How to Transfer Sage 50 to A New Computer?

You can transfer Sage 50 to a new computer by first installing Sage 50 on the new system, then transferring a backup of the company file to the new system, and finally restoring the backup to Sage 50 on the new system.

The process of transferring all your data and preferences is quite easy if you follow the solutions offered in this post. Of course, you need access to an admin account on both machines to follow through with the transfer process.

Process of Transfering Sage 50 to New Computer

Follow the steps given in this post to easily transfer Sage 50 to a new computer.

Step 1: Install Sage 50 on your New System

Make sure that your new system meets the requirements to run Sage 50. You can check the system requirements of your version of Sage 50 to ensure that the software runs smoothly on your new system. If your system doesn’t meet the requirements to run Sage 50, then the accounting software will crash unexpectedly.

Where to download the setup for your version of Sage 50?

You can log into your Sage account and go to the Purchases options. There, simply choose the Sage 50 that you purchased, and download its setup. However, if you’ve a subscription to Sage 50, then you can download the setup for Sage 50 2023 download link.

Can you install Sage 50 on another system before uninstalling it from the first one?

Yes, you can. You can use the same activation details to activate Sage 50 on your new system. However, after activating Sage 50 on the new system, you need to uninstall Sage 50 from the old system.

What information will I need to activate Sage 50 on the new computer?

You’ll require the following information that you received upon purchasing Sage 50:

• Account ID
• Keycode
• Serial number
• Payroll ID (If you’ve a payroll subscription)

Once you’ve downloaded the setup for Sage 50 on your new system, you can proceed with the installation process.

Choose between local and server installation

• Local installation: if you want to use Sage 50 2023 on a single computer, then installing locally on a computer is preferable.
• Server installation: if you want to use Sage 50 2023 in multi-user mode or you want to store your data on a remote server, then choose server/network installation.

Steps to install sage 50 on a single new computer:

1. Double click on Sage 50 setup file to launch the setup.
2. Install the individual components required to install Sage 50.
3. Pause your antivirus program, and click on Next.
4. Agree to the Terms and Conditions, then choose Next.
5. Choose the option, “Auto configure the Windows Firewall to allow install and run Sage 50 (recommended)”, then choose Next.
   Note: manually configuring windows firewall can be really difficult, so use the installer to configure the firewall for you.
6. Input the serial number or activation key, and click on Next.
7. When prompted with “Will this be the only computer running Sage 50?”, click on Yes, then Next.
8. In the Install Options window, choose the location to store the program files and the company files.
9. Choose Install.
10. Click on Finish when the installation completes.

Steps to install Sage 50 on a new server system:

1. Double click on Sage 50 setup to launch it.
2. For the prompt “will this be the only computer running Sage 50?”, click on No, then on Next.
3. In the Sage 50 Company Data Files Storage window, click on “This computer is the server”, and select Next.
4. Recheck your selections of installation options.
5. When the Sharing Company Data screen appears, click on Share the Folder, then on Next.
6. Follow the rest of the instructions to finish the installation and then input the serial number and activation key to activate your software.
7. Launch any company file in Sage 50 to upgrade it, or create a new company file.

Install Sage 50 on a new server system Tutorial

Steps to install Sage 50 on new network workstations:

1. Use the instructions provided by the installer to proceed with the installation.
2. Go to \\[nameofyourserver]\PeachtreeInstaller20xx\ and double click on ClientInstall.bat.
   1. Alternatively, you can double-click on Setup.exe in the same directory and launch the ClientInstall file.
   2. Choose No when prompted “Will this be the only computer running Sage 50?”. Click on Next.
   3. Choose the option “A different computer on the network is the server and will store Sage 50 company files.”
   4. Choose “I confirm that Sage 50 has already been installed on the server.” Click on Next.
3. Choose the directory in which you want to install Sage 50.
4. Follow the same instructions to install Sage 50 on each of the workstations.

You can use UNC paths to choose a company file location. Steps to use UNC path to install Sage 50:

1. While installing Sage 50, in the Company Data Files location window, click on Browse.
2. In the input box, enter the server’s IP address or the name of the server.
3. Recheck the location for the company file in the bottom right corner of the installer window.
4. Input the credentials to log into the server, then choose Ok.
5. Click on Install after verifying your selections.

Steps to start the Sage 50 connection manager on your system:

1. Go to the System tray.
2. Double click on the Sage 50 connection manager icon.
   Note: if the system try doesn’t have the connection manager icon, then you can find it in C:\Program Files (x86)\winsim\ConnectionManager. Just double click on Simply.SystemTrayIcon.exe and select Start.
3. Go to the start menu and type in Services.
4. Open the Services window.
5. Go to Sage 50 Database Connection manager.
6. Click on Properties, and go to the General tab.
7. Change Startup type to Automatic or Automatic (Delayed Start).
8. Choose Apply, then Start.

Manually-configure Firewall

Steps to open the ports for windows defender firewall to fix Sage 50 network issues:

1. Go to the Start menu and type in Cmd.
2. Right click on the Command Prompt option and select Run as Administrator.
3. Run the following command in the command line: netsh advfirewall firewall Add rule name=”Sage 50 port range” dir=in protocol=tcp localport=13530-13580 action=allow.
4. Launch Sage 50 and try to connect to the database. If you don’t get the Sage 50 network error, then proceed with the steps below.
5. Go to the Start menu and type in Windows Firewall. Launch the Firewall settings.
6. Click on Advanced settings from the left panel.
7. Choose Inbound rules, then click on New.
8. Choose Port, then Next.
9. Type in the port numbers that you want Firewall to treat as exceptions:
   1. Launch windows explorer.
   2. Go to C:\Users\Public\Documents\Sage Software\ConnectionManager\.
   3. Double click on ConnectionManager.ini file and choose Notepad as the program to open the file with.
   4. Note down the PORT NUMBER in the line “End Port = xxxxxx”
   5. Enter the port number 13531, XXXXXX in the firewall rules window.
10. Choose Next.
11. Click on Allow the Connection, then on Next.
12. Mark both the Domain and Private options. Then click on Next.
13. Input the name for the firewall rule as “Sage 50 inbound rule”, then click on Finish.
14. Use the same steps to create an outbound firewall rule for Sage 50.

Moving Sage 50 to a New Server

To move Sage 50 to a new server, you need to install the Sage 50 connection manager on the new server.

Steps to download and install Sage 50 connection manager on your new server:

1. Download the setup for your version of Sage 50.
   1. Sage 50 US Edition Download Portal
   2. Sage 50 Canadian Edition Download Portal
2. Launch the EXE file for Sage 50 setup.
3. Choose the option to Automatically Configure Firewall if Windows Defender Firewall is active on your system.
4. Choose the Advanced Options.
5. Select the Server-only component, then click on Finish.
6. Launch the Connection Manager from the Start menu.
7. Click on Update.

Step 2: Transfer data from old to new system

To transfer your data from the old system to the new one, you have several options. Choose the one that you find the easiest.

Option 1: Transfer using Sage 50 backup file

Steps to create a backup in Sage 50:

1. Log into the company file that you want to backup.
2. From the File menu, choose Backup.
3. Input the name for the Backup File.
4. Click on Browse, and select the directory to store the backup file.
5. Click on Ok.

Transfer the backup file from the old system to the new system.

Steps to restore backup in Sage 50 on the new system:

1. Open Sage 50.
2. Click on File, then Restore.
3. Choose the Restore from Backup wizard.
4. Then click on Next.
5. Choose Browse, then select the backup file, and click on Open.
6. Input a name for the company file that will be created using the backup file. Then click on Save.
7. Choose to overwrite existing data.
8. Click on Next, then Finish.

Repeat the steps for each company file that you want to transfer. Note that your preferences will not be migrated when you use backup files to transfer your Sage 50 data to the new computer.

Option 2: Transfer the data folder to the new system

The data folder contains the company files, preferences file, and several other useful files. You can transfer the entire folder to the new system, then open the company file to import all your data and preferences in Sage 50 on your new system.

Steps to find the data folder for Sage 50 on the old computer:

1. Launch sage 50 and go to the File menu.
2. Select Properties.
3. Note down the Directory of the company file and name of the company file.
4. Copy the .SAI file and the entire .SAJ folder to your new system.
5. Launch Sage 50 on your new system.
6. Click on Select an existing company.
7. Browse and select the company file transferred from the old system.
8. Click on Open and wait for Sage 50 to launch the file.

Option 3: Download a copy of the company file from Remote Data Access

Remote data access is a service provided by Sage. If you’ve subscribed to this service, then you can log into your Sage account and download a copy of the company file on the new system.

Steps to download company file with Remote Data Access:

1. Open Sage 50 on the new system.
2. Go to the File menu, and select Connect to a Shared Company.
3. Input authentication details for your Sage account.
4. Choose the company file from the Shared Companies window.
5. To start the download, click on Connect.

Note: you need a high speed internet connection to download the company file from Remote Data Access.

Connect Workstations to the New Server (For multi-user setup)

Now that you’ve transferred your data to the new server, you can point the workstations to the new server so that users working on these workstations can access the data on the server.

Steps to connect workstations to Sage 50 on new server:

1. Launch Sage 50 on your new server system.
2. Choose Sage Accounts, and click on Help.
3. Choose the About option.
4. Note down the Version Number and Data Directory from the Program Details section.
5. Press Windows + R to launch the Run command on your server computer.
6. Input control/name microsoft.system, and hit Enter.
7. Note Down the Computer Name.

To add the company file to Sage 50, the steps differ on the basis of two scenarios. Follow the steps for the one that applies to you.

Scenario 1: adding a company file to a newly installed Sage 50

1. Launch Sage 50.
2. Input the registration details, and click on Continue.
3. Choose the option “Use an existing company stored on your network”. Then select Browse.
4. Open the shared folder and select the ACCDATA folder.
5. Choose Ok, then Next.
6. Verify information about the company file, then choose Convert or Connect.

You can now access the data file on the server from your workstation.

Scenario 2: adding a company file to an already installed Sage 50

1. Launch Sage 50 and log into a company file using the authentication details for a MANAGER account.
2. Go to the File menu, and select New.
3. Choose Company.
4. Select the option “Use an existing company stored on your network”.
5. Click on Browse and select the ACCDATA folder from the shared folder.
6. Verify information about the company file, then choose Convert or Connect.

You can now access the data file on the server from your workstation.

Transfer Sage 50 Forms to New System (Optional)

This section details the steps to transfer Sage 50 user-defined forms from your old system to the new system. You can copy the files for the forms to the new system using an external media device. Then, you can import these custom forms in Sage 50 on the new system.

1. Find the user-defined forms (SFM files) stored on your old system.
   1. In Sage 50, choose Setup.
   2. Click on Reports & Forms.
   3. Select Invoices and note the location of these forms.
2. Copy the forms to the new system.
3. Launch Sage 50 on the new System.
4. Click on Setup, then Reports & Forms.
5. Click on Invoices or another form option.
6. Choose User-defined invoices.
7. Choose Browse and select the Form file you copied from your old system.
8. Click on Open, then Ok.

Conclusion

I hope that this comprehensive guide on transferring Sage 50 to a new computer helps you to easily migrate your accounting software. You can follow the solutions for your particular scenario and easily transfer the files. Apart from the software and its data, you can also transfer user preferences and custom forms. If you need help with the transfer process, then get in touch with our Sage 50 experts.

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