Sage 50 System Requirements and Recommendations

Written by Tom Shields on 24th March 2025.

Supported Systems For Sage 50 – Requirements and Recommendations

It is very important that your Sage 50 runs on a supported system environment. If it is not, then your Sage 50 can be critically effected by issues, some of the major ones are listed at the end of this article.

Summary of System Requirements and Recommendations

The following is a summary of the main items required for a Sage 50 Supported System (the details are documented in the next section below):

A single machine installation can be set up on a PC with the outlined system requirements (as documented below).
A multi machine installation should be set up in a client-server environment connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) with the server hosting the Sage 50 data and data services and each client hosting the Sage 50 client application. The server and all the client computers and the network between them should adhere to the system requirements (as documented below).
Other components (e.g. antivirus, firewalls, browsers, 3^rd party software, software drivers, etc.) should all be the correct versions and compatible.
All operating system software should have the latest patch updates applied.
Internal network and external internet connections should be reliable, have minimum contention and be as fast as possible.
Recommend Sage 50 data limits should be adhered to.
Data checks should be performed regularly to ensure there are no errors or warnings. And data backups should be taken at least daily to minimise data loss.
Sage Remote Data Access (RDA) requirements should be adhered to carefully. RDA is only advised for ad-hoc remote access by a small number of users for light processing. If full remote access for a large number of users with high levels of processing is required, we recommend using an IT service provider to set up a hosted environment with remote client access.

Details of System Requirements, Recommendations and a Checklist

To determine if your system environment is supported, we have compiled a set of requirements and recommendations as well as a checklist to help you ensure you have the correct items – see the link below.

Latest Sage 50 Checklist and System Requirements.

(Note: The version of Sage 50 may specify a different supported system environment. The information in this article is based on the latest version of Sage 50 available at time of writing).

Issues Causes By Running Sage 50 on Unsupported Systems

If your Sage 50 is running on an unsupported system environment it can cause a number of issues. The main ones that Pimbrook support have seen are listed below:

Poor performance i.e. slow processing, freezing, locking data, crashing, etc.
Not integrating with 3^rd party applications on the desktop e.g. MS Office (including Excel, Outlook, Word, etc.).
Cannot email or print documents such as orders, invoices, statements, etc.
Cannot login to Sage 50.
Corrupt Sage 50 company data.

If your system environment is not supported to run your version of Sage 50 there is limited support that Pimbrook can provide you.

Sage 50 Tax Codes V27_1 and above Ireland only

Written by Sharon Foley on 5th March 2025.

How do I set up a tax code in Sage 50 Accounts v27.1 and above? – Ireland only

This guide explains how to set up your own tax codes in Sage 50 Accounts v27.1 and above when based inthe Republic of Ireland.

any of the VAT rates used in the Republic of Ireland are already set up as default tax codes in your software, ready to use. However, if there’s a VAT rate you need which isn’t there by default, it’s easy to edit a spare tax code to suit your needs.

Before we start, check that your computer’s regional settings are set to Ireland and not UK. Read more >

NOTE: This article relates to Sage 50 Accounts v27.1 and above only. For details of tax codes in Sage 50 Accounts and Sage 50 Accounts v27.0 and below, read more >

Create or amend a tax code

Sage 50 Accounts holds 100 tax codes, this includes some tax codes which are not initially in use. If you need to set up a new rate, you simply edit one of these existing spare tax codes. If needed, you can also edit existing codes that are in use.

Click Settings, click Configuration, then click Tax Codes.
Select the tax code you want to amend then click Edit.

Complete the Edit Tax Code window as follows:

Rate	Enter the required percentage. For example, to set up a 23% VAT rate, enter 23.00. If you select the Enable EC Code check box, the Rate box isn’t active.
Include in VAT return	To include transactions with this tax code on the VAT Return, select this check box.
Reverse Charge	To flag sale or purchase items that fall under the remit of carousel fraud, for example, mobile phones, select this check box. Don’t select this for standard reverse charge transactions.
Resale	To flag transactions involving purchases for resale, select this check box.
Outside EC or Non EC Transactions	To flag transactions that occur outside EU territories, select this check box.
Enable EC Code or EC code	If this is an EU tax code, select this check box. Then choose the relevant options from the drop-down lists.
Link To	This option is only available for EU purchase tax codes. If you want to use this tax code to record notional VAT, choose the required tax code that you want to link to. Notional VAT calculates based on the rate of the code you link to.
Rate	For RTD reporting purposes, select the relevant option.
Description	Enter a description for the tax code.

Click OK, then click OK.

Full details of the TAX settings can be download the here on a PDF

Protected: Pimbrook Reports Library (Internal)

Written by Sharon Foley on 5th March 2025.

AccountsMate for Sage 50 – User Guide

Written by Tom Shields on 19th February 2025.

The following user guide will get you started using AccountsMate and provide a reference to help you use all of its features.

AccountsMate User Guide

The link below is to a brief tutorial video which shows you the main features of AccountsMate.

AccountsMate Tutorial Video

Remote Data Access (RDA) System Requirements

Written by Sharon Foley on 26th June 2024.

RDA System Requirements

Remote Data Access is a cloud service that lets you share your company accounts data securely, so you and other users can access your company accounts from anywhere.

We recommend to regularly review your requirements and if you no longer need to use Remote Data Access, it’s easy to switch off.

Use Remote Data Access when:

You need live data access from remote locations which are not linked to your main computer via a local area network. For example:

You or colleagues accessing your live data both at home and in the office.
Your accountant accessing your live data.

NOTE: To link computers in the same location, we recommend using a local area network where possible rather than Remote Data Access.

Don’t use Remote Data Access when:

All computers that require access are already linked on a local area network, for example, multiple computers in the same building.
Live data access is not needed, for example, if your accountant only requires a backup of your data.
Only one user processes the data from one computer only, for example, a laptop.
You are looking for something to create automatic backups. Remote Data Access is not a back up service and you should use the Schedule back up feature instead.

Major process e.g. Running Month end, Year End, Vat Returns, Intrastat returns etc. should be completed directly on the server or machine connected to the server meeting Sage 50s System requirements.

RDA 50 also has its restrictions such as:

•Archive is not shared
•Attachments not syncing
•Data Sets must be kept under 4GB.

You also must ensure:

• All computers that require access are already linked on a local area network, for example, multiple computers in the same building.
• Live data access is not needed, for example, if your accountant only requires a backup of your data.
• Only one user processes the data from one computer only, for example, a laptop.
• You are looking for something to create automatic backups. Remote Data Access is not a back up service and you should use the Schedule back up feature instead.
Compatible Software
• Ensure all computers are using the same version of Sage 50 Accounts
• Ensure all computers meet the system requirements for Sage 50 Accounts Check using an online site such as www.speedtest.net

Useful links:

When to Use Remote Data Access

Troubleshooting Remote Data Access

Error: ‘There has been a problem uploading company data for Remote Data Access, or the upload of data was cancelled.’

Sage 50 Clearing Sage 50 Data (Audit Trial/Stock/Invoices/Credits)

Written by Sharon Foley on 10th April 2024.

Sage 50 Clearing Sage 50 Data (Audit Trial/Stock/Invoices/Credits)

1.Backup data files

- Click File and Backup and select Data Files

2. Archive

- Tools – Period end – Archive data

3. Clear Audit Trail

- Tools – Period end – Clear Audit Trail

4. Clear Stock

- Tools – Period end – Clear Stock

5. Delete Invoices, Credit Notes or Orders

6. Re-index and Compress

7. Check Data

- File – Maintenance and Check Data

If you are running this in stages, please take a backup before you start each stage.