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Sage 200 Implementation Guide

Everything you need to know about Sage 200 implementation from Datel. Explore our proven, six-stage delivery process and how working with the UK’s leading Sage partner sets you up for long-term success.

Why Sage 200?

Sage 200 is an industry-agnostic, end-to-end enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for rapidly growing SMEs. From manufacturing and distribution to budgeting and accounting, Sage 200 connects every corner of your business in one powerful system, giving you unrivalled visibility and control.

A modular solution that supports both on-premise and cloud hosting options, Sage 200 is endlessly customisable. Choose from an extensive range of add-ons and third-party integrations to customise and scale to your needs.

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Sage 200 benefits

Sage 200 unifies your processes and data, providing visibility and insight to help you work efficiently, enhance decision-making, and accelerate growth.

360° visibility

Purchase orders, quotes, budgets, and everything in between – Sage 200 gives you a holistic view of your business data. Empower teams with the real-time strategic insights they need to identify opportunities and make faster, more informed decisions.

Fully customisable

Adaptable by design, Sage 200 lets you customise your solution your way. Tailor existing modules or add new ones to keep your solution relevant, compliant, and secure as your business evolves.

Enhanced collaboration

Sage 200 integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and other work management tools. Collaborate effectively from anywhere and keep work flowing.

How Sage 200 implementation works with Datel

Thanks to its simple, modular design, implementing Sage 200 is quick and easy.

Exactly how long it takes to implement depends on several factors, including the size of your business and the complexity of your solution. But our proven, six-stage process ensures your journey to Sage 200 is as smooth as possible.

With over 40 years of experience scoping, installing, and configuring ERP solutions for businesses in almost every industry, you’re in safe hands with Datel. Our APM-accredited project managers and specialist Sage 200 consultants guide you through every stage, giving you the knowledge and skills to achieve lasting success.

Sage 200 implementation roadmap

A successful Sage 200 implementation involves many moving parts. We split our process into six separate stages to keep your project on track.

01

Project preparation

Working together, we lay the foundations of your project. This begins with a kick-off meeting, where we meet with your project sponsor and key stakeholders to discuss your objectives. We follow this with at least one requirements-gathering session, where we explore your specific needs and create your project plan.

Key milestones:

  • Kick off meeting
  • Requirements capture
  • Project plan creation and sign off

02

Scoping

We dig deeper into your requirements over one or more in-depth scoping sessions. This helps us understand what you need from Sage 200 and plan your solution accordingly. We map this information out in your description of the target solution (DTS). Lastly, we ask you to extract and cleanse your data for migration.

Key milestones: 

  • Data extraction and cleansing
  • Scoping sessions
  • DTS creation and walkthrough

03

Installation and configuration

Once you’ve reviewed and approved the DTS, we install and configure your solution using sample static and transactional data. We then walk you through the configured solution so you can see it in action and provide any initial feedback.

Key milestones: 

  • Pre-install checks
  • Prepare and load sample data
  • Solution installation, configuration, and testing
  • Configured solution walkthrough

04

Key user training and user acceptance testing

We’ve built your solution; now it’s time to show you how to use it. An integral part of the process, we invite key users to hands-on training sessions to help them get to grips with Sage 200. Then, we run user acceptance testing to confirm the solution meets your expectations.

Key milestones: 

  • Solution and technical training for key users
  • User acceptance testing

05

End-user training

By this stage, your key users should have everything they need to onboard your end-users before launch. Once everyone’s familiar with Sage 200, we ask you to complete a Ready for Go Live walkthrough. This is your opportunity to present the solution back to us and demonstrate your newfound proficiency with the software.

Key milestones: 

  • Solution sign-off
  • End-user training
  • Ready for go-live walkthrough

06

Go-live

With training and testing complete, it’s time to launch your solution. We help you migrate your remaining data into Sage 200 and review it one last time to ensure everything’s in order. We then outline the next steps and explain how to access our award-winning customer support team.

Key milestones: 

  • Live data migration
  • Solution rollout
  • Go-live support

Stage 1: Project preparation

Your Sage 200 implementation journey begins at pre-sales.

Before selecting a solution, you’ll sit down with our pre-sales team to discuss your high-level requirements and business aspirations. Using this information as a basis, we recommend the specific Sage solution, modules, and add-ons that best meet your needs. You’ll then have the opportunity to see the recommended solution in action with a live demonstration.

These early discussions ensure everyone’s aligned from day one, smoothing the transition from sales to project kick-off.

Kick off meeting

Every Sage 200 implementation project begins with a kick-off meeting. In this session, your dedicated Datel project manager gets everyone around the table to discuss:

  • Your objectives
  • Our project methodology
  • Key roles and responsibilities
  • Milestones and estimated timelines
  • Dependencies and risks
  • Expectations and deadlines

Alongside your key stakeholders, we recommend inviting your project sponsor, systems administrator, and a representative from senior management to the project kick-off. This ensures everyone knows what to expect as your project unfolds.

Requirements capture

Following the kick-off meeting, we invite you to one or more workshops, where we explore your requirements and any specific configurations or integrations you’ve purchased.

We use these sessions to understand what makes your business tick. This helps us provide more relevant recommendations. For example, you might require functionality that isn’t available in the standard Sage 200 package, but is available in one of many add-ons.

Then, we use the information we’ve collected to create your project plan.

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Common Sage 200 implementation project risks

Resource availability

Holidays, illness, and staff turnover at key project milestones are among the most common causes of delays.

Data availability

Migrating critical data from your old system into Sage 200 is essential. We can’t launch the solution without it. 

Business change

Unanticipated shifts in team structure or changes to core business processes can seriously impact project delivery.

Training

As part of our project methodology, we provide in-depth training for key users. However, you're responsible for educating end-users.

Third-party collaboration

If you outsource your IT services to a third party, we’ll need their support to complete technical setup and configuration. 

Stage 2: Scoping

Once we’ve captured your requirements and agreed on the project plan, we scope your solution.

There’s often a gap between project prep and scoping. We recommend using this time to build a clear vision of your Sage 200 solution – what you want it to do and how it’ll help you achieve your objectives. This acts as a springboard for the project scoping sessions and ensures everyone’s aligned.

Scoping sessions

Scoping takes place over multiple in-depth sessions.

These sessions aren’t a software review or a recap of the modules and add-ons you’ve bought. Instead, they’re a deep dive into the technical foundations of your solution.

Working with our team of multidisciplinary Sage 200 consultants, you’ll explore the specific settings and data we need to create your ideal business management solution.

We take a modular approach to project scoping. For example, in session one, we might discuss the data requirements for your financials, the technical specifications of your reporting dashboards in session two, and so on. We’ll also discuss how these disparate modules form a coherent system.

The Datel difference

Sage 200 has over 30 product add-ons, each requiring unique skillsets. That’s why we employ a team of ten Sage 200 consultants whose combined expertise enables us to support any configuration – no matter how complex.

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Data extraction and loading

Between project scoping sessions, we ask you to extract and cleanse data from your existing business management system. Once you’ve verified the quality of your data, you’ll need to import it into a pre-built spreadsheet ready for migration to Sage 200.

To reduce friction, we support you as much as possible throughout the data extraction process. For example, helping you distinguish between critical and non-critical data or showing you how to import data into the migration spreadsheet.

This is an essential stage in the Sage 200 implementation process as missing or inaccurate data can cause issues, which may potentially lead to delays.

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Solution definition

After your final scoping session, our consultants collate everything we’ve discussed in your Description of Target Solution (DTS) document.

Your DTS is a proposal and blueprint rolled into one. It outlines your ideal business management solution and how we’ll deliver it. We present this back to you so you can:

  • Ensure the information collected during scoping is correct
  • Get your feedback on the proposed solution
  • Confirm we're aligned and ready to proceed with the project

Stage 3: Installation and configuration

We’ve prepped and scoped your Sage 200 solution. Now, we’re ready to install, configure, and test it.

First, we ask you to review the relevant technical documentation, including the minimum system requirements you need to run Sage 200. Then, we ask you to provide us with the sample data we need to set up and configure your system.

Finally, we contact your IT department or service provider to get the system logins we need to install your solution. 

Installation

We install your core Sage 200 solution alongside any add-ons you’ve purchased from Sage’s extensive library. With expertise in every Sage module, our multidisciplinary team handle the entire installation process – without the need for third-party consultants.

Installing Sage 200 typically takes no more than a day, although this can differ depending on the complexity of your solution.

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Configuration

We configure your solution based on the settings agreed in your DTS. We test it rigorously throughout installation and configuration to identify and address potential issues and ensure everything’s ready for launch.

When we’ve finished putting it through its paces, you’ll attend an end-to-end walkthrough of the configured solution with your Sage 200 consultant.

Unique to Datel, our configured solution walkthrough lets you explore every inch of your new solution – from core processes to specific functionality. More than a simple overview, the configured solution walkthrough is designed to bring your new solution to life, giving you an excellent overview of how it will meet your business requirements. 

Stage 4: Key user training and user acceptance testing

Next, we run hands-on training sessions to get your key users up to speed on your new solution.

Key user training

This forms an integral part of the Sage 200 implementation process. Key users are responsible for onboarding end users across your business, so it’s essential they have a firm grasp of your solution before go-live.

In our experience, a systematic approach based on the we do, you do methodology is the best way to achieve this. We take key users through each area of your solution. For example, manufacturing and distribution, commercials, and financials.

During these sessions, we show you how to use a specific feature and then ask you to try it yourself. There’s no limit on the number of people who can attend these sessions, but we aim for between five and six to ensure everyone gets the support they need. 

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User acceptance testing

With key user training complete, you’re ready to test your new solution.

We host a minimum of three user acceptance testing (UAT) sessions, where you can thoroughly assess your solution in a safe, pre-live environment.

User acceptance testing is an essential step in the Sage 200 implementation process. It’s your opportunity to confirm that your solution works as intended and apply any final refinements to the solution. 

Stage 5: End-user training

Momentum is essential in any business transformation process. That’s why we recommend beginning your end-user training as soon as you finish testing your solution.

End-user training is free-form. There’s no set curriculum or Sage-approved courses to complete. We advise splitting lessons into manageable chunks and giving participants plenty of hands-on opportunities to explore the software at their own pace.

Ready for go live walkthrough

The training and testing stages of our Sage 200 implementation process culminate in a ready for go live walkthrough. This is where we turn the tables and ask you to present your new solution back to us and your project stakeholders.

Our ready for go live walkthroughs lets you demonstrate your familiarity with Sage 200. But equally, it’s your chance to show stakeholders you’re ready to use it day-to-day.

Of course, if you reach the end of the walkthrough and feel you need more time to acclimate to the solution, we can work together to find the best way forward.

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Stage 6: Go-live

Now it’s time to launch your new solution. Here, you’ll need to migrate any remaining static and transactional data into Sage 200 and review it to ensure there are no inconsistencies. Your Sage 200 consultants are always on hand to advise and answer any questions you have during this process.

Post-launch support

Go-live isn’t the end of our journey together. As soon as we flip the switch, we introduce you to your dedicated account manager.

As long as you’re a Datel customer, they’ll check in with you regularly to provide guidance and support, so you can get the most out of Sage 200.

You’ll also have access to our award-winning, UK-based customer support team who are there to help you with:

  • Break/fix support
  • General platform queries
  • User errors
  • Datel-managed third party integrations
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Why it pays to work with a Sage 200 implementation partner

Sage 200 is a game-changer for SMEs, but implementing it doesn’t happen overnight. Whether deploying a business management system for the first time or moving from another solution – it takes time, resources, and careful planning to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Rather than trying to manage everything in-house, most businesses rely on a specialist Sage 200 implementation partner, like Datel.

What sets Datel apart?

Over 40 years of experience

98% customer satisfaction

5x winner of Sage 200 Partner of the Year

The UK's largest team of Sage 200 consultants

APM-accredited project managers

Dedicated Sage 200 customer support

Unrivalled expertise and experience

Over 40 years of experience and thousands of deployments make us the Sage 200 partner of choice for UK SMEs. Our combination of multi-industry experience and expertise enables us to implement solutions that meet your needs today and evolve alongside your business tomorrow.

Expert Sage 200 consultants

With Datel, you have access to the UK’s largest team of Sage 200 consultants. Our 10-strong team of product and technical specialists provide dependable support at every stage of your implementation – from scoping to go-live. And with expertise spanning 30+ product add-ons, we don’t need to bring in third parties to create your ideal ERP solution.

APM-accredited

We’re much more than a Sage 200 implementation partner. Your dedicated, APM-certified project manager provides support and guidance throughout your journey. With countless successful implementations under their belts, they monitor your progress, address potential risks, and keep things running smoothly.

Reliable support

We don’t believe in set-and-forget solutions. When you work with Datel, a customer support consultant’s only a call away. Whether you need technical support the day after launch or strategic advice two years down the line, we’re always ready to help.

Trusted Sage partner

As a five-time winner of Sage 200 partner of the year and a member of the Platinum Elite, we’re the UK’s most trusted Sage partner. Know how to improve a feature? Got an idea for a new piece of functionality? We use our close working relationship with Sage to escalate your feedback directly to their team, giving you a say in how your solution develops.

“Datel provides a combination of really good advice, along with a bespoke service. We know at times there's issues at our side, but where a lot of other organisations would have just said, ‘this is the solution’, Datel listens to us, and provides flexible support, rather than just selling us something.”

Paul Booth, The Centre for Alternative Technology

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Useful resources

Learn more about Sage 200, partnering with Datel, or how we’ve helped other businesses unlock their potential with Sage.

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Power to your potential

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We know software alone isn't enough. You need an expert team in your corner that aligns your software to your business ambitions. You need people who are always by your side, helping you become more efficient, productive, and innovative while staying one step ahead of the competition.

And that's exactly what you get with Datel. 

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