You can move Sage 100 Contractor or Sage 300 CRE off your own server and access it over the web without changing accounting systems. Hosting solves the server problem. Sage Intacct Construction becomes worth considering when you have more entities, more intercompany work, and enough accounting staff to support the change.
We sat down with our team to discuss how to tell the two problems apart. We host both products and implement Sage Intacct Construction, and Audra Speth, Troy Guevara, and Mohammed Ali explain what contractors should consider.
What hosting actually means
Hosting changes where your software runs.
Your team continues using Sage 100 Contractor or Sage 300 CRE. We move the software to an offsite hosted environment, and your employees access the same familiar system over the web.
Moving away from an onsite server and changing ERP systems are separate decisions. If you treat them as one decision, you may create unnecessary disruption when your business only needs easier access and less responsibility for maintaining its IT infrastructure.
Alta Vista Technology can host Sage 100 Contractor and Sage 300 CRE. To avoid confusion, Sage 300 CRE is different from Sage 300, and Sage Intacct Construction is different from standard Sage Intacct.
Hosting is especially useful for Sage 300 CRE teams because moving to Sage Intacct Construction changes how the entire accounting department works.
Hosting gives these teams web access while they continue working in the same accounting system. They can stop maintaining their own server without taking on a new system and new processes at the same time.
Your team will have questions about cloud access, data storage, and whether contractors your size have made the same change. Audra has found that teams generally need about six months in a hosted environment to become comfortable working over the web. Opening the same software in a browser may sound like a small technical change, but it can be a significant adjustment for someone who has spent years working on an onsite system.
Once your team is comfortable, we can demonstrate what Sage Intacct Construction can do and bring in an ERP advisor for a high-level discussion. That conversation can happen later. Hosting the software you already use does not require you to consider a new ERP.
When server frustration starts the conversation
Technical frustration is often the first sign that a contractor wants something to change.
Your team may be tired of maintaining a server, managing licenses, and installing updates. The request is usually simple: “We just want to access the system over the web.”
That request should start a hosting conversation. It does not automatically mean that you need to implement Sage Intacct Construction.
If the server is your main source of frustration, hosting addresses that problem without requiring your team to give up a product that still fits how you work.
Other contractors prefer to keep their onsite servers and do not want to change how they work. That is also a valid choice.
I just don't have the conversation with people who are not future-minded. If someone's like 'I love my server, my company's always going to be the way it is, it's just me and Beth here' — that's great, we love having you as a customer. Someone who still thinks having a server at home is more secure than the cloud — you're not going to break that mentality on a phone call or a Zoom meeting.
Mohammed Ali · ERP AdvisorOur job is to understand the problem your company wants to solve and recommend a step that matches your needs and readiness. We do not want to pressure you into making a larger change than you need.
Moving forward from Sage 100 Contractor
A contractor using Sage 100 Contractor does not need to move to Sage 300 CRE as an intermediate step.
If Sage 100 Contractor still meets your accounting needs, you can continue using it in a hosted or onsite environment. If your business eventually outgrows it, the next product to consider should be Sage Intacct Construction. You do not need to move through every construction product in the Sage portfolio.
Hosting can be the intermediate step. You can change products later if your business needs a different accounting system.
The right path depends on how you want to access your software and how complex your business has become.
Troy notes that Sage 100 Contractor remains the right long-term product for many construction companies:
This product is a FANTASTIC early entry or small construction company product that has a specific market that will never be good for Sage Intacct Construction or any of its competitors.
Troy Guevara · Construction TechnologistSome contractors will continue using Sage 100 Contractor for the life of their businesses. Hosting simply gives them another way to access it.
How to know whether you are ready for Sage Intacct Construction
The first test is the number of entities you manage. Revenue alone is not a reliable indicator.
With two entities, intercompany activity is often simple enough to manage manually. Three entities is usually the point when intercompany transactions become harder to manage by hand, errors can accumulate, and consolidated reporting becomes more valuable.
Your accounting team should also understand intercompany accounting and consolidated reporting before implementing the software. If these concepts are still new to the team, your department may not be prepared to use the capabilities in Sage Intacct Construction.
Owner reporting provides another clear signal. If your team has to combine three separate reports every week to give the owner one useful view of the business, the server is no longer the main problem. You need a better way to report across all your entities.
Your accounting department’s staffing can still prevent or delay the move.
A profitable company may still operate with a lean accounting team. It can also process a significant amount of work through Sage 100 Contractor without being ready for a larger ERP. Sage Intacct Construction requires more than one person to support it effectively, so your department needs enough capacity to implement, operate, and maintain the system.
That is why we do not use revenue as the deciding factor. We ask more practical questions:
- How many entities are you managing?
- How much intercompany activity does your team handle manually?
- How difficult is it to give the owner one clear view of the business?
- Does your accounting department have enough people to support the system?
Move when your team is ready
You don't have to go tomorrow, you don't have to go yesterday. You go when you're ready, and we'll be able to help you know when you're ready.
Audra Speth · Customer Success ManagerWe used to introduce Sage Intacct Construction earlier in the conversation. Our experience has shown us that sometimes the better recommendation is to wait.
Your team may think it is ready for a new accounting system when it only needs web access. Moving too quickly can make implementation more difficult, increase the risk of an unsuccessful transition, or leave you with a product that does not fit the way your business currently operates.
Hosting gives your team access to the same software over the web, so the transition is limited. Moving to Sage Intacct Construction is a larger change because your team must learn a new system and new ways of working.
Audra has found that customers often appreciate being given time to adjust:
There'll be more longevity out of them if we give them that extra six months. And the slowdown comes from us, so they trust us more. In the end they're like, 'thank goodness you guys slowed us down.'
Audra Speth · Customer Success ManagerContact Alta Vista Technology, and we will help you determine whether you need to address the server, the accounting system, or both.
The right foundation for your next stage of growth
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