Looking for a Sage or Surf alternative? Your accounts package probably isn't the problem
A version of this conversation happens a lot. A producer has been on Sage 50 or Surf Accounts for years. Invoicing is fine. But the business has grown, and now people are using the accounts package to do things it was never built for: planning production, tracking batches, holding retailer codes, working out what to make on Thursday.
Somebody says "we need a better system" and the search begins for a Sage alternative, or a Surf alternative, or "food manufacturing ERP Ireland".
The accounts package is usually fine
Sage, Surf, Xero, QuickBooks and Big Red Cloud all do the same job well. They record invoices, purchases, VAT and the bank. Irish accountants know them. Revenue is happy with them. Replacing one with another is expensive, disruptive, and does nothing about the batches.
The pain is not that the ledger is wrong. It is that the operation has no home of its own, so it has squatted in the ledger and in a set of spreadsheets around it.
What belongs where
A clean separation looks like this:
| Belongs in accounts | Belongs in an operations system |
|---|---|
| Invoices and credit notes | Sales orders and delivery schedules |
| Purchase ledger and payments | Production plan and make sheets |
| VAT and bank reconciliation | Batch records, weights and traceability |
| Customer balances | Retailer codes, labels, certificates |
| Management accounts | Stock by batch and use by date |
The two talk to each other. Confirmed dispatches become invoices. Nothing is typed twice.
The better question
Instead of "which accounts package should we move to", ask "what is the operation trying to do that the accounts package cannot". The answer is almost always some combination of orders, planning, batches and dispatch. That is what to fix, and you keep the ledger your accountant already knows.
This is exactly how Keystone came about at Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers. The accounts stayed. The operation got its own system, with a two way link between them.
When you should change accounts
Occasionally the accounts package really is the block, usually because it is a very old desktop version, cannot be integrated, or the business has outgrown single company, single currency accounting. That is a real reason to move. Wanting production planning is not.
Where to go next
- Software for food producers
- Systems integration. Connecting orders and dispatch to Sage, Surf or Xero.
- Ask us to look at how your operation and accounts fit together
FAQ
Should a food producer replace Sage or Surf to get production planning?
Almost never. Accounts packages record money. Production planning, batch records and dispatch belong in an operations system that hands confirmed dispatches to the accounts package as invoices. Replacing the ledger moves the problem rather than solving it.
Can Sage 50 or Surf Accounts be integrated with a production system?
Yes. Surf Accounts, Sage Business Cloud and Xero have APIs. Older desktop Sage 50 installs can be integrated through supported connectors or file exchange. The right method depends on the version and how the business uses it.
What is a food manufacturing ERP, and do we need one?
A large integrated system covering finance, production, stock and sales. For a small or mid sized Irish producer it is usually more system than the business can carry. A focused operations system connected to the existing accounts package is typically faster to adopt and far cheaper to run.