Top Sage Intacct Alternative for Accounting in 2024

Businesses that have outgrown the basic capabilities of entry-level accounting systems such as QuickBooks, along with companies seeking to move on from legacy, on-premises systems such as Microsoft Dynamics or older versions of Sage, have begun looking to Sage Intacct as a cloud ERP system that might fit their needs.

However, Sage Intacct is just one of many cloud financial management solutions available. Some have been around for decades, while others are newer to the market. Although Sage Intacct delivers greater functionality than QuickBooks and spreadsheets and its cloud-based delivery model offers major advantages over on-premises systems, there are many reasons to carefully consider alternatives to Sage Intacct. You should take a close look at support, the partner ecosystem, reporting, the integrated modules available, and customer satisfaction and success with the system.

What Is the Best Alternative to Sage Intacct?

When it comes to cloud-based ERP, there are several alternatives to Sage Intacct, but many of them have similar limitations. Most businesses seeking to move on from entry-level accounting systems or older, on-premises ERP software need to leapfrog to a system that will scale with them rather than moving one step up.

How do you select the best option? Consider factors such as the number of customers using the product, how long it’s been on the market, and its profitability alongside its breadth of features, integrations, and capabilities. When accounting for all these considerations, the best alternative to Sage Intacct is NetSuite. Other alternatives have limits, whether in functionality, market approach, or ability to scale.

Why Is NetSuite the Best Sage Intacct Alternative?

NetSuite has been on the market longer than Sage Intacct and offers some clear advantages. One key differentiator is that NetSuite was built from the start as a platform to run an entire business, while Intacct’s purpose was simply to provide functionality for accounting and financials. Intacct has since added features to help other functions, but it cannot match the breadth and depth of NetSuite’s modules for areas such as supply chain management, manufacturing, and professional services automation (PSA). This lets NetSuite customers add additional capabilities as their businesses grow and evolve.

NetSuite is also backed by Oracle, one of the largest technology and cloud providers in the world, with the parent company investing significant R&D into the NetSuite business unit. Intacct is backed by Sage, a much smaller technology company. With a large market presence, NetSuite boasts a much larger network of partners that deliver services, develop complementary applications, and build any integrations you may need.

Key Takeaways

• NetSuite emerges as the best alternative to Sage Intacct for cloud-based ERP, offering a more comprehensive set of business applications on a common platform and better scalability for growing businesses.
• Key strengths of NetSuite include its robust partner ecosystem, extensive resources backed by Oracle, and a full suite of capabilities that extend beyond financial management to include CRM, HCM, field service management, and omnichannel commerce.
• While Sage Intacct meets basic accounting needs, it often presents problems as businesses grow, necessitating another system upgrade, whereas NetSuite supports scalable growth and expansion.
• NetSuite offers 24/7 live support and a global presence strengthened by running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), providing top-notch reliability and security for businesses operating in multiple countries.
• Businesses choosing NetSuite can start small and add functionality as needed, benefiting from its vast capabilities to support international operations, which is a significant advantage over Sage Intacct.

Sage Intacct vs NetSuite Explained

In cloud-based ERP systems, Sage Intacct and NetSuite each have their own strengths and target audiences. Sage Intacct is well-regarded for its financial management features, which are a step up from basic accounting software such as QuickBooks. However, it may face challenges in accommodating the needs of expanding businesses that require a robust system as they grow.

On the other hand, NetSuite stands out for offering comprehensive ERP functionality that is backed by the extensive resources of Oracle. It offers a range of integrated functions beyond financial management, including CRM, HCM, field service management, and omnichannel commerce. This versatility and scalability make NetSuite a better option for businesses at all stages—from startups to established companies—because it prevents them from needing to replace this mission-critical system as they evolve. Additionally, with its high-performance infrastructure, round-the-clock support services, and features for multinational and multicurrency businesses that Sage Intacct cannot match, NetSuite is a strong choice for international organizations.

Key Features Comparison: NetSuite vs Sage Intacct

When considering options for business management software, choosing the right option is critical for businesses aiming to boost their operations—and not just for the current moment, but also for the future. From core financial functionalities to international business management and beyond, understanding the strengths and limitations of NetSuite versus Sage Intacct will help decision-makers choose the right system that aligns with their business strategies and growth objectives.

Financials

NetSuite and Intacct are comparable in terms of financial functionality. However, Intacct has some drawbacks due to its licensing structure, which can introduce complexity if a business needs to purchase additional features, including support for value-added tax (VAT) and advanced reporting.

International Business Management

NetSuite OneWorld offers advanced features for international businesses that Intacct cannot match. NetSuite supports 27 languages, more than 190 currencies, transactions in 90-plus bank formats, and tax and reporting standards for more than 100 countries. As a result, NetSuite has more than customers in 215-plus countries and territories today.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Intacct does not offer CRM functionality; instead, it relies on partners for this, notably Salesforce. While NetSuite also provides direct integrations with other CRM providers such as Salesforce, it includes a full CRM suite for sales, marketing, and customer service. Because the CRM features are built on the NetSuite platform, other departments have real-time access to important data including inventory availability, billing rules, and open invoices.

Human Capital Management (HCM)

While Intacct offers basic HR functionality through Sage People, it is a third-party application with limited features. NetSuite, on the other hand, provides native HCM features that cover employee recognition and compensation, performance and leave management, workforce management, and sophisticated payroll functionality that eases the often cumbersome process of paying employees who live in different places.

Omnichannel Commerce

NetSuite SuiteCommerce is an ecommerce platform for both B2B and B2C companies, and alongside its SuiteCommerce InStore point-of-sale software, NetSuite offers comprehensive capabilities to sell products and services in-person and online. These native applications help track customers and orders across channels and provide embedded promotional tools and robust content management. Intacct relies on third-party providers for ecommerce.

Professional Services Automation (PSA)

Services-based businesses should also look at Intacct alternatives because, while Intacct offers some features for timesheet management and billing and limited scheduling, NetSuite has a strong PSA module. With NetSuite, services firms can access ample resource management tools to get the right people on the right projects at the right time, leverage accounting features that ease the complexities of project accounting, and take advantage of detailed reporting.

Key Reasons NetSuite Stands Out as a Top Alternative

Although both NetSuite and Sage Intacct are popular choices for companies that have grown beyond entry-level accounting systems, there are key differences between them. Here are 10 areas where NetSuite has an advantage:

• Comprehensive ERP Capabilities

  NetSuite offers an extensive suite of capabilities to support a wide array of business functions beyond finance and accounting, including order and inventory management, procurement, CRM, ecommerce, HR and payroll, field service management, advanced data analytics, and more. Intacct has strong financial management capabilities but lacks the same breadth of features, with no native applications for CRM or payroll and less robust PSA, supply chain management, and ecommerce applications.

• Scalability

  With a customer base ranging from prerevenue startups to multibillion-dollar enterprises, NetSuite’s customer base is proof that it is built to scale. More than 60% of tech companies to IPO since 2011 are NetSuite customers, and customers have raised nearly $250 billion in venture capital since 2020. This highlights the platform’s scalability, as many of these businesses moved to NetSuite when they were much smaller companies. One software company encountered challenges with multiple currencies and financial consolidation on Intacct after adding a UK-based business unit. Another business in the communications sector struggled to automate financial processes on Intacct as it expanded its service offerings. Both companies resolved those issues by moving to NetSuite.

• Customization and Extensibility

  NetSuite and Intacct both offer tools to help companies add specific functionality and customize the systems to their exact needs, including APIs and integrated development environments (IDEs). However, the NetSuite SuiteCloud platform provides numerous ways to customize and extend the system, including a no-code workflow design tool called SuiteFlow. Intacct cannot match NetSuite’ vast customization options.

• Global Business Support

  Until very recently, Intacct only supported English. Although the vendor now supports French and German, this is part of why Intacct’s customer base is geographically concentrated in English-speaking countries and struggles to support multientity businesses, especially when it comes to financial consolidation and reporting. NetSuite OneWorld supports 27 languages and more than 190 currencies to help customers in 200-plus countries and territories. This global ERP system greatly simplifies multisubsidiary management and financial consolidation. In fact, 80% of surveyed NetSuite customers planning on expanding internationally are confident in NetSuite’s ability to scale with their business, according to a TechValidate survey.

• Cloud-Based Model

  NetSuite runs in more than a dozen OCI data centers around the globe to meet the growing and evolving needs of customers, who never have to worry about buying, supporting, or upgrading the hardware that the system runs on. Intacct has only four data centers—three of them in North America—and, unlike with NetSuite, most are run by third parties such as Amazon Web Services (AWS).

• Advanced Analytics and Reporting

  While both systems have built-in reporting capabilities, NetSuite comes with more than three times as many reports as Intacct (200 versus 60). In addition, Intacct’s Report Writer has some limitations around the data that can be included, and dashboards can be challenging to create. NetSuite makes it easy for nontechnical users to pull any financial or operational data into the reports and dashboards they need via Saved Searches. NetSuite Analytics Warehouse expands on this functionality with the ability to join and analyze data from other business systems and use AI data preparation and AI-driven models for even deeper insights.

• Integration Ecosystem

  NetSuite and Sage Intacct both have IDEs and APIs that make it easier to connect the ERPs to other systems, though Intacct charges for some API calls while there are no charges for this with NetSuite. NetSuite supports several different web services APIs, including REST and SOAP, while Intacct uses XMS-based APIs and software development kits (SDKs). Companies that have evaluated both systems note that NetSuite has a lot more proven and prebuilt integrations with other applications.

• Industry-Specific Solutions

  NetSuite offers more than 10 different prepackaged implementations of its ERP system built for certain industries, which include KPIs, reports, dashboards, and workflows tailored specifically to that sector. While Intacct lists numerous industries it serves on its website, it does not have predesigned editions targeting these specific industries. The vendor also cannot match NetSuite’s experience in advertising, media, and publishing and transportation and logistics.

• Vendor Support and Investment

  NetSuite has the backing of one of the world’s largest technology companies in Oracle. This gives the business access to leading technologies such as AI tools (including generative AI), OCI Gen 2 Cloud Infrastructure, and Oracle Autonomous Database, as well as vast R&D resources and world-class experts across a variety of domains. Sage specialized in on-premises accounting systems before acquiring Intacct in 2017. In 2023, Sage’s revenue was €2.18 billion, substantially less than that of Oracle’s NetSuite business unit and a fraction of Oracle’s $53 billion.

• Proven Track Record

  NetSuite boasts more than customers—a testament to the provider’s widespread success across industries—compared to Sage Intacct’s 24,000. In another sign of customer satisfaction, 100% of customers said in a TechValidate survey they saved one to two days by automating manual processes with NetSuite, and 77% of finance leaders reported NetSuite enables better decision-making.

Grow Your Business and Choose the Best Alternative to Sage Intacct

In contrast to Intacct’s financial management focus, NetSuite offers a full ERP suite that allows businesses to start with basic financial management software and adopt as many additional capabilities as they need to drive continued growth. That includes features such as CRM, HCM, and planning and budgeting that Intacct can’t match.

What’s more, NetSuite’s larger customer base, its vibrant partner ecosystem and Oracle's backing ensure that NetSuite will continue to grow, improve, and meet the evolving needs of its customers long into the future.

Need More Information About Why NetSuite Is the Best Alternative?

Read our full comparison of Sage Intacct and Oracle NetSuite to better understand the differences between NetSuite and Intacct in functionality, architecture, implementation, and integration.

A move from spreadsheets and elementary accounting systems to more sophisticated software is an important decision for growing businesses. They need to find a system that meets not only their current requirements but can stretch to accommodate potential future needs—and help avoid the substantial cost and disruption of implementing a new ERP system should they outgrow the replacement.

Moreover, businesses are increasingly seeking to limit the number of separate systems they use to run their business. By implementing a unified suite, you can reduce integrations and simplify support. As businesses evaluate next-generation applications, cloud-based systems have become the default choice, and NetSuite, the first cloud ERP system, has emerged as the top cloud ERP alternative.

Sage Intacct vs NetSuite FAQs

Is Sage Intacct an accounting software?

Yes, like NetSuite, Sage Intacct is a cloud ERP software that helps companies manage their accounting books and other aspects of their financials. The two systems have comparable accounting capabilities, though NetSuite excels at multisubsidiary, multinational, and multicurrency accounting and offers more comprehensive financial reporting.

Does Sage do fund accounting?

Sage Intacct supports the fund accounting processes often used by nonprofit organizations, religious organizations, and governments. NetSuite has a version of its ERP developed specifically for nonprofits and has an entire department dedicated to working with these customers.

How do the partner ecosystems of NetSuite and Sage Intacct compare?

NetSuite has a deep partner ecosystem with different programs for value-added resellers (VARs), solution providers, system integrators, business process outsourcing (BPO), and accountants. This gives prospective customers a range of options so they can choose the one that best meets their needs. Sage Intacct has three partner programs for value-added resellers, accountants, and companies developing add-on applications. However, the Sage Intacct Marketplace lists 200 or so applications while NetSuite’s SuiteApp marketplace has more than 700 applications.

Are there specific industries that benefit more from using NetSuite over Sage Intacct, or vice versa?

NetSuite’s SuiteSuccess model offers industry-specific implementation packages of the software with KPIs, workflows, reports, and dashboards developed specifically for companies in that sector based on its experience across thousands of successful implementations. There are more than 10 SuiteSuccess editions for specific industries, along with editions focused on financials and for smaller, fast-growing businesses. Companies across a number of industries use Sage Intacct, but it doesn’t have SuiteSuccess-like offerings that come with tailored workflows and reports.

What are the technical requirements for implementing NetSuite compared to Sage Intacct?

As cloud systems, both NetSuite and Sage Intacct generally offer faster and less resource-intensive implementations than what on-premises systems require. However, there are key differences. NetSuite’s SuiteSuccess implementation methodology offers fixed-bid implementations from its internal professional services team, along with a variety of post-go-live support resources. Intacct has a smaller in-house professional services team, relying on partners for many implementations, and implementation cost is based on time and expenses, so the cost can quickly increase. It also lacks comparable post-implementation resources to help customers get more out of the system.

How do ongoing updates and upgrades compare between NetSuite and Sage Intacct?

As cloud systems, both NetSuite and Sage Intacct offer regular, automatic upgrades. NetSuite customers receive automatic updates twice per year, while Sage Intacct offers four updates per year. While NetSuite updates are less frequent, they often include more substantial improvements than what’s typically in Sage Intacct’s quarterly releases.