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My software licence is in Trial Mode

Created on  | Last modified on 

Summary

What to do if Sage 50 Payroll indicates it's in Trial Mode when you have a full licence.

Description

If your software is incorrectly in Trial Mode, you lose access to some functionality.

Follow the steps below to resolve this.

Resolution

To resolve this, start by checking your licence is up to date.

Activation details

The activation details in your software are what Payroll uses to check your software licence is valid.

To check these are up to date, visit our find my serial number and activation key article and retrieve your latest software licence details.

Note these details then continue with the steps below:

  1. In Sage 50 Payroll, click Tools then Upgrade Program.
  2. Check your licence details here:
    • If they're incorrect, enter the latest details you retrieved then click Update
    • If they're already correct, leave these details entered and click Update
  3. Click OK on the message that appears.

You've now refreshed your licence details.

Check if you resolved the issue. If not, continue to rename PAY.USR.

Rename PAY.USR

The next step is to rename the file that holds your activation details.

  1. Check that you have your activation details noted from the Activation details section.
  2. Log in to a company in Sage 50 Payroll.
  3. Go to Help then About.
  4. Select the link under the Settings Directory heading.
  5. Keep the Settings Directory folder open, and close Sage 50 Payroll.
  6. In the Settings Directory folder, locate the file PAY.USR.

    NOTE:

    If this file appears as PAY and doesn't include .USR, go to support.microsoft.com to show file extensions before you proceed.

  7. Right-click PAY.USR and select Rename.
  8. Change the name to PAY.OLD then press Enter.
  9. Open Sage 50 Payroll.
  10. When prompted, enter your activation details and select Next.
  11. When you reach the options to create a new set of data or select an existing set of data, select Cancel.
  12. Close the program.
  13. Open the program as normal.

Your company list now appears in full in the Open company window, and you can log in as normal.

Check if you've resolved the issue. If not, continue to the SDK Licence folder section below.

SDK Licence folder

If the issue still occurs, you need to replace a folder that your software uses to check your licence.

  1. Close Sage 50 Payroll.
  2. Press the Windows key The Windows key logo. + R on your keyboard.
  3. Enter C:\ProgramData\Sage, then click OK.
  4. Right-click the SDK Licence folder and click Rename.
  5. Change the name to SDK Licence OLD and press Enter on your keyboard.
  6. Log in to Sage 50 Payroll as normal.

Check if you've resolved the issue. If it still occurs, contact Sage technical support.