Sage built construction accounting for the desktop. Your field lives somewhere else.
Sage 100 Contractor and Sage 300 CRE are mature accounting systems with strong AP, GL, and job-cost depth. They're also installed software with desktop-era workflows — and most GCs still run PM, field, and owner portals in separate tools. Here's where AOS overlaps Sage and where Sage is still the right call.
Sage products dominate mid-market contractor accounting in the U.S. Sage 100 Contractor targets smaller GCs and subs; Sage 300 CRE (formerly Timberline) covers larger commercial GCs. Both are mature, audit-ready, and well understood by construction CPAs.
What Sage does well.
- Multi-entity GL depth and burden-cost allocation routines refined over 30+ years.
- CPA familiarity — many construction-focused accounting firms train on Sage.
- Certified payroll, pay apps, and union reporting that survive audit.
What AOS does that Sage doesn't.
- Cloud-native from day one — no on-prem install, no VPN layer in front of your accounting.
- PM, field basics, owner portals, and closeout in the base bundle — on the same record as bills and pay apps. Sage shops typically add Procore (or similar) plus point solutions on top.
- Sub-side AR with cross-tenant outbox (one record, every GC). Sage forces subs to retype into each GC's portal.
- Flat monthly pricing — not per-user, per-module stacking. A 50-person GC might run ~$24k / yr on AOS (base plus the add-ons they need) vs. Sage + PM + compliance vendors combined.
Honest call.
Stay on Sage if…
- …you already employ a Sage-trained controller and don't want to relearn the accounting workflow.
- …your auditor expects Sage and won't accept anything else.
- …you don't need field, portals, or compliance and can live with an accounting-only system.
Switch to AOS if…
- …you want PM, field, and portals on one platform, with accounting and payroll available as add-ons when you're ready.
- …you're tired of paying Sage AND Procore AND a compliance vendor AND a portal vendor and stitching them together.
- …you want cloud-native access without a Citrix or RDP layer in front of your accounting.
See AOS next to your Sage invoice.
Bring your last 12 months of Sage bills (plus any portal, compliance, or PM add-ons) and we'll walk through what AOS would replace and what it would leave alone.
Comparisons on this page reflect publicly available information and AOS's own understanding of each product; features and pricing change, so verify current details with each vendor. All product names, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification and comparison purposes only — their use does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by AOS.