What is MYOB and How Can it Help You?
MYOB is the most widely used accounting software package on the market today. Most accounting firms use it and recommend it to their clients. The term “MYOB” is actually an acronym for “Mind Your Own Business” which was it’s original name – but the shortened version caught on much easier, so most people know the product simply as “MYOB” today.
So what is MYOB? Well, it’s a very powerful, dynamically integrated bookkeeping and accounting tool that seamlessly updates itself with every transaction you process. It contains a number of modules and depending on which version of MYOB you have purchased, will determine how many modules are at your disposal. The most basic version is little more than a cashbook, but the more advanced programs include additional dedicated modules, these being Sales (Debtors), Purchases (Creditors), Inventory and Payroll. There is a limited “Job Costing” feature, but it’s very basic, so if you’re in manufacturing and need this function, you can purchase special Job and Process Costing programs that have been designed to integrate with MYOB.
What Can You Do With MYOB?
Because MYOB is so popular, a number of specialist software programs have been developed that will post the results of their transactions into MYOB. For example, if you’re in the retail industry, you have MYOB Retail Manager. This program allows you to bar scan products at the checkout. The daily transaction record will then export across to the main MYOB program where it will update your General Ledger and Inventory balances. There are more basic versions of this “Point of Sale” (POS) system, each with it’s own hierarch of features. You can even get a module especially designed for the hospitality industry – so if you run a hotel, motel or caravan park, MYOB’s “Retail Hospitality” can manage your bookings as well. We have already mentioned the Job Costing program above – just do a search for “MYOB Job Costing” and see for yourself.
On-Site of In the Cloud
If you want to keep all your accounting records off-site, you can choose MYOB’s latest innovation – MYOB Live Accounts. Live Accounts is a full featured program where all your transactions are processed “in the cloud” – i.e. on the internet. Since data is stored off-site, your accounting records are safe in the event of disaster such as fire, theft or computer malfunction. Not only that, but you can allow direct access by professionals such as your tax accountant or bookkeeper, without having to send files, or require them to own their own version of the program.
MYOB Premier is the top of the line product which allows simultaneous multi-user access. It also contains additional features such as advanced stock management, comprehensive payroll functionality and multiple currencies. Premier is best suited to larger more complex businesses.
What is MYOB on Apple Mac Computers?
Whilst MYOB was originally designed to be used on PC’s there is also a range for Apple MacIntosh computers, called the AccountEdge. If you’re only a small enterprise, you can start with the Basic version, but if you want something more full-featured, you can progress right up to the Network Edition which has similar capabilities to MYOB Premier.
How Does MYOB Work?
The rationale behind MYOB is, that it thinks like an accountant. It classified all it’s GL accounts into the categories that accounting students learn about – Assets, Liabilties, Equity, Revenue, Cost of Sales and Expenses. It uses double-entry accounting methods to produce financial reports at whatever level you’re equipped to have them. But this doesn’t mean that you need to be an accountant to operate the program. Not by any means! All you need to remember is, that with every transaction you process, there will always be two sides to it. For example, you’ve just made a sale. Have you been paid yet, or only issuing an invoice? If you haven’t been paid, then one side of the transaction will be to recognize the sale, the other side will recognize that someone owes you money.
So you’ve just banked some money? Just ask yourself, “what is happening here?” Is the money you’re banking coming from someone who owed it to you, or is it from a cash sale? You see? Every transaction has two sides. In this case, one side will be the bank deposit and the other will either recognize that someone has paid you, or that you’ve just made a cash sale. Simple as that!
You’ve just paid someone – so you know that one side of the transaction will be a bank withdrawal. What is the other side? Well, you could be either paying someone you owed money to, or it could be a direct payment for an expense, such as wages, insurance or fuel. This is how double-entry bookkeeping works. It’s just a matter of asking yourself, what are the two things happening in every transaction I process?
Even so, MYOB still makes it easy for you. Most double entry transactions will be processed in the background. But it does pay to have some knowledge of the concept, otherwise you’re better off consulting a bookkeeper.
Risk Free Trial – Great for Trainees
Many of my clients that I’m training don’t own their own version of MYOB. One reason for this is because they only need training so that they can get a job at a place where MYOB is used. In these cases, I recommend that they consolidate the learning process by downloading a free copy of the MYOB program after the training. MYOB allows you to use it for 30 days before you need to pay for it. Using the sample company that comes with the program, a trainee can explore the program further, or practice what they have learned so that they are better equipped to include their knowledge of MYOB on their CV.
So what is MYOB in a nutshell? It is a very easy to use, dynamically integrated (this means everything updates automatically with each transaction) accounting software program that has grown from its early origins back in the 1990’s (when I first started using it) to the versatile range of tailored solutions available today.