When you open the software, the message "You have entered an invalid password" appears.

There are a few potential causes of this message.

Try these resolutions in turn to fix the issue. Move to the next section if the issue persists.

Only enter the first 10 characters of your password

In Sage 50 Accounts v27 and above the number of permitted password characters has increased from 10 to 32. Earlier versions of the software read only the first 10 characters of your password. When entering your password in version 27 after upgrading, ensure you only enter the first 10 characters. 

 TIP: The password for Sage 50 Accounts can be any combination of letters and numbers and does not have any compulsory requirements.

Windows FIPS encryption is enabled

Use our article 'You have entered an invalid password' message when Windows FIPS encryption is enabled. if you've recently changed your windows encryption settings. 

If you've downgraded from Sage 50 Accounts v28.1.404.0 to 28.0.226.0

In the latest version of Sage 50 Accounts, we’ve resolved this issue.  Upgrade using the download and install article.

Or, you can follow the workaround below:

When downgrading from v28.1 to v28.0, you need to remove 2 registry entries before you can access your company data.

1. Click the link below to download the registry file:
   
   • RemoveCipher.28.1.404.reg.
2. Open the file in File Explorer, then double-click RemoveCipher.28.1.404.
3. Click Run, then click Yes and click OK.

You've now removed the registry entries and can access your company data. 

Reset the Manager password

To Reset the Manager password, on the Logon window click Forgotten password and answer your security question.

 NOTE: If you don't know the answer to your security question get in touch with our support team who will decode your password real time with you. There's no charge for this service, but phone contact should be made by the main billing contact on the account.

Try other passwords

Try other passwords. If you've restored a backup, you may need to use an old password. If other passwords don't work, check that Sage Accounts is up to date. Also, if you have a multi-company licence, check that you enter the password for the required company.

If you're logging in with a username other than Manager, you can ask the Manager user to reset your password. 

 NOTE: Remember, if on v27 and above, only enter the first 10 characters.

Check that Sage Accounts is up to date

You need to ensure you've installed the latest updates from our Sage 50 Accounts software updates guide. 

Reset the Sage password encryption

If there's an issue with the Sage password encryption, you need to uninstall Sage Accounts, remove any Sage.Cryptography files, then re-install Sage Accounts. You can follow the steps in our Reset the Sage password encryption guide to do this.

Restore an earlier backup

If none of the above resolve the issue, your setup.dta data file may be corrupt. To resolve this, you must Restore a backup of your data before the issue occurring, and reprocess anything if required.