new features are offered, they almost always require an additional purchase or yearly fee of some sort. I remember when you would be able to call support and the first person you spoke to could provide you with the necessary information to correct the issue you were facing. You call now, have to wait for the call back, then speak to someone who is most likely going to find or suggest a workaround rather than correcting the actual problem. All while the annual support fees continue increasing.

  • I agree.  I don't want to give away my age, but I have been using Timberline/Sage300 for 30 years.  It is great for construction accounting and being able to tweak reports and not be limited to the canned reports is wonderful.  It is a great product that needs routine maintenance/updates to be kept current.  It is a shame they don't spend the time and or investment to keep it fresh and up to date.  The bones are good and they have a good foundation to work with.  The thing that makes me the most frustrated is when there are great products like Office Connector that you have to pay to add and license.  These new products should be included as part of your annual support/upgrade package.  Printing to Excel has been an issue since day one.  It would be nice for them to include these types of upgrades for the amount of money spent on the annual updates or something exciting rather than the standard fixes.

  • in reply to Laura Berndt

    I fully agree with this frustration. Not having drill-down capability is very frustrating.