TradeTally vs Sage
Sage is one of the UK's longest-established accounting software providers, trusted by hundreds of thousands of businesses. Sage Accounting (formerly Sage One) is their cloud offering for small businesses and sole traders. While deeply integrated with UK tax requirements, the interface can feel dated and complex.
Sage
£14–£33/month
Founded 1981 · UK small businesses, sole traders, accountants
TradeTally
£12/mo
Built for UK sole trader tradespeople
Feature comparison
| Feature | Sage | TradeTally |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | Included | ✓ |
| Quoting | Included | ✓ |
| Expense tracking | Included | ✓ |
| Receipt scanning | Included | ✓ |
| SA103F export | Not included | ✓ |
| Mobile app | Included | ✓ |
| MTD compatible | Included | In progress |
| Bank reconciliation | Included | ✓ |
| Payroll | Included | ✓ |
| Multi-currency | Included | ✓ |
| Inventory management | Included | ✓ |
| Time tracking | Not included | ✓ |
Where Sage wins
- Deep UK tax integration including MTD and VAT
- Trusted by UK accountants for decades
- Strong compliance features and audit trails
- Cash flow forecasting and reporting
Where TradeTally wins
- No purpose-built mobile experience for tradespeople in the field
- No trade-specific workflows for job costing and materials
- SA103F data requires manual extraction from reports
- Receipt scanning is basic compared to mobile-first alternatives
- Overly complex for sole traders who just need invoicing and expenses
FAQs
Is TradeTally simpler than Sage for sole traders?
TradeTally focuses on invoicing, expense tracking, and tax exports without requiring double-entry bookkeeping. Sage covers a wider accounting workflow and assumes more familiarity with accounting terms.
Does Sage do SA103F exports like TradeTally?
Sage can produce the underlying figures, but you need to manually extract them from reports. TradeTally gives you a one-click SA103F export with income, expenses, and profit laid out exactly as your tax return needs them.
Should a self-employed plumber use Sage or TradeTally?
For most self-employed tradespeople, TradeTally is the better fit. It is faster to set up, simpler to use from your phone, and costs £12/month versus Sage's £26/month for comparable features. Sage makes more sense if you have complex accounting needs.