Sage 300 vs. Sage 300 CRE: What's the difference?

The primary difference between Sage 300 and Sage 300 CRE is their target industry. Sage 300 is a flexible, all-purpose Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution designed for a wide range of mid-market businesses, such as manufacturers, distributors, and service providers. In contrast, Sage 300 CRE (Construction and Real Estate) is a highly specialized system built from the ground up to handle the unique financial and operational demands of the construction and property management industries.

What is Sage 300?

Sage 300, originally known as Sage Accpac, is a comprehensive ERP and accounting software system for small and medium-sized businesses. Its strength lies in its modular design, allowing companies to manage finances, operations, inventory, and multiple business entities from a single platform. It is especially well-regarded for its robust multi-currency and multi-company capabilities, making it a popular choice for businesses that operate across different locations and jurisdictions. Sage 300 is industry-agnostic, serving businesses in manufacturing, distribution, retail, professional services, and non-profits that need a scalable financial management backbone.

What is Sage 300 CRE?

Sage 300 CRE (short for Construction and Real Estate) is a specialized ERP solution that originated as Timberline software, a long-standing leader in construction accounting. This platform is purpose-built to address the project-centric nature of construction and property management. Its core functionality revolves around job costing, project management, subcontractor management, and complex payroll needs specific to the industry. Where a general ERP focuses on company-wide financials, Sage 300 CRE drills down into the profitability of each specific job, tracking everything from labor and materials costs to change orders and compliance requirements.

Comparing Sage 300 vs. Sage 300 CRE

While both systems share the "Sage 300" name, they are built on different foundations to serve fundamentally different business models. The easiest way to see the distinction is through a side-by-side comparison of their core features.

Aspect

Sage 300

Sage 300 CRE

General Ledger & Financials

Robust multi-company, multi-currency, and multi-entity support for general business accounting.

Includes detailed features for project-specific accounting, inter-company billing, and job-cost financials.

Project Management

Basic functionality is available through add-on modules but not as a core feature.

Advanced, native job costing, resource planning, subcontractor tracking, and change order management.

Job Costing & Estimating

Limited; typically achieved through integrations or customizations rather than native functionality.

Core feature of the software; provides detailed cost estimating, budget tracking, and real-time project profitability.

Payroll & HR

Available as an integrated module or through third-party connections for standard payroll needs.

Integrated payroll is tailored for construction, handling union requirements, certified payroll, and multi-state/multi-rate labor costs.

Compliance & Tax

Supports standard tax management and multi-jurisdictional sales tax requirements.

Manages industry-specific compliance needs like lien tracking, retainage, and certified payroll reporting.

Integrations

Broad API access supports integrations with warehouse management, CRM, and various e-commerce apps.

Deep, industry-specific integrations with estimating software, project scheduling tools, and field service apps.

Industry Focus & Core Functionality

The clearest distinction is in the intended user. Sage 300 is a generalist. It’s built for businesses that buy, sell, and manage products or services. Think of a wholesale distributor managing inventory across three warehouses, or a professional services firm with offices in two countries. Its tools are designed for broad business functions: A/P, A/R, General Ledger, purchasing, inventory control, and order entry.

Sage 300 CRE is a specialist. Its entire architecture is designed around the concept of a "job" or "project." Every financial transaction—from invoicing to payroll—can be tied back to a specific job. This project-centric approach is what contractors and real estate developers need to survive. Key features that highlight this difference include:

• Job Costing: Sage 300 CRE offers granular job costing, allowing users to track costs by division, phase, and cost code. You can compare budgeted costs to actual costs in real-time, which is fundamental for project profitability. Sage 300 lacks this native, deep functionality.
• Subcontractor Management: The construction industry relies heavily on subcontractors. Sage 300 CRE has dedicated modules for managing subcontracts, tracking compliance (like insurance certificates), processing payments, and managing lien waivers.
• Change Order Management: In construction, project scopes change. Sage 300 CRE provides a formal process for creating, approving, and tracking change orders, ensuring that all changes to the budget and schedule are accounted for. This is not a standard feature in a general ERP like Sage 300.
• Billing Methods: Sage 300 CRE supports industry-specific billing formats like progress billing (AIA G702/G703 style) and time-and-materials billing, which are essential for contractors but irrelevant to most manufacturers or retailers.

Payroll & HR

While Sage 300 has a robust payroll module, it's designed for standard business needs. Sage 300 CRE’s payroll is customized for the unique complexities of construction labor. It can handle prevailing wage requirements (Davis-Bacon Act), process union payroll with multiple pay rates and benefits, track workers' compensation, and generate certified payroll reports required for government-funded projects. This level of specialization is far beyond the scope of a standard ERP payroll system.

Deployment and Pricing

Historically, both systems were on-premise solutions. Today, Sage 300 is available as an on-premise installation, hosted privately, or through partner-run cloud environments, giving businesses flexibility in deployment. Its pricing is often based on perpetual licenses plus annual maintenance fees.

Sage 300 CRE has increasingly moved toward a cloud-based, subscription (SaaS) model. While on-premise options may still be available, the focus is on providing access from anywhere, including the job site via mobile apps. Pricing for Sage 300 CRE is provided through custom quotes and can be higher due to the specialized nature of its modules. Initial costs for Sage 300 often start around $20,000, while Sage 300 CRE implementations can begin around $15,000 but scale significantly based on the number of users and modules selected.

Integrations and Extensibility

Both platforms offer integrations, but they point in different directions. Sage 300 has a large marketplace of third-party applications for CRM, e-commerce, warehouse management, and various other general business functions. Its API allows for broad custom connections.

Sage 300 CRE’s integration ecosystem is specialized. It connects seamlessly with other essential construction technologies like estimating software (e.g., Sage Estimating), project scheduling tools, and document management systems. This creates a tightly knit tech stack that covers the entire project lifecycle, from bid to closeout.

Which One Should You Choose?

The choice between Sage 300 and Sage 300 CRE is almost entirely determined by your industry. There is very little overlap in their ideal customer profile.

You should choose Sage 300 if:

• Your business is in manufacturing, wholesale distribution, retail, professional services, or a non-profit organization.
• Your core need is strong financial management, multi-entity accounting, inventory control, and supply chain management.
• Your “projects” are simple, internal initiatives rather than the primary way you generate revenue.
• You require the flexibility to customize and integrate with a wide range of general business applications.

You should choose Sage 300 CRE if:

• You are a general contractor, specialty contractor, real estate developer, or property manager.
• Your business's profitability depends on accurately tracking the costs and revenues of individual projects.
• You need to manage subcontractors, handle retainage, process change orders, and provide industry-specific billing.
• Compliance with lien laws, certified payroll, and other construction-specific regulations is a top priority.

Ultimately, trying to use Sage 300 for a complex construction business will lead to manual workarounds, spreadsheet chaos, and a lack of real-time project visibility. Conversely, using Sage 300 CRE for a distribution company would be overly complex and poorly suited for managing product-based inventory and sales orders.

Final Thoughts

While they share a brand name, Sage 300 and Sage 300 CRE are fundamentally different tools for different jobs. Sage 300 is a versatile ERP adaptable to many industries, while Sage 300 CRE is a precision instrument designed exclusively for the complexities of construction and real estate. The right choice depends on identifying your industry's core needs and selecting the platform built to meet them.

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