Sage alternatives in the UK: prices and fit

Sage alternatives in the UK: the short answer

A Sage alternative fits a UK business that needs stock control, a point of sale and CRM in one system, or one person who only needs a low-cost ERP. As of 10 November 2026 Sage Accounting lists Start at GBP 20, Standard at GBP 43 and Plus at GBP 59 per month plus VAT. Skyline Nexus ERP Solo lists at GBP 15 per month plus VAT.

Sage Accounting submits VAT returns to HMRC under Making Tax Digital and offers UK payroll; Skyline Nexus ERP does neither today. That difference decides the choice for many UK businesses, so this page sets out both the prices and the gaps.

Sage Accounting UK pricing as of 10 November 2026

These are the regular monthly prices shown on the Sage Accounting UK page on 10 November 2026, excluding 20% VAT. Sage also showed an introductory offer of 90% off for 10 months, after which the regular price applies; the page said customers who skip the offer can take one month free on Start, Standard or Plus instead.

• Sage Accounting Start: GBP 20 per month, one user. With the offer, GBP 2 per month for 10 months.
• Sage Accounting Standard: GBP 43 per month, three users. With the offer, GBP 4.30 per month for 10 months.
• Sage Accounting Plus: GBP 59 per month, unlimited users, described for businesses managing inventory or working in multiple currencies, now including payroll. With the offer, GBP 5.90 per month for 10 months.
• Payroll is listed per plan from one or five employees plus GBP 1.85 per extra employee per month.
• Receipt capture is listed with 30 or 100 approved captures included, then GBP 0.20 per capture.

What Sage does that Skyline Nexus ERP does not

Sage Accounting is Making Tax Digital ready and calculates and submits VAT returns. Skyline Nexus ERP prepares a VAT return form and VAT reports from your sales and purchases, but direct MTD filing is being rolled out; until then you submit through MTD bridging software or your accountant's MTD software.

Sage also lists UK payroll with HMRC compliance and pension auto-enrolment, Construction Industry Scheme returns, receipt capture and multi-currency banking. Skyline Nexus ERP has no UK payroll, no CIS filing and no bank feeds; bank statements are imported as files and matched on screen.

• MTD VAT submission: Sage yes; Skyline Nexus ERP through bridging software for now.
• UK payroll and auto-enrolment: Sage yes; Skyline Nexus ERP no.
• CIS returns: Sage yes; Skyline Nexus ERP no.
• Bank feeds: Sage lists bank transaction reconciliation; Skyline Nexus ERP imports statements as CSV or Excel.

Who should stay with Sage

Stay with Sage if you run payroll for staff, file CIS as a contractor, or want VAT filed to HMRC from the same system without extra software. Stay as well if your accountant works in Sage and charges less for it. For a service business with no stock, Sage Start at its regular GBP 20 a month, or at GBP 2 a month during the introductory offer, is hard to beat on price.

Over the first twelve months, the Sage offer costs less than Skyline Nexus ERP: Sage Start comes to 10 x GBP 2 + 2 x GBP 20 = GBP 60, against Skyline Nexus ERP Solo at GBP 157.50 with its own launch offer. After the offers end, Sage Start costs GBP 240 a year and Solo GBP 180.

When a Sage alternative with stock and EPOS fits

The case for Skyline Nexus ERP is strongest for shops, wholesalers, workshops and multi-branch firms. Sage lists stock and inventory management with Plus. Skyline Nexus ERP includes inventory, a point of sale with cash registers, purchasing, CRM and the general ledger in every plan, including Solo.

Stock is held per location with valuation, movement, aging, dead-stock and FIFO valuation reports, and sales, purchases, payments and expenses post to the ledger automatically. Sage's plan table for Sage Accounting, as seen on 10 November 2026, lists stock and inventory management but no point-of-sale module, so a retailer on Sage usually adds a separate EPOS system and links it.

• Retail counters that want POS, stock and books in one system.
• Wholesalers that need stock per warehouse and FIFO costing.
• Firms with several branches that want per-branch stock and one ledger.
• Teams that want CRM leads, follow-ups and proposals beside invoices.

Annual cost at regular prices: Sage and Skyline Nexus ERP

Twelve paid months on monthly billing, regular price against regular price, excluding VAT, Sage prices as of 10 November 2026. Scope differs as described above.

• One user: Sage Start 12 x GBP 20 = GBP 240. Skyline Nexus ERP Solo 12 x GBP 15 = GBP 180, which is GBP 60 less before you add MTD bridging software, which can close that gap.
• Three users: Sage Standard 12 x GBP 43 = GBP 516. Skyline Nexus ERP Core, sized for five users and one branch, 12 x GBP 69 = GBP 828, which is GBP 312 more.
• Five or more users with stock: Sage Plus 12 x GBP 59 = GBP 708 for unlimited users. Skyline Nexus ERP Core 12 x GBP 69 = GBP 828 for five users, which is GBP 120 more; Core adds a point of sale and CRM.
• Several branches: Skyline Nexus ERP Growth covers three branches and fifteen users at GBP 159 per month, Scale ten branches and fifty users at GBP 449 per month.
• Annual billing for Skyline Nexus ERP is ten times the monthly price for twelve months, so Solo is GBP 150 a year.

Costs to check on both sides before you switch

Headline prices hide the extras that decide the real annual cost. On the Sage side, payroll is priced per employee above the number included in each plan, receipt capture is charged per approved capture above the allowance, and the introductory price ends after ten months, so the second year costs the full list price. A shop on Sage also pays for a separate EPOS system and, often, for the link between the till and the books.

On the Skyline Nexus ERP side, the extras are different. You need MTD bridging software or an accountant who submits VAT for you, and a payroll service, because neither is built in today. Solo has no add-on users or branches, so a second person means moving to Core, which takes effect at once with unused time credited. Write the extras for your own business into one list and add them up for twelve months before you decide.

• Sage: payroll at GBP 1.85 per extra employee per month, receipt capture at GBP 0.20 per extra capture.
• Sage: the regular price after the 10-month offer.
• Sage: a separate EPOS system if you sell over a counter.
• Skyline Nexus ERP: MTD bridging software or accountant filing.
• Skyline Nexus ERP: an external payroll service.
• Both: VAT at 20% on the subscription for VAT-registered and non-registered buyers alike.

Making Tax Digital when you leave Sage

VAT-registered UK businesses must keep digital records and submit VAT returns through MTD-compatible software. If you move your books to Skyline Nexus ERP, the VAT return form and VAT analysis give you the nine box figures from your recorded sales, purchases and expenses. Bridging software then sends those figures to HMRC from a digital link, or your accountant submits them from their MTD software.

Agree the route with your accountant before the cut-over, and make your first return from the new system in a quarter where you can check every figure against the old one.

Switching from Sage: what moves and how

Move at a VAT quarter end or a financial year end. Skyline Nexus ERP imports products, opening stock, contacts with tax numbers and opening balances, sales and purchases from spreadsheet templates, and the chart of accounts from CSV or Excel. Journals cannot be imported on screen, so bring over closing balances and keep Sage read-only for history.

Run both systems for one month if you can, reconcile the trial balance and the VAT figures, then move daily work across. The free first month covers that test.

• Export customers, suppliers, products and stock counts from Sage.
• Map Sage nominal codes to the Skyline Nexus ERP chart of accounts.
• Import contacts, products and opening stock with the templates.
• Post opening balances at the cut-over date and reconcile.
• Set up VAT rates, branches, users, roles and cash registers.

Skyline Nexus ERP as a Sage alternative

Skyline Nexus ERP is a cloud ERP with the general ledger, invoicing, inventory per location with FIFO costing, a point of sale with cash registers, bank reconciliation by statement import, credit and debit notes, VAT reports and a prefilled VAT return form, CRM, roles and permissions, an audit trail and the standard financial reports. Foreign-currency invoices use rates you enter, with the ledger in pounds.

It fits a UK business where stock, POS and branches matter more than in-system payroll and direct MTD filing. Prices start at GBP 15 a month plus VAT for Solo, every plan starts with a free first month and no card, and the launch offer, until 31 January 2027, gives 50% off the first three paid months of Solo on monthly billing. If Sage already does what you need, stay with it.