Sage 200 Suite and Microsoft Dynamics NAV - A Comparison
The popularity of ERP (now more often called Business Management Suites) has increased significantly over the past few years as businesses endeavour to reduce error and inaccuracies and increase profitability and productivity.
ERP solutions have enabled businesses to streamline their internal processes - enabling them to reduce operating costs by being able to control inventory costs and lower production and marketing costs. ERP can also make the day to day management of a company easier.
Selecting Business Management Solution
Concentrix provides 'best in breed' ERP solutions, Sage 200 Suite and Microsoft Dynamics NAV and is a Sage Accredited Business Partner and a Microsoft Gold Partner. Both Sage 200 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV are extremely popular solutions, so how do they compare?
Sage 200 Suite
Sage 200 is a powerful suite of software which helps automate and bring together all the key processes in each area of a business: from marketing, sales and customer service, right through to finance, operations, projects and a whole range of other activities. Sage 200 is a business wide application, so rather than having to use several unconnected pieces of software to manage your business, Sage 200 enables you to manage your whole business from within one piece of software.
As an integrated solution, Sage 200 connects all the main functions of your business. Right from the beginning of the project, there will be massive enhancements in business process improvement. What's more, Sage 200 quickly delivers return on investment.
Sage 200 has two foundation modules as standard which are:
- Sage 200 Financials
- Sage 200 CRM
However there are a number of industry and process specific modules available including:
- Sage 200 Commercials
- Sage 200 Project Accounting
- Sage 200 Construction
- Sage 200 Manufacturing
- Sage 200 Point of Sale
- Sage 200 Wholesale and Retail
- Sage 200 Business Analysis & Forecasting
So how does Microsoft Dynamics NAV compare to Sage 200?
Microsoft Dynamics NAV
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is Microsoft's leading mid-market management solution in the UK. NAV is a highly flexible, intuitive product which when implemented correctly will structure your entire organisation to quickly deliver real, significant and measurable gains across your business.
By comparison to Sage 200, the design of Microsoft Dynamics NAV is based around people's roles and the tasks they perform. Essentially Microsoft Dynamics NAV works with people, the way they do their jobs, and the way they work in their departments.
What's more, Microsoft Dynamics NAV fully integrates all the business functions you need it to. The standard functionality of Microsoft Dynamics NAV includes financial management, supply chain management, manufacturing, sales, and marketing, human resource management, project management and service management. It is also a stand-alone accounting solution.
Which Solution is the best?
When you compare Sage 200 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV it really isn't a case of there being a 'best' solution as both the Sage 200 Suite and Microsoft Dynamics NAV are high quality solutions and both have their advantages. The key question is which solution best matches the requirements of your organisation?
Essentially, if implemented correctly both solutions will:
- Improve the productivity of your staff, your business and your existing IT
- Enable you to develop closer, more profitable relationships with your customers, suppliers and business partners
- Make better decisions through clear, accurate, up to date information - you'll know exactly what is happening within your business, whenever you need to
- Improve your short, medium and long-term business strategy
However, there are some key differences between the systems. Here is a summary comparison of Sage 200 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV:
| Function | Microsoft NAV 2009 | Sage 200 |
|---|---|---|
| Further information | Learn more about Microsoft Dynamics NAV | Learn more about Sage 200 |
| Security and Continuity Processing | Generally speaking, Microsoft is more secure than Sage 200 | Sage 200 only has application level security |
| Cash Management Summary | NAV does not have an e-banking functionality built into the solution, it is a third party add-on | The e-banking functionality within Sage allows a company to import and export files, as long as the banking software is supported by Sage |
| Receivables and Payables | NAV is more flexible as it allows entry of different payment methods | With Sage 200 there is limited flexibility |
| Sales | In NAV it is possible to copy and paste but this is not as efficient as the sales order duplication functionality provided by Sage | Has duplication functionality when entering a sales order which saves time |
| Sales Order Entry | Within NAV the flexibility and visibility of data in the order entry screen is more advanced than in Sage 200 | Sage 200 has three methods of sales order entry but these are fixed. |
| Marketing | Includes straightforward Customer Relationship Management software (which is not Microsoft Dynamics CRM) | The CRM functionality within Sage 200 is a standard module and all who purchase the Sage 200 suite receive a CRM license. What's more, the CRM within the 200 Suite is a fully functioning version of Sage CRM |
| Customer Accounts | Does not store information for a credit review as standard | Sage has a credit review section and allows the user to enter information such as:
|
| Warehousing | NAV provides full warehousing functionality. NAV has 2 warehousing options - basic and advanced | Sage can perform simple warehousing - in terms of measuring the volume of stock in each location |
| Payroll | Microsoft does not author payroll for NAV in the UK | Sage 200 is integrated with Sage Payroll |
Both Sage 200 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV have their advantages and differences and it a case of selecting the solution which is right for your organisation. However, with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, user uptake is likely to be higher as NAV has the same look and feel as other Microsoft products, and works closely with Microsoft outlook. This familiarity means that getting users up and running on the system is a quicker process. What's more, Microsoft Dynamics NAV works with all other Microsoft applications in your business such as the office suite and it is based around people's roles and the tasks they perform. The role tailored design of NAV is a significant advantage.
On the other hand, the Sage 200 suite is ideal for companies who have traditionally used accounting products such as Sage 50 and Line 100, as all data can be imported to the new system. What's more, Sage is a leading UK business Management software supplier and the weight of the Sage brand in the accounting world is more substantial than Microsoft, especially in the UK. In addition Sage 200 comes with Sage 200 CRM functionality as standard, this is something our have to pay for with the Microsoft solution.
More Information
For help and advice on selecting the solution which is right for your organisation, or for more information about Sage 200 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV, please contact Concentrix on 01509 410500 or email info@concentrix.co.uk