What is Sage Intacct and how does it work?

Sage Intacct is a cloud-based financial management and accounting solution designed to help growing organizations streamline their financial operations. By combining robust accounting capabilities with real-time reporting and automation, the ERP solution empowers organizations to streamline their financial processes and make smarter, data-driven decisions. Whether you're managing multiple entities, dealing with complex revenue recognition, or seeking deeper financial insights, Sage Intacct delivers the tools today’s leaders need to stay agile through an intuitive, accessible interface. As a cloud-based product, your team can access critical financial data securely from anywhere, while automated workflows reduce manual tasks and minimize errors.

When users access Sage Intacct through their web browser, they're presented with a role-specific dashboard that organizes key financial data and functions. For instance, a CFO's dashboard might display real-time cash positions, budget variances, and pending approvals, while an AP specialist sees vendor bills awaiting processing and upcoming payment schedules.

The system's transaction processing follows a defined workflow path. Take vendor bill processing as an example: When an AP specialist enters a bill, the system automatically routes it through preset approval channels based on amount thresholds and expense categories. Upon approval, Sage Intacct simultaneously updates multiple components: the GL posts the expense, the cash management module adjusts future cash projections, and the vendor record reflects the new payable.

The real-time general ledger (GL) serves as the system's backbone, as it does for most accounting software. As transactions occur, the GL instantly updates, triggering automatic recalculation of financial statements and reports. For example, when recording a revenue entry, the system immediately updates the income statement, balance sheet, and any custom reports containing that revenue account.

Inter-module communication operates through a centralized database structure. When the purchasing module generates a purchase order (PO), it automatically communicates with inventory management to check stock levels, updates cash forecasting for future payment obligations, and creates a pending AP record for invoice matching.

Automated workflows streamline routine processes through conditional rules. For instance, the system can automatically route expense reports over $5,000 to specific approvers, flag transactions with unusual amounts for review, and generate recurring journal entries based on predefined schedules. These automation rules adapt to an organization's specific approval hierarchies and business processes, maintaining consistent control while reducing manual intervention.

Sage Intacct's ERP software provides a suite of features that modernize and streamline financial management processes. Its integrated platform helps organizations effectively manage, analyze, and report on their financial operations with more accuracy and efficiency.

AI-powered automation

Sage Intacct leverages AI to automate transaction processing by identifying and categorizing incoming documents, extracting relevant data, and posting to appropriate accounts. In addition to helping teams automate accounting processes, anomaly detection continuously monitors transactions for unusual patterns, flagging potential errors or fraudulent activities for review. Smart payment reconciliation matches bank transactions with accounting records using machine learning algorithms that improve accuracy over time. Intelligent data extraction pulls information from invoices, receipts, and statements with minimal manual intervention. Predictive analytics forecasts cash flow trends and identifies potential financial risks based on historical patterns.

Multi-entity management

Cross-entity consolidation automatically combines financial data from multiple business units while maintaining separation of entity-specific transactions. Intercompany transactions are tracked and eliminated automatically during consolidation. Multi-currency processing handles transactions in various currencies, with automatic exchange rate updates and currency conversion. Entity-level reporting provides detailed financial statements for each business unit, while global consolidations combine data across international entities with appropriate currency translations and eliminations.

Dimensional analysis

The dimensional chart of accounts enables tracking transactions across multiple parameters simultaneously. Tag-based transaction tracking allows users to assign custom classifications to entries for detailed analysis. Further, multi-level cost allocation distributes expenses across departments, projects, and locations using predefined rules. Department/location tracking maintains separate financial records for different business segments, and project/grant dimensions monitor specific initiatives with dedicated tracking of associated revenues and expenses.

Financial reporting

Need robust reporting? Sage Intacct includes 150+ pre-built reports covering standard financial statements, operational metrics, and compliance requirements. Real-time dashboards display key performance indicators and financial metrics that update automatically as transactions are processed. The custom report builder allows users to create specialized reports by selecting dimensions and metrics. Role-based reporting delivers relevant financial information to different user groups, and drill-down capabilities enable users to navigate from summary totals to individual transactions.

Business integration

CRM system integration syncs customer data and sales information with financial records. Intelligent HR and payroll connectivity automatically updates the general ledger with payroll entries and employee-related expenses. Bank feed integration also provides real-time banking data for accurate cash management. Further, API accessibility enables custom integrations with external systems, and third-party app connections expand functionality through pre-built integrations with popular business applications.

Organizations implementing Sage Intacct experience significant improvements in their financial operations through automation and advanced data management. These gains translate into measurable benefits across multiple aspects of business operations.

Improved financial accuracy

Automated error detection in Sage Intacct helps identify discrepancies in real time, cutting down the need for time-consuming manual reviews. By automatically capturing and validating transaction data, these tools significantly reduce input errors and ensure accuracy. Real-time validation checks ensure every transaction complies with accounting standards and company policies before it’s posted. Detailed audit trail tracking keeps a clear record of all changes and approvals, making audits faster and easier. Meanwhile, compliance management tools enforce regulatory requirements and internal controls across all financial processes — so you can focus on driving growth with confidence.

Enhanced operational efficiency

Streamlined workflows speed up and automate invoice processing, cutting timelines from weeks to days by automating approval routes and payment scheduling. Month-end close becomes faster and more efficient with automated reconciliations and adjustments, significantly reducing the time spent on manual tasks. Routine processes like recurring journal entries and report generation are fully automated, eliminating tedious manual effort. With centralized data management, finance teams can instantly access financial information across all business units. With this type of operational efficiency gained using Sage Intacct, teams can shift their focus from data entry to meaningful analysis that drives smarter business decisions.

Better decision-making

Real-time visibility into financial metrics helps you stay agile so you can immediately respond to business changes. Sage Intacct delivers data-driven insights by combining financial and operational data to identify business opportunities. Trend analysis tracks key performance indicators across multiple periods for better planning. Performance monitoring provides automated alerts for metrics falling outside expected ranges, and forecasting capabilities use historical data to project future financial scenarios with greater accuracy.

Increased scalability

Multi-entity growth support gained through Sage Intacct enables companies to add new business units without adding accounting staff. Flexible system adaptation accommodates changing business requirements without system restructuring. Sage Intacct’s resource scalability allows processing of increased transaction volumes without performance degradation, geographic expansion is supported through multi-currency and local compliance capabilities. Overall business process automation and standardization ensure consistent financial operations across all business entities.

Cost optimization

Sage Intacct reduces the workload for finance teams by automating routine tasks. Streamlined processes and fewer errors lower operational costs, while automated collections and payment scheduling optimize cash flow management. With tools to automate cost distribution, resource allocation becomes more efficient and accurate. Sage Intacct also boosts process efficiency with standardized workflows and minimal manual intervention, ensuring smoother operations across the board. By simplifying these essential functions, Sage Intacct helps finance teams work smarter and drive greater value for the business.

Sage Intacct serves a diverse range of industries, each with unique financial management requirements and compliance needs. The software's flexibility and comprehensive feature set make it particularly suitable for organizations requiring robust financial controls and multi-dimensional reporting capabilities.

Professional services organizations, including consulting firms, legal practices, and marketing agencies, utilize the software's project accounting capabilities to track time, expenses, and profitability by client engagement. These firms rely on multi-entity management for handling trust accounts, client billing, and campaign cost tracking. This same multi-entity functionality also serves nonprofit organizations, which leverage the platform's fund accounting features to manage restricted and unrestricted funds separately. Educational institutions and charitable foundations particularly benefit from the grant tracking and compliance reporting tools.

In the technology sector, SaaS providers and software developers depend on the system's subscription management and revenue recognition capabilities. These companies use the platform to manage recurring billing and usage-based pricing models, features that align closely with the needs of financial services firms. Investment companies and insurance providers utilize these same billing capabilities alongside multi-currency features and automated consolidations for their complex financial operations.

Healthcare organizations build upon these financial management tools, using the system to handle their unique requirements for insurance payments and patient billing through automated workflows. From medical practices to specialty care providers, these organizations leverage the platform's dimensional reporting to track costs by department and monitor procedure profitability, while maintaining the strict compliance standards required in healthcare finance.

While both platforms are part of the Sage company portfolio following the 2017 acquisition of Intacct, they serve distinct business needs and market segments. The integration of Intacct into Sage's product lineup expanded the company's cloud-based offerings while maintaining Intacct's established focus on midsized organizations.

Sage, which includes products like Sage 50 and Sage 100, primarily serves small to medium businesses with traditional on-premise accounting software. These solutions provide essential accounting functions and are designed for organizations with straightforward financial needs. In contrast, Sage Intacct operates as a cloud-native platform built specifically for midsized organizations with complex financial requirements.

The core functionality also differs significantly between the platforms. Sage focuses on fundamental accounting tasks, basic reporting, and essential business management tools. Sage Intacct extends beyond these basics to offer advanced features like multi-entity consolidation, dimensional analysis, and automated revenue recognition.

Industry specialization represents another key difference. Sage provides general accounting solutions suitable for most small businesses across industries. Sage Intacct offers specialized functionality for specific sectors such as nonprofits, professional services, and healthcare organizations, with industry-specific workflows and compliance tools built into the platform.

Scalability considerations also differentiate the two systems. Sage products typically support single-entity businesses with moderate transaction volumes. Sage Intacct's architecture enables multi-entity organizations to manage complex operations across multiple locations and currencies, making it more suitable for growing organizations with expanding operational needs.

Integration capabilities further distinguish the platforms. While Sage offers basic integration options with other solutions, Sage Intacct provides extensive API access and pre-built connections with major business applications, supporting more sophisticated technology ecosystems.

Sage Intacct offers direct integration with Brex, enabling automated synchronization of corporate card transactions and financial data between the two platforms. This native integration allows organizations to streamline their expense management and accounting workflows.

The integration automatically imports Brex corporate card transactions into Sage Intacct, mapping them to the appropriate general ledger accounts based on predefined rules. Transaction data flows in real-time, including purchase details, merchant information, and receipt images. The integration synchronizes vendor information, employee data, and department codes between systems, maintaining consistent records across platforms. Automated expense reconciliation matches Brex transactions with Sage Intacct records, flagging any discrepancies for review.

Organizations using the Brex-Sage Intacct integration benefit from significant time savings through automated expense reporting and processing. The elimination of manual data entry reduces input errors and improves data accuracy. Financial teams gain real-time visibility into corporate spending across all Brex cards, with transactions automatically categorized and posted to the correct accounts. The integration provides better spending control through automated expense policy enforcement and approval workflows. Finance departments can streamline month-end closing processes with automated transaction matching and reconciliation, while maintaining detailed audit trails of all card activity.

Sage Intacct empowers organizations with AI-driven automation, multi-dimensional reporting, and specialized industry features that transform financial management. Through its cloud-based architecture, businesses gain real-time visibility into their operations while automating key processes like multi-entity consolidation, revenue recognition, and dimensional analysis. These capabilities enable finance teams to shift focus from transaction processing to strategic decision-making.

Brex’s integration with Sage Intacct extends these capabilities through expense management automation capabilities like auto-syncing transactions and intelligent categorization. Finance teams save significant time through automated receipt matching, policy enforcement, and reconciliation processes. The real-time nature of the Brex-Sage Intacct integration provides up-to-the-minute visibility into corporate spending, while automated workflows ensure transactions are properly coded, approved, and posted to the correct accounts without manual intervention.

For organizations seeking to modernize their financial operations and automate accounting, integrating Sage Intacct and Brex represents a critical step toward increased efficiency. The combination of Sage Intacct's robust financial management capabilities with Brex's spend management software creates a powerful solution for global organizations. By enabling this integration, businesses can immediately begin reducing manual processes, improving spend visibility, and accelerating month-end closes. Take the next step toward automated expense management by booking a demo to see how the Sage Intacct-Brex integration works.