Sage for CIS: the all-in-one case
Accounting software comparisons often focus on price per plan, but for CIS contractors the relevant unit of comparison is the total cost of all the features you need. Sage Standard costs £30 a month (checked June 2026) and includes CIS300 direct HMRC filing, payroll for one employee and telephone support in that single price. On QuickBooks or Xero, reaching the same combination requires the plan price plus separate payroll add-on costs, and on Xero the CIS filing add-on on top of that.
That bundled position makes Sage Standard the strongest option for contractors who employ staff directly as well as paying CIS subcontractors, and for anyone who wants to be able to call a support line when something goes wrong near the 19th-of-the-month filing deadline. It is less compelling for sole-trader subcontractors who do not have employees, where the payroll and phone support bundling adds cost without delivering value.
This guide covers Sage's CIS features, current UK pricing verified in June 2026, step-by-step setup, Sage 50cloud for larger businesses, and a three-way comparison with Xero and QuickBooks. For the broader software landscape, the full comparison is in the best CIS accounting software guide.
Sage UK pricing: current plans (checked June 2026)
| Plan | Monthly price (excl. VAT, checked June 2026) | CIS included | CIS300 HMRC filing | Payroll included | Phone support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | £15 | No | No | No | No |
| Standard | £30 | Yes | Yes | 1 employee | Yes |
| Plus | £59 | Yes | Yes | 5 employees | Yes |
Sage 50cloud is a separate, more powerful product at a higher price point, suited to larger contractors. It is covered in a dedicated section below. The three plans above are the Sage Accounting (cloud) range.
Additional employees beyond the plan allowance are available at around £1.50 per employee per month. Sage regularly offers discounts for the first three months on new subscriptions: always check the current promotional offer before purchasing, as the headline price may be lower initially.
What Sage Standard includes for CIS
CIS deduction calculations. Sage calculates CIS deductions automatically when you set up subcontractor contacts and record payments. The deduction applies to the labour element of payments only, excluding materials. A £1,000 invoice with £600 labour and £400 materials has 20% applied to the £600, producing a £120 deduction. Getting this labour-only split correct on every subcontractor invoice is essential: over-deducting from a subcontractor (by applying CIS to materials as well) creates a liability that comes back as a complaint or a correction.
CIS300 direct HMRC filing. Sage Standard files the CIS300 monthly return directly to HMRC. The return pulls from the subcontractor payment data recorded during the tax month. From April 2026, contractors must also file nil returns in months with no subcontractor payments: this obligation was removed in 2015 and reinstated under Finance Act 2026. Sage handles nil return filing through the same workflow.
Deduction statements. Sage generates deduction statements from payment records. These must be issued to subcontractors within 14 days of each payment. Sage can generate statements by subcontractor and by period, and they can be emailed directly from the software.
Subcontractor verification. Before paying a new subcontractor, a contractor must verify their CIS status with HMRC. In Sage, this process redirects to the HMRC portal rather than completing within the application. You log into the Government Gateway, run the verification, receive the deduction rate and record it in Sage. This is one extra step compared with QuickBooks and Xero (with add-on), which complete verification within the app, but the underlying HMRC check is identical.
Payroll (Standard: one employee). Sage Standard includes payroll for one employee, covering RTI filings to HMRC, auto-enrolment management and payslip generation. For a contractor who has one directly employed worker alongside CIS subcontractors, this eliminates the need for a separate payroll product. Sage Plus includes up to five employees at no additional charge.
Phone support. Sage provides telephone support included in Standard and Plus plan prices. This is a meaningful differentiator near filing deadlines. QuickBooks and Xero both offer support via chat and online documentation only.
DRC VAT support. Sage handles the domestic reverse charge for construction services. The DRC has been in force since 1 March 2021 and applies when all five conditions are met: both parties are VAT-registered, both are CIS-registered, the supply is a specified CIS service, the customer is not the end user, and the supply is standard or reduced-rated. The five-condition test is covered in full at the domestic reverse charge guide.
Setting up CIS in Sage Standard: step by step
- Enable CIS in business settings. In Sage, go to Settings, then Business Settings, then Construction Industry Scheme. Enable CIS and enter your UTR and employer PAYE reference. These link Sage to your HMRC identity for the monthly return submission.
- Connect to HMRC. In the same CIS settings, connect your Sage account to HMRC via your Government Gateway credentials. This authorises Sage to submit CIS300 returns on your behalf.
- Add subcontractor contacts and verify. For each subcontractor, create a contact and mark them as a CIS subcontractor. Enter their UTR and trading name. To verify, Sage will direct you to the HMRC portal where you log in and run the verification. Record the returned deduction rate (0%, 20% or 30%) in the subcontractor's Sage record. Do this before making any payment to a new subcontractor.
- Record payments with labour and materials split. When you record a payment to a CIS subcontractor, split the transaction lines between labour and materials. Sage applies the CIS deduction to the labour lines only. Clean line-by-line splits on every subcontractor bill keep the deduction statements and the monthly CIS300 accurate.
- Set DRC VAT coding if VAT-registered. If you receive invoices from VAT-registered subcontractors under the domestic reverse charge, apply the DRC VAT code to those invoice lines in Sage. This ensures the correct output and input tax treatment in your VAT return.
- File the monthly CIS300. At the end of each tax month (the 5th), go to the CIS section in Sage and submit the return. Sage generates the return from your payment data and submits it to HMRC. The deadline is the 19th of the following month. File a nil return in any month with no subcontractor payments.
CIS300 deadlines and penalties
The CIS300 must be filed by the 19th of the following tax month. Payment of deducted CIS to HMRC is due by the 22nd electronically or the 19th by cheque. Tax months run from the 6th to the 5th: the return for the month ending 5 April is due by 19 April.
The penalty ladder for late filing is: £100 for one day late, £200 at two months, £300 or 5% of the CIS liability (whichever is higher) at six months, and £300 or 5% of the CIS liability (whichever is higher) at twelve months, with a further penalty of up to £3,000 or 100% where information is withheld deliberately. Nil returns trigger the same penalties if missed. The full penalties guide is at CIS penalties and appeals, and the contractor responsibilities guide is at CIS monthly responsibilities for contractors.
Sage 50cloud for larger contractors
Sage 50cloud is a hybrid desktop-plus-cloud product that sits above the three cloud-only Accounting plans. It is aimed at main contractors with more complex requirements: 20 or more subcontractors, project-level job costing, detailed cost-centre reporting, multi-user access for a bookkeeping team, and advanced payroll for larger workforces.
Sage 50cloud carries a significantly higher price than the cloud Accounting range and typically requires more setup and training. For most small and medium CIS contractors (up to 15-20 subcontractors, one or two employees, straightforward accounting), Sage Standard at £30 a month is the more appropriate starting point. Sage 50cloud becomes worth considering when you outgrow the simpler interface and need the job-costing and reporting depth that a larger construction operation requires.
Sage vs Xero vs QuickBooks: three-way comparison
| Feature | Sage Standard | Xero Ignite plus CIS add-on | QuickBooks Simple Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price (excl. VAT, checked June 2026) | £30 | £21 (£16 plus £5 add-on) | £16 |
| CIS300 direct HMRC filing | Yes | Yes (with add-on) | Yes |
| In-app subcontractor verification | No (HMRC portal redirect) | Yes (with add-on) | Yes |
| Payroll included | Yes (1 employee) | No (paid add-on) | No (paid add-on) |
| DRC VAT support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MTD ITSA (sole trader) | Yes | No (Grow plan required at £33) | Yes |
| Phone support | Yes | No | No |
| Interface | Functional, slightly dense | Clean and modern | Clear, straightforward |
Sage Standard is the highest monthly price of the three at the basic comparison level, but it is the only one that includes payroll. A contractor who needs payroll alongside CIS will pay at least £16 (QuickBooks plan) plus the payroll add-on, which closes the gap quickly. If payroll for one employee is sufficient and phone support matters, Sage Standard is often the lowest all-in cost for that combination.
QuickBooks Simple Start at £16 is the clearest value leader when payroll is not required. Xero's strength is interface quality, and it becomes more cost-competitive against Sage when you account for the fact that the Grow plan (£33) is needed for MTD ITSA sole traders.
Sage's honest limitations for CIS users
Interface is older and denser. Sage Accounting's interface is functional but more cluttered than Xero's or QuickBooks'. For owner-operators who do not have a bookkeeping background and are learning the software alongside running a construction business, the learning curve is steeper than the alternatives.
Verification requires leaving the application. Sage redirects to the HMRC portal for subcontractor verification rather than handling it within Sage. For a contractor verifying one or two new subcontractors a month, this is a minor inconvenience. For a larger contractor taking on many new subcontractors regularly, the redirect adds friction.
Start plan has no CIS at all. Unlike Xero's Ignite plan (which at least includes CIS calculations if not CIS300 filing), Sage Start has no CIS functionality whatsoever. You cannot record subcontractor payments with CIS deduction logic on the Start plan.
Higher base cost for sole traders without employees. For a sole-trader subcontractor with no employees, the payroll and phone support bundled into Sage Standard are not relevant, and the £30 price is roughly double QuickBooks Simple Start for the same CIS recording capability. The premium is worth paying when those bundled features are useful, not when they are not.
Who should choose Sage for CIS
Sage Standard is the strongest choice for: main contractors with one to three directly employed workers alongside CIS subcontractors (the bundled payroll eliminates a separate product); contractors who value telephone support and want a human line near the 19th-of-the-month deadline; and businesses that have historically used Sage products and want continuity with the same vendor.
Sage Plus at £59 a month is the right step when the directly employed workforce grows to five or more, when multi-currency work begins, or when the additional reporting depth is needed. Sage 50cloud is the route for larger contractors with job-costing and project-tracking requirements.
If payroll is not a concern and cost per month is the priority, QuickBooks Simple Start at £16 covers the same CIS contractor features for almost half the Sage Standard price. The QuickBooks CIS guide and Xero CIS guide cover those alternatives in the same detail as this guide. The full comparison table across all five products is in the best CIS accounting software guide.
For a quick check on your CIS tax position before deciding on software, the CIS refund estimator gives a starting figure. If you have CIS deductions from previous years that you have not yet claimed, the CIS back-years calculator gives an estimate of what may still be recoverable within the four-year lookback window.