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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Unlock the power of MYOB with the ultimate handbook: MYOB for Dummies Looking for a hands-on guide that will show you how MYOB helps you manage everyday business tasks? Want practical tips for handling your finances (including payroll and tax reporting!) more easily? Comprehensively updated for the new MYOB Business, MYOB For Dummies shows you how to take full advantage of the online flexibility and handy features offered by Australia's leading home-grown business management platform. Whether you're new to MYOB Business or wanting to get more from AccountRight, this is your guide to becoming an MYOB master! You'll learn, step by step, how to develop a customised workflow for all your bookkeeping and accounting tasks. With MYOB For Dummies, you'll be able to make the most of MYOB's real-time data insights--so you can run your business from anywhere and make better business decisions on the go. * Learn how to choose a plan and set up your MYOB file * Get tips for saving time and money by automating tasks * Discover better solutions for managing day-to-day transactions, expenses, and cashflow * Centralise your data in a platform that will grow and evolve with your business Join MYOB consultant and professional bookkeeper Sonya Prosper as she shares her in-depth knowledge of how to get the best out of MYOB. MYOB For Dummies delivers the clear and simple guidance you need for managing more clients and more business--with less stress.
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MYOB® For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “MYOB For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Foreword
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go From Here
Part 1: Getting Started with MYOB
Chapter 1: Introducing MYOB Business
Planning to Get Started
Using MYOB’s Getting Started Guides to Set Up Your File
Getting into the Groove
Finding Your File Online
Inviting Others to Access MYOB
Chapter 2: Accounts, Customers and Suppliers
Creating your Chart of Accounts
Polishing Your Chart of Accounts
Setting Up New Customers
Adding New Suppliers
Looking After Your Contacts
Chapter 3: Setting Up Opening Balances
Customer Opening Balances and Historical Invoices (Sales)
Supplier Opening Balances and Historical Purchases
Account Opening Balances
Opening Inventory Balances
Part 2: Everyday Activities
Chapter 4: Making Sales
Recording Your First Sale (Yippee!)
Invoicing on the Go
Meeting GST Requirements
Digging Yourself Out of a Hole
Working with Quotes and Sales Orders
Setting Up Repeating Sales
Sending Customer Invoices
Chapter 5: Changing the Game with Bank Feeds and Rules
Unlocking the Mystery of How Bank Feeds and Rules Work
Getting Hooked Up
Using Bank Feeds to Allocate and Match Transactions
Managing Your Bank Accounts
Dealing with Tricky Situations
Learning the Rules of the Game
Keeping Rules Nice and Schmick
Chapter 6: There Goes Your Cash!
Recording Expenses
Picking the Right Expense Account
Understanding GST (You’ll Be the Only One)
Locating and Changing Transactions
It’s a Petty Business
Chapter 7: Here Comes the Money
Seeing How Much You’re Owed
Yippee! A Customer Has Paid Up
Grouping Customer Payments
Building Your Survival Kit
Yee Haa! Someone Else Has Given You Money
Sending Customer Statements
Chasing Money
Chapter 8: Purchases and Supplier Payments
Deciding Whether You Need to Read This Chapter
Creating Purchase Orders
Recording Supplier Bills
Using the In Tray
Hitting Up the ATO with TPAR
Getting Everything Just Right
Facing the Music: How Much Do You Owe?
Keeping Things in Tune
Chapter 9: Reconcile Yourself
What Reconciling is All About
Getting Ready to Reconcile
Reconciling Your Bank Account
Troubleshooting Tricks
When Your Bank Account Just Won’t Balance
Keeping Good Records
Part 3: Taking the Next Step
Chapter 10: Managing Items
Seeing if the Shoe Fits
Adding Items to Your Items List
Giving Your Items List the Once-Over
Managing Inventory
Fixing Things When Stuff Goes Wrong
Stocktaking for Success
Balancing Your Inventory
Chapter 11: Setting Up Payroll
Getting the Baseline Right
Setting Up Pay Items
Adding a New Employee
Setting Up Single Touch Payroll
Preparing to Pay Super
Chapter 12: Paying Your Employees
Processing Your First Pay
Managing Leave Payments
Getting Superannuation Payments Right Using MYOB
Withholding PAYG Tax
Balancing Your Payroll Accounts
Biting the Bullet
Wrapping up the Payroll Year
Chapter 13: Working with MYOB Team
Getting Started with MYOB Team
Capturing Time and Making Sense of Locations
Using MYOB Team: For Employees
Creating and Viewing Rosters
Managing Approvals Using MYOB Team
Chapter 14: Taking Electronic Payments to the Next Level
Getting Ready for Electronic Payments
Making Your First Electronic Payment
Fixing Payments When Something Goes Wrong
Part 4: Making MYOB Work for You
Chapter 15: Reporting for Business
Reviewing Your Report Settings
Generating Reports
Adding a Personal Touch to Your Reports
Stop the Press! Streamlining with Report Packs
Chapter 16: The Gist of GST
Understanding Where Everything Fits
Reviewing Your Tax Codes
Picking the Right Tax Code
Checking You’re Ready to Do the Deed
Completing Your Business Activity Statement
Lodging Your BAS Direct from MYOB
Recording your Payment or Refund
Chapter 17: Understanding Your Business
Generating Financial Statements
Consolidating Financial Reports
Working with Budgets and Cashflows
Seeing Where the Money’s Made
Chapter 18: Keeping Your Accounts in Top Shape
Reconciling Every Account
Lining Up for a Health Check
Running Diagnostics: The Transaction Review
Dishing Out Medicine: The Tax Review
Heading to the Beach
Part 5: The Part of Tens
Chapter 19: Ten Useful Tools for Managing Cashflow
Offer Online Invoice Payments
Use eInvoicing to Speed Up Invoice Processing
Switch on Invoice Reminders
Stay on Top of Who Owes You Money
Keep Track of Your Invoicing Activity
Get Bank Feeds Up and Running
Record Supplier Bills Swiftly Via the In Tray
Understand the Difference between Profitability and Cashflow
Head to the App Marketplace
Use Comparative Reporting
Chapter 20: Ten Essential Tasks When Preparing Your Business Activity Statement
Check All Bank Transactions Have Been Allocated
Clear Your Suspense and Queries to Code Accounts
Reconcile Your Debtors and Creditors
Review Your General Ledger Report
Review Your GST Report
Reconcile Payroll and STP
Reconcile All Your Bank Accounts
Check for Prior Period BAS Adjustments
Lock Your Data
Lodge Your BAS
Index
About the Author
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
Table 1-1 User Roles and What They Mean
Chapter 2
TABLE 2-1 Account Classifications Used in the Chart of Accounts
TABLE 2-2 Default Credit Terms
Chapter 6
TABLE 6-1 Matchmaking Payments and Accounts
Chapter 7
TABLE 7-1 Matchmaking Receipts and Accounts
Chapter 8
TABLE 8-1 Getting Documents into Your In Tray
TABLE 8-2 Different Methods for Working through Your In Tray
Chapter 9
TABLE 9-1 Dealing with Unmatched Transactions
Chapter 12
TABLE 12-1 Resolving Errors When You Can’t Wait Until the Next Pay Cycle to Make...
Chapter 16
Table 16-1 What Tax Code to Pick When (Simpler BAS Method Only)
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: When you first log in, MYOB provides a range of ‘getting started’ g...
FIGURE 1-2: Viewing the MYOB Business Dashboard.
FIGURE 1-3: Enter your two-factor authentication code from your email or using ...
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: A sample Chart of Accounts, which describes every asset, liability,...
FIGURE 2-2: Creating a new account.
FIGURE 2-3: Creating headers to group accounts.
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: The Convert to Historical Invoice pop-up box.
FIGURE 3-2: Recording a historical invoice for a customer who owed you money pr...
FIGURE 3-3: Recording account opening balances.
FIGURE 3-4: Recording opening inventory balances.
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Creating items for each service you provide (or each item you sell)...
FIGURE 4-2: A typical invoice with an Item layout.
FIGURE 4-3: MYOB Invoice enables you to create and send invoices directly from ...
FIGURE 4-4: Creating a credit note.
FIGURE 4-5: Setting up a recurring invoice.
FIGURE 4-6: Emailing an invoice.
FIGURE 4-7: Emailing an eInvoice.
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: A typical bank feed for a bank account.
FIGURE 5-2: The Bank Transactions page.
FIGURE 5-3: A familiar allocation breakdown.
FIGURE 5-4: MYOB often displays an alert to match, rather than allocate, transa...
FIGURE 5-5: A matching transfer on the Transfer Money tab.
FIGURE 5-6: Creating a new transaction rule seems easy, but take care with the ...
FIGURE 5-7: Creating a new transaction rule using the OR feature.
FIGURE 5-8: Create a bank rule with a split allocation by percentage split.
FIGURE 5-9: Creating a new Allocation Template to include all possible line ite...
FIGURE 5-10: Applying Allocation Templates to a rental income transaction.
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: Allocating transactions can be as simple as entering an account in ...
FIGURE 6-2: Recording an expense in full detail.
FIGURE 6-3: Splitting expenses across more than one account.
FIGURE 6-4: Splitting a transaction to record the correct GST tax amount.
FIGURE 6-5: Viewing transactions in your Bank Transactions report.
FIGURE 6-6: Using Find and Replace to re-allocate incorrect transactions.
FIGURE 6-7: Recording a journal entry for petty cash expenses paid using owner’...
FIGURE 6-8: Recording a petty cash transaction when you’re running a petty cash...
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: The Dashboard provides a quick insight into how much customers owe ...
FIGURE 7-2: Recording a customer payment through the Match Transaction tab on y...
FIGURE 7-3: Recording a customer payment through the Sales menu.
FIGURE 7-4: Recording a customer invoice payment using the Undeposited Funds ac...
FIGURE 7-5: Applying overpayments to a customer’s account.
FIGURE 7-6: Recording a customer refund.
FIGURE 7-7: Matching payments and utilising the Add Adjustment feature.
FIGURE 7-8: Allowing customers the option to pay using online invoice payments ...
FIGURE 7-9: Create an invoice with a negative amount to record a bad debt.
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: A typical purchase order.
FIGURE 8-2: Creating a Bill from your supplier’s tax invoice using the Services...
FIGURE 8-3: A typical services bill.
FIGURE 8-4: Attaching documents directly to a bank transaction.
FIGURE 8-5: A contractor bill marked as reportable for TPAR.
FIGURE 8-6: Matching a supplier payment through your bank transactions.
FIGURE 8-7: Applying supplier payments manually.
FIGURE 8-8: Get a good overview of your Bills by filtering by the Due Date.
FIGURE 8-9: Dealing with supplier overpayments.
FIGURE 8-10: The Unmatch option on the Bank Transactions page.
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: Entering opening bank account balances.
FIGURE 9-2: With no unallocated transactions within the required date range, yo...
FIGURE 9-3: Reconciling your bank account is easiest if you do bite-sized chunk...
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10-1: Creating a new item.
FIGURE 10-2: You can set up items for things you order from suppliers, even if ...
FIGURE 10-3: The Reorder Report shows current stock levels, and you can reorder...
FIGURE 10-4: The Items Register report displays every sale, purchase and invent...
FIGURE 10-5: Regular review of the Item Sales Analysis report helps you make sm...
FIGURE 10-6: Changing item quantities using Adjust Inventory.
FIGURE 10-7: Fixing up inventory costs.
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11-1: Checking your Payroll Linked Accounts are correctly configured.
FIGURE 11-2: Adding leave exemptions to the default Annual Leave Full Time Hour...
FIGURE 11-3: The correct setup for your Superannuation Guarantee pay item.
FIGURE 11-4: An Employee Self-Onboarding form, which can be accessed securely o...
FIGURE 11-5: Completing the Salary and Wages tab when creating an employee.
FIGURE 11-6: Standard pays are the easiest way to ensure employee pays calculat...
FIGURE 11-7: The right role setup is crucial for connecting STP reporting in MY...
FIGURE 11-8: Notifying the ATO that you’re using MYOB for payroll reporting.
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12-1: The Calculate Pays page.
FIGURE 12-2: Expand an individual employee’s pay to review the details, make an...
FIGURE 12-3: Processing a pay run that includes annual leave.
FIGURE 12-4: Entering leave opening balances via a pay run ensures a good audit...
FIGURE 12-5: Adjusting annual leave (in the Leave Accrual section) via an unsch...
FIGURE 12-6: Recording a super payment in MYOB Pay Super.
FIGURE 12-7: The Payroll Activity Report shows payroll information at a glance,...
FIGURE 12-8: Reconcile your wages in MYOB with the figures you report to the AT...
FIGURE 12-9: The final stages of STP finalisation, ready to notify the ATO.
Chapter 13
FIGURE 13-1: The MYOB Team Portal landing page (when you first log into MYOB Te...
FIGURE 13-2: Selecting a Default Superannuation Fund for your business.
FIGURE 13-3: Set Base Hourly hours to zero for employees using MYOB to avoid an...
FIGURE 13-4: The Create Location pop-up window.
FIGURE 13-5: An example location setup, with geolocation enabled.
FIGURE 13-6: An email invitation to join MYOB Team.
FIGURE 13-7: Employees added to a location under their approving manager.
FIGURE 13-8: The home screen of an approving manager on the MYOB Team app.
FIGURE 13-9: A roster, ready to publish so all employees can see their shifts v...
FIGURE 13-10: Timesheets being approved via the MYOB Team Portal.
Chapter 14
FIGURE 14-1: Entering banking details for a supplier.
FIGURE 14-2: Entering banking details for an employee.
FIGURE 14-3: Completed bank account details, ready to make electronic payments.
FIGURE 14-4: Select Electronic Payment to indicate that you intend to pay a sup...
FIGURE 14-5: Marking payments for electronic processing to create an ABA file.
FIGURE 14-6: You can re-download an ABA file from an electronic payment you’ve ...
Chapter 15
FIGURE 15-1: The Reports page.
FIGURE 15-2: You can customise almost any report to add, remove or reorder colu...
FIGURE 15-3: Similar to almost all reports, the GST Report can be customised to...
FIGURE 15-4: A customised Profit and Loss report for a single month comparing a...
FIGURE 15-5: A sample PDF style template.
FIGURE 15-6: An example of a report pack template you can send with your BAS.
Chapter 16
FIGURE 16-1: Your run-of-the-mill GST tax code info.
FIGURE 16-2: A typical list of tax codes for reporting BAS using the Simpler BA...
FIGURE 16-3: Every account has a corresponding tax code listed in the Tax Code ...
FIGURE 16-4: Recording a payment when GST doesn’t equal 10 per cent.
FIGURE 16-5: The Prior Period Adjustments page picks up prior period adjustment...
FIGURE 16-6: Configuring activity statement fields from the Online Activity Sta...
FIGURE 16-7: Using an allocation template to record a BAS payment.
Chapter 17
FIGURE 17-1: An at-a-glance view of your profitability on your Dashboard.
FIGURE 17-2: A customised Profit and Loss report displaying monthly breakdowns ...
FIGURE 17-3: Consolidate your other MYOB files into one report.
FIGURE 17-4: A Statement of Cash Flow report.
FIGURE 17-5: Enter a Job Number so you can track income and expenses for projec...
FIGURE 17-6: Job Numbers can be used on bills and invoices, as well as on expen...
FIGURE 17-7: A Jobs list.
Chapter 18
FIGURE 18-1: Recording interest on a loan account via a Spend Money transaction...
FIGURE 18-2: The Exceptions Dashboard page.
FIGURE 18-3: Allocating transactions to Trade Debtors or Trade Creditors is a b...
FIGURE 18-4: Reconciling GST on a cash basis.
Chapter 19
FIGURE 19-1: Review your invoice Activity to check your invoices have been sent...
Chapter 20
FIGURE 20-1: Customising your General Ledger to include extra columns.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Foreword
Begin Reading
Index
About the Author
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MYOB® For Dummies®, 9th Edition
Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Australia Ltd
Level 4, 600 Bourke Street
Melbourne, Vic 3000
www.dummies.com
Copyright © 2024 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
Additional material authored by Veechi Curtis
ISBN: 978-1-394-17051-7
All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design and icons, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Services section of John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd, Level 19, 15 William Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000, or email [email protected].
Cover image: © Ground Picture/Shutterstock; Screen capture and logo: Courtesy of MYOB Technology Pty Ltd
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANISATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANISATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Making Everything Easier, dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Foreword
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are renowned for being the backbone of the economy, and for good reason. In addition to contributing significantly to national gross domestic product (GDP) and employment, they provide local communities with vital goods and services.
It is also through the day-to-day encounters with these SMEs, whether that’s online or in our local neighbourhoods, cities and suburbs, that we enjoy the personable experience and entrepreneurial spirit that draws a special kind of support from their customers — particularly during tough times.
It goes without saying that starting a business is a huge achievement — but it’s only the first step. For many, the bigger challenge is growing and scaling, or operating confidently through difficult times. We need only look at the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout to see how quickly the environment can change and how key adaptability and resilience are to running a successful business.
As well as saving time and money, managing workflows and having real-time visibility over the entire operation, all from one place, arms business owners with a depth of information and the confidence they need to make the big calls and pull the right levers in the face of new challenges.
As one of the original tech start-ups, we have been a trusted provider of business management solutions to SMEs in Australia and New Zealand for more than 30 years, but we’re not the same MYOB we used to be.
Since the last edition of MYOB For Dummies was published, we’ve invested in delivering a single Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that meets the changing needs of local businesses — from start-ups to established enterprises. In a world that is constantly evolving, we’re committed to ensuring our solutions continue to help businesses like yours start, survive and succeed.
This guide provides easy-to-follow, simple and helpful steps so you can not only learn the ropes but leverage your MYOB solutions to unleash your business potential.
As one platform for all your business management needs, we look forward to being by your side for each step of your exciting business journey.
Paul Robson
CEO, MYOB
Introduction
These days, all businesses rely on technology to help them operate on a daily basis — and the reality is, making the most of what modern technology has to offer can truly transform the performance of a business.
A central part of the success of any business hinges on having a great financial setup, which is where MYOB can have a huge impact. As a business management platform, MYOB is the perfect companion for helping you manage your customers, supply chain, employees and reporting, as well as the nitty-gritty of your finances, accounting and tax workflows.
MYOB has so many useful features that it’s common to feel overwhelmed when you first get started; fortunately, as with all new technologies, you soon find your way with practice. I’ve worked with many business owners who felt hesitant when starting their MYOB journey, and yet today they’re often showing me a thing or two about how to harness the power of MYOB!
I have brought together all my experiences with MYOB to share with you in this book and help you maximise the success of your business, from my own journey running a small business through to bookkeeping for many clients of different sizes and industries, as well as my time training accountants and bookkeepers to use MYOB effectively so they too can share their knowledge with their clients. With this in mind, cast your cares to the wind; be brave, be confident and read on.
About This Book
This book is a bit different from other books about MYOB, not least because this book is part of the For Dummies series. Dummies books aren’t about thinking that you’re a ‘dummy’ — far from it. What the For Dummies series is all about is sharing a ‘can-do’ attitude and a fresh approach. I talk less about old-school ways of doing simple tasks, and more about how to get stuff done quickly, easily and accurately. Similarly, I tend to steer clear of pedantic explanations and instead suggest that you adapt MYOB to work the way you do, depending on the kind of business you have.
I’ve written this book with both MYOB Business and MYOB AccountRight in mind. MYOB Business is the latest iteration of MYOB on the market and it delivers cloud-based software that you can access straight from your browser — no installation required. Your business might be able to get all the functionality you need with one of the MYOB Business subscriptions available, but if you need a little more accounting oomph you may want to scale up towards an AccountRight subscription. If you do opt for an AccountRight subscription, you can still use the amazing online features of MYOB Business direct from your browser, as well as access your file via the AccountRight desktop app. Chapter 1 talks all about your subscription options so you can start your MYOB journey on the right foot.
One more thing. Throughout this book you’ll see sidebars — text that sits in a separate box with grey shading. Think of sidebars as the chocolate topping on your ice-cream: A sprinkle of extra little bits that’s nice to have, but not essential.
Foolish Assumptions
Over the years, I’ve learned to assume as little as possible (especially true for accounting and bookkeeping!). However, to write this book, I did have to make two small assumptions about you, the reader:
Your knowledge of computers and how they work is a little more advanced than knowing where to find the on/off switch.
You either plan to purchase an MYOB Business or MYOB AccountRight subscription in the near future, or you already use MYOB and you’re looking to find out more about how to best use MYOB Business’s functionality to help streamline your business accounting.
Icons Used in This Book
What use is a For Dummies book without the little icons pointing you in the right direction? Here’s a brief description of the icons used in this book:
Don’t forget these little pearls of wisdom. Remember, remember, remember!
The Technical Stuff icon highlights technical information not suitable for the faint-hearted.
Be sure not to skip over these invaluable tips; here, you find those gold nuggets that help make life easier.
Every time you see a Warning icon, you can be sure I’m sharing a hard-earned lesson from personal experience!
Where to Go From Here
MYOB For Dummies is no great work of fiction (something that would be a tad tricky given the subject matter) and so doesn’t require you to start at the beginning and follow through to the end. Instead, feel free to jump in and start reading from whatever section is most relevant to you:
New to MYOB and trying to get a company file set up from scratch?
I suggest you read
Chapters 1
,
2
and
3
to get your company file started. A clean start takes a bit of planning and, hopefully, these early chapters help you do just that.
New to MYOB but the company file is already up and running?
Maybe you’re starting a new job and, although the business has been using MYOB for a while, you’re new to the whole deal. In this situation, I suggest you start by reading the last half of
Chapter 1
and all of
Chapter 2
to familiarise yourself with the basics. Then browse through
chapters 4
to
8
to discover how to do everyday tasks.
New to MYOB Business but experienced with MYOB AccountRight?
You may be amazed at how MYOB Business’s functionality improves your experience of working with AccountRight.
Chapter 1
clarifies how all the MYOB Business features described in this book can be accessed via AccountRight in a browser.
Familiar with MYOB but keen to advance your knowledge and expertise?
MYOB Business’s additional features may be transformative. Find out about advances in payroll functionality in
chapters 11
and
12
, and how you can use MYOB to lodge your Business Activity Statement in
chapters 16
and
20
— and I highly recommend you explore how you can master reporting in
Chapter 15
.
Want to know that your accounts are as clean as a whistle and your figures make sense?
Excellent — what a great way to operate! Head to
Chapter 9
to discover how to reconcile your bank account,
Chapter 16
to check your GST codings and calculations,
Chapter 17
to review your financial statements and
Chapter 18
to put your company file through the health check from hell.
Part 1
Getting Started with MYOB
IN THIS PART …
Get familiar with MYOB Business — find your way around and discover how to set up your accounts.
Add customers and suppliers, set up credit terms and keep your lists looking shipshape.
Nurture your inner bean counter and get those opening balances spot on.
Chapter 1
Introducing MYOB Business
IN THIS CHAPTER
Setting up for success
Navigating through the setup guides
Finding your way around — picking up the local lingo
Accessing your file from anywhere
Inviting important others to collaborate
MYOB Business is the new offering on the market that just radiates pink, purple and plenty of SaaS. No, not sass — SaaS! Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software delivery model that MYOB uses to develop and maintain cloud software (in other words, the MYOB product known as MYOB Business) that always has the latest updates available to its customers on a pay-as-you-go basis.
It’s the way the world rolls these days — your Netflix, Spotify and Google accounts are all forms of SaaS, and as the customer you get lots of great benefits from subscribing in this way. You no longer buy software as it soon becomes outdated, so MYOB Business is a month-by-month subscription model that gives you access to the latest and greatest features in a secure digital environment.
Being fully online brings many new, surprising and game-changing features to your MYOB subscription. Helped by the information in this book, I hope that you experience the benefits of this transformation, where MYOB is much more than accounting software, and instead is a business management platform that helps manage and grow your business by bringing everything you need to run a business into one place.
MYOB Business keeps essential business workflows at your fingertips — from managing your customers and finances to onboarding employees electronically, all from within your file. New functions and workflows are added continuously, ensuring the financial health of your business is at the centre of everything you do.
For those using MYOB AccountRight, the ability to work fully online is a real bonus. You now have two platforms from which to access your file: Firstly, through the familiar MYOB AccountRight desktop app, and secondly by accessing your file directly from any internet browser. While not all features of AccountRight are available when you work in a browser, you do get many of the neat features of MYOB Business that aren’t available from the desktop app. This book explains all these features, plus more.
Throughout the book, I will often refer to how ‘AccountRight in a browser’ features can be of benefit to ensure all MYOB users find this book as helpful as possible. (The sidebar ‘I use AccountRight, what about me?’ provides more information on how you can use MYOB Business features with your AccountRight subscription.)
In this chapter, I share my ideas about getting you started with MYOB Business, highlighting what’s important (and ignoring what’s not) so you can get set up without any drama.
If you’ve recently subscribed to a new MYOB Business plan, the best place to start is the beginning of this chapter, which explains what information to have at the ready, the best time to start from an accounting perspective (if timing is a factor), and the basics of setting up customers, suppliers and accounts.
If you’re new to MYOB but a file is already up and running — maybe you’re starting a new job as a bookkeeper — I suggest you skip straight to the second half of this chapter. Start reading from the section ‘Getting into the Groove’, which explains how to find your way around MYOB Business.
Planning to Get Started
The awesome thing about using MYOB Business is how quickly you can set up your file and get down to using it. Of course, this work will require a cup of tea and maybe even a biscuit or two, especially if you have many customers and suppliers to set up — which hopefully means business is good!
Choosing the right plan
Making a good choice now will save you time and moola in the long run. MYOB offers four different plan levels suitable for different types of businesses:
MYOB Business Lite: The perfect plan for sole traders and those just getting started in business, MYOB Business Lite is great if you only require the basics of invoicing, bank feeds, payroll and reporting.
This plan has a limit of two bank feeds and two employees, so consider whether this is sufficient for your business.
As your business grows, you can easily move on to the Pro plan.
MYOB Business Pro: Pro is the most popular plan for businesses looking to grow their business, such as those with more employees (requiring more involved payroll), as well as those wanting to automate timesheets or use sales orders. You can access more insightful reporting (including budgets), and you have no limits on the number of bank feeds you can connect or employees you can hire.
Note: Inventory can be added to both Lite and Pro plans. Chapter 10 covers the inventory features available in MYOB Business.
MYOB AccountRight Plus:
Moving to AccountRight, the Plus plan is a high-powered solution for bigger businesses with more complex needs (such as job costings, fully customisable form layouts, time billing invoicing or premium inventory functionality, which allows you to build items and use different pricing tiers when selling).
MYOB AccountRight Premier: Top of the wozza, the AccountRight Premier plan is a must for any business working in multiple currencies and needing inventory locations (all other features are as per AccountRight Plus). However, another good reason to opt for Premier over Plus is that fees for additional files are heavily discounted (which is helpful if you operate multiple businesses, or run a company and a trust across two different ABNs).
With AccountRight Plus and Premier subscriptions, you can access your file via the AccountRight in a browser option (as well as via your AccountRight desktop icon), which gives you access to the many MYOB Business features and functions covered in this book. Skip to the nearby sidebar ‘I use AccountRight, what about me?’ to discover how to make the most of your AccountRight file by accessing it via a browser.
If you’re still unsure which plan to choose, or you’re looking for a detailed comparison chart of all the features available across the four plans, I suggest you head to the MYOB website (myob.com). Alternatively, find a great accountant and/or bookkeeper to advise you based on your business needs (and who knows, you may continue your collaboration from here and throughout your business journey — a good accountant or bookkeeper is a business essential!).
Choose your plan carefully as moving up and down the plan levels has some limitations — for example, the move from MYOB Business Lite to MYOB Business Pro is easy, but moving from MYOB Business to MYOB AccountRight can be a long, manual task because you need to re-enter balances. However, you can migrate from an AccountRight plan to an MYOB Business plan and take your historical data with you (a process that MYOB will handle for you).
Starting your new MYOB file
With MYOB Business, you can choose to work anywhere, anytime, on any device — be it at the beach, on your phone, in front of the TV or in your home office. People can work more flexibly these days, so starting your MYOB file doesn’t need to be an office-bound exercise — you can get started whenever and wherever you may be if you have a suitable device in front of you.
Here are the first couple of steps to get you started:
Access MYOB Business atapp.myob.com.
When you purchase your MYOB subscription, you will be asked for your email and then prompted to set up a password for accessing your file.
Set up Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is a secure sign-in process that combines something you know (like your password) with something you have (your phone or email). MYOB Business requires you to set up 2FA as part of your setup process to keep your data safe and secure. You can either choose to receive your 2FA code by email, or you can receive your code on your mobile device via an authenticator app; generally, your mobile device is more secure as you’ll almost always have it with you.
Of course, it goes without saying — don’t share your password with anyone. Each user should have a unique login linked to their email, enabling a clear audit history to be attached to each user.
MYOB is rolling out a third 2FA option (sending a code by text message to your smartphone), which may be accessible by the time you read this book — I know this would be my first choice for securely receiving a 2FA code.
I USE ACCOUNTRIGHT, WHAT ABOUT ME?
If you have an AccountRight subscription, everything that I cover in this book can also be applied to AccountRight when you access your online file via a web browser. MYOB Business and ‘AccountRight in a browser’ are effectively the same product. This ‘browser’ option isn’t intended to replace your current AccountRight subscription (and it won’t, as AccountRight has many features that aren’t available in MYOB Business yet); rather, the browser option has the advantage that you can work from any device, and provides access to some great features currently only available in MYOB Business, such as report customisation and report packs.
Trust me: Jump into your AccountRight file now and at the very top right you will see the Open in Web Browser option. Click through to explore this different way to use AccountRight.
When you first start experimenting with AccountRight in a browser, you’re likely to have the AccountRight software and the browser option open (and yes, you can work across both options simultaneously, as the data syncs as soon as you save). You may favour doing certain tasks in AccountRight and others via a browser (for example, allocating and searching bank transactions works well in a browser because of the additional bank feed features in MYOB Business, such as being able to edit bank transaction descriptions while keeping the original description visible, as well as the option to use allocation templates and add adjustments to transactions). It may take time to find your groove, but you’ll soon discover which functions you prefer to access using your AccountRight software, and which functions you prefer to access from a browser.
Note: You don’t need to download the AccountRight software to access your data via a browser. Simply open a web page and login at app.myob.com to access your AccountRight file from any device.
The only trick is to ensure that your company file is using the latest version of AccountRight. If it’s not, MYOB will prompt you to upgrade your file the first time you access your file via a browser. All AccountRight software can be downloaded and updated at myob.com (go to the Support tab, then Software Downloads). Using the latest version also ensures your file always has the latest compliance updates from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and fixes any bugs in the software to help your product work the best it can.
Using AccountRight in a browser might change the way you work for the better, so give it a go!
Setting up to be a winner
As with most things in life, success with SaaS is all about getting the setup right. While everything in your file (well, almost everything — just not your start date) can be fixed should you slightly biff some information in your setup, doing it right in the first instance will save you time in the long run.
Here’s a quick summary of the processes involved in getting set up with MYOB Business, so you know what to expect as you work through this book:
Get your business details ready.
Be sure you have the correct business ABN of the business (critical if you will be doing invoicing and payroll), the entity name, trading name, address, phone and email details at hand before you start setting up your file.
Decide on a start date (the opening balance date).
If you’re not sure what your start date should be, skip to the nearby sidebar ‘When is the best time to start?’ to help you decide on your opening balance date.
It is also important to know your start year, not just the date. While it may seem obvious (it’s this year, surely?), it is worth knowing that you can go back and enter data for prior years if you need to. (Maybe you’ve been travelling in the Bahamas and not yet done last year’s returns and have lots to catch up on; if so, lucky you!)
You may wish to discuss this opening balance date with your accountant or bookkeeper because after you begin to enter transactions, this date becomes locked and you can’t change it (unless you delete all data entered to date, but really who wants to waste time like that). So, be sure of this date!
Follow the guides on your Dashboard for getting started.
The first time you log in, these guides pop up at the top of your Dashboard based on the features available in your subscription. These guides step you through a quick setup for each feature. I highly recommend using these guides to set up MYOB — after all, a little help along the way is always a bonus! (I cover some of the key guides in the upcoming section ‘Using MYOB’s Getting Started Guides to Set Up Your File’.)
If you’re new to MYOB, take the time to have a good old stickybeak.
In the thick of this chapter, in the section ‘Getting into the Groove’, I take you on a grand tour.
Go to the Accounting menu and click Chart of Accounts. Customise this list to fit your business.
I always recommend tweaking your Chart of Accounts to fit your business, adding accounts, changing account names or deleting accounts that you don’t need. I explain how to add and edit accounts in Chapter 2, and how to record opening balances in Chapter 3.
Connect your bank feeds.
I talk lots more about bank feeds in Chapter 5 (and I mean lots more, because I just love them!), where I explain how they work with MYOB and how to connect your bank feeds. I also show you how they may be the number one MYOB feature for reducing your data entry time, which helps you be more accurate and reconcile with ease. I suggest you connect your bank feeds as soon as possible.
Invite others to work with you.
If you have employees who are going to work in MYOB, you need to set them up with their own user access. Also share the love with your bookkeeper and accountant so they too can access your company file from anywhere, anytime. (I talk more about user roles later in this chapter in ‘Inviting Others to Access MYOB’.)
Enter some sales transactions.
If you create invoices to send to customers, recording sales is a great way to get started with getting to know MYOB. (I explain how to add customers in Chapter 2, how to enter opening balances in Chapter 3, and how to record sales in Chapter 4 — what a ride!)
Start creating your invoice templates.
The later section ‘Preparing for sales’ covers invoicing in more detail.
Record a few bills and expenses.
From the moment you start recording bills and expenses, you can start looking at your profit and how the business is tracking. For more about recording bills and expenses, see chapters 6 and 8.
If you buy, sell and track items (rather than services), set up your inventory.
If tracking stock is something your business needs, then head on to Chapter 10, read it faithfully, and set up your inventory before going any further.
If you have employees, have all their details ready for setting up payroll.
If you’re going to use payroll, you should do so from the very beginning of the payroll year (July). When you’ve completed the rest of your setup, hop to chapters 11 and 12, which cover payroll in depth.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO START?
The very best time of year to start recording your accounts is the start of the financial year (that’s 1 July for 99 per cent of Australian businesses). Even if July is long gone by the time you’re ready to get started, it’s still probably best to start by entering accounts from the beginning of that financial year.
Why? If you start on the first day of a new financial year, the transition from your old accounting system to your new one is a cinch. That’s because accounts are always finalised at the end of each financial year. These final accounts provide the opening balances for the following year and save you paying your accountant to draw up interim accounts.
In your MYOB Business file, you simply need to select an opening balance date (remember, once you start to enter transactions, this date becomes locked and can’t be changed). Your accountant and bookkeeper can guide you here if you’re unsure of the correct date to enter, especially if you’re not up to date with all your tax liabilities. The later section ‘Getting your settings right to save you time’ explains how you can change your opening balance date from the default date in MYOB.
You never need to back up your data — MYOB Business will take care of your data for you. While the sound of this may scare some of you, in particular if you are an AccountRight user, be reassured that your data is being backed up automatically for you. The only kind of personal backup option you have in MYOB Business is exporting reports to Excel, and who has time for that?
If you feel anxious about having some kind of tangible backup, you can ease your mind by creating a report pack (see Chapter 15) that includes all your financial reports and which you can export monthly. Save this monthly report pack in a secure place so you can access the data should you ever need to — or purely for reassurance purposes.
Gathering your wits about you
You wouldn’t set off across the Nullarbor Plain without water or fuel, would you? Nor should you attempt to set up MYOB without a couple of essentials close to hand to make your setup easier. Here’s what you need at the ready:
If you’re setting up MYOB for an established business, the most recent set of tax returns or final accounts you have available:
Previous Profit & Loss reports and even tax returns come in handy, helping you to work out what accounts to include in your Chart of Accounts and opening balances.
Bank statements and credit card statements:
You need bank statements so that you can enter the opening balance of your bank account for the date that you start using MYOB. Depending on whether or not you already have bank feeds activated, you may also need bank statements as a reference for recording transactions.
A list of who owes you money:
It’s always cheering when you realise that if everyone coughed up tomorrow, you’d actually be quite rich.
A list of everyone you owe money to:
If you intend to record supplier bills (I talk lots more about this decision in
Chapter 8
), make a list of everyone you owe money to at the time of starting your MYOB file. (Supplier statements are helpful when collating this information.)
Using MYOB’s Getting Started Guides to Set Up Your File
When you first log in to your MYOB file, your Dashboard is the first page that will display. Think of it like your home page. (I particularly like the positive affirmations MYOB shares with you every day here, such as ‘Attitude is everything’, ‘Make today count’ and ‘When you feel like quitting, remember why you started’!)
After the welcoming affirmation, you will see various ‘getting started’ guides listed (the suggested guides may vary depending on your role in the business, along with your industry and subscription features). These guides demonstrate MYOB’s features and help you customise and set up your file (see Figure 1-1).
FIGURE 1-1: When you first log in, MYOB provides a range of ‘getting started’ guides on your Dashboard to help you set up your file.
Simply click into the guide for each area of your setup (such as Connect to Your Bank or Upload Your Bills and Receipts, as shown in Figure 1-1), depending on what requires attention.
Once you click on a guide and then return to your Dashboard (even if you haven’t run through the whole guide), that guide will no longer appear — so ensure you complete the guide before you navigate elsewhere. If you are confident you know what to do to set up your file, you can also click the ‘x’ in the top-right corner of the guide to remove it from your Dashboard rather than running through the stages of the guide. (Likewise, if one of the guides isn’t relevant to your business, such as Set Up Your Payroll — maybe you don’t yet have employees — you can simply remove it from your Dashboard by clicking the ‘x’.) And if you lose sight of one of the guides — maybe MYOB thinks you’ve already completed it fully because you opened it that one time — then hopefully you can find the information you need in this book!
No time to look at the guides now? Don’t stress — these tasks will remain on your Dashboard until you complete them, so you can come back later (as long as you haven’t opened the guide yet).
With software changing so often, it can be hard to keep up with all the new features and the way they work. To help with this, on the menu bar there is a question mark symbol that opens an in-product MYOB Help window for the page you’re on. The format is always the same, no matter what page you’re on — it gives you an overview of the current page (for example, the Dashboard), some useful FAQs and links to all the relevant Help information relating to the current page.
The following sections introduce how to make your MYOB Business file work for your business.
Getting your settings right to save you time
Before you get too deep into completing your setup, your first stop on your Dashboard should be to review your Business Settings. Your Business Settings need your attention early as many other setup steps will pull information from here into other areas of MYOB Business.
A note here on finding your Settings: At the time of writing, you can find your Settings by clicking your business’s name in the top-right corner of your screen and then selecting from the drop-down list of Settings options that appear (for example, Business Settings, Sales Settings, Purchases Settings … you get the idea!). However, a future menu layout may see the Settings being promoted to the Dashboard, where the Settings menu will be visible from all pages. Wherever your Settings are found when you come to use this book, I’m sure you will find that your Settings options are much the same. I discuss all your Settings in this and the following sections.
On the Business Settings page, be sure your business and trading names are correct, along with your ABN and contact details. Your industry details are optional, but I recommend choosing a specific industry code as this may help with the setup of your file in particular areas, such as the Chart of Accounts. As recommended in the sidebar ‘When is the best time to start?’, have a chat with your accountant or bookkeeper about what your opening balance date should be (you need to get this right before you start to enter transactions).
You should also chat to your accountant or bookkeeper before choosing the Start New Financial Year option (under the current financial year date) as this should usually be left to the professionals. Why? Because it can impact your reporting if you start a new financial year at the wrong time, and this change cannot be reversed once you start to enter data.
At this point you can continue to review the other settings options available, or go back to the Dashboard and complete the guides first. Here’s a rundown of the other settings and functions you can adjust so that MYOB works the way you need:
Income Allocation: This setting can be used to set up how income is allocated to stakeholders in a company, partnership or unit trust.
Specific Chart of Accounts items need to be set up for these stakeholders, so good accounting knowledge is required here, as is a clear understanding of your business structure. Your accountant or bookkeeper may be the best person to set this up for you when needed.
Sales Settings, Payroll Settings and Purchases Settings:
These key settings are covered in depth in their respective chapters:
Chapter 4
for sales,
chapters 11
and
12
for payroll, and
Chapter 8
for purchases.
Report Settings:
This is where you set your reporting methods for accounting and GST (either Accruals or Cash) and how you want figures to be displayed in your reports. If you’re unsure, your accountant can offer some guidance. I cover reporting in detail in
Chapter 15
.
Users:
Turn to the later section ‘
Inviting Others to Access MYOB
’ for more on user access.
Import and Export Data: Here, you can import charts, contacts, employees, items and timesheets if you have this information in another application and you want to get this data into your MYOB file quickly (saving data entry time). The export side tends to be used by your accountant when they need to get your data out and into their tax software to prepare your financials at the end of year.
Importing data into MYOB does take some skill to get the template set up correctly. If you click on the Help question mark while on this page, MYOB offers some tips to help you get started, as well as some templates you can use to get the formatting right when you import data.
Three other areas also appear when you click your business’s name:
My Account:
Manage your MYOB subscription here, including upgrading your subscription, updating your credit card details or viewing your bills.
Contact Support:
Unless your support needs are urgent and merit a phone call to MYOB, you can use this section to send a message directly to MYOB. A support agent will email you to resolve your issue or collect more information if needed.
App Marketplace: MYOB has a whole ecosystem in place to look after other aspects your business may need, specific to your industry or business size perhaps. As your business grows, adding apps may help bring new workflows, efficiencies and scalability to your business and expand the impact of your MYOB Business platform.
The apps here are provided by third parties and integrate with your MYOB software, and there are hundreds to explore. The App Marketplace has a search feature you can use to peruse the available apps and work out what your business may need. Note: Some apps only integrate with AccountRight or MYOB Business, while others integrate with both, so be sure to check out the compatibility of each app.
