Sage — Sage Timberline Office

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From the July 2009 Review of Construction/Contractor Accounting Systems

Sage Timberline Office offers mid-sized and larger construction and real estate businesses with a high-end, thoroughly comprehensive collection of accounting and management applications. With more than 50 available modules for everything from the basics of GL, AP, AR and payroll, to more industry-specific ones for job costing, project management, estimating, procurement, service management and real estate, the Sage Timberline Office suite is an exceptionally powerful solution that offers strong analytics and process controls, along with integration with many of Sage’s other business solutions. Pricing is dependent on the specific modules selected and number of users, but can range from $7,500 up to several times that. Sage Software also offers a construction industry version of its Peachtree Premium for small entities, and the Sage Master Builder system for mid-sized construction firms.

Learning Curve/Ease of Use:
As an enterprise application, Sage Timberline Office should be implemented with the assistance of a Sage Timberline Office Channel Partner in order to maximize the benefits the program has to offer construction firms. The program opens into a crisp interface comprised of a customizable My Tasks panel, which offers expandable links to the various modules, reporting, searches and online assistance. An additional Explorer-style expandable menu tree is also displayed, giving more access options to key modules, common tasks and specific functions, such as billing, cash management, job costing, estimating tools and inventory. When within top-level screens for modules, the main work area displays key business information with text and graphs, offering drilldown access to more specific detailed data. This main panel is also used for transaction and data-entry functions, as well as for displaying reports, and includes various icons for searching or emailing a document, along with other tasks.

Menus are very easy to tailor to user needs and can even include links to other applications and external websites. Users simply drag and drop items from either the master task list or a website address bar. Customization options extend throughout the program, including transaction screens and customer and vendor information tracking, with the ability to create more than 250 user-defined fields for various data.

While users have the ability to customize their interfaces, they are only able to access and work with functions for which they are specifically authorized. Likewise, interface access options can be applied across company divisions, departments and roles. For the most senior personnel, Sage Timberline Office includes an Owner Financial Summary that offers access to all features and functions, but with a focus on top-level financials and activities, such as AR, contract, job profit, estimating and billing summaries. Various snapshots and dashboards provide quick access to key data.

Key Modules & Management Tools:
Underlying its construction and real estate management features, Sage Timberline Office features a thoroughly integrated accounting and business management system that includes general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing, cash management, payroll, reporting, document management and financial statement generation. The program also offers mobile scheduling and time entry functions, and integrates with other Sage products for time-based billing, advanced CRM, fixed asset management and payment solutions.