MYOB 9 Accounting Plus — Up and running

by Kurt Best and Helen Bradley

MYOB has been one of the leaders in the small to medium accounting market for years. It is already installed in over 150,000 businesses in Australia and provides a good array of features (including integrated accounts receivable and payable and inventory management) at an affordable price.

On this month's cover CD you'll find a test drive version of MYOB 9 — First Accounts, Accounting Plus, Premier Accounting. The test drive is limited to 500 transactions to allow you to evaluate each package. Then, if you want to purchase it, simply pay the fee and the transaction limit will be removed. You'll just keep using the software and your existing data will remain intact. 

Installing the program
On the cover CD you'll find the MYOB Test Drive program in the \MYOB directory. Run the program StartTD.exe from this directory and choose Install the Test Drive. Choose MYOB Accounting Plus Version 9, the middle of the three install options. Choose the Typical install and then, when it's done, reboot your computer and load MYOB.

At the main screen, choose ‘Create a new MYOB data file’ to run the New Data File Assistant, which takes you through setting up MYOB. Some of the information you enter here cannot be reversed later, so read the screen prompts carefully and enter the data for your business. Step 7 is the first of the prompts where you must confirm data which cannot be altered. 

Step 8 is important. Here you create your Chart of Accounts — the list of account codes for allocating transactions and summarising your financial information. There are built-in charts of accounts for a variety of different industries to choose from, which will suit most businesses. If you prefer to create your own chart of accounts, scroll down and choose the Build Your Own option.

By the time you get past Step 11, your data file will be created and you will have the option of setting up the core modules: Accounts, Sales, Purchases and Payroll. It's important to take the time to work through each of the areas of the program you intend to use. If you start using MYOB without setting these up, you could create more work for yourself later on. In particular:

• In Customize, pay attention to the option in Step 4 which allows you to prevent transactions from being changed after they are recorded. If you want to be able to edit the original entry if you make a mistake, disable this checkbox.

• In Customize (Step 7), think carefully about the Contact Log options offered. You can use this to track transactions and maintain a collection of data that records your dealings with customers, suppliers and employees. Enabling the Contact Log options does, however, increase the size of your data file and, if disk space is limited, consider disabling this option

• In Customize (Step 10), you can customise the default monthly ageing periods. If you issue statements or follow up accounts more regularly, say weekly or fortnightly, configure this in this step.

• In Sales (Step 3), enter your standard trading terms. Even if some customers have different terms, enter your most common terms here. You can later vary these settings on a customer-by-customer basis.

• In Accounts (Step 4), Sales (Step 6) and Purchases (Step 7) you have the option to enter the opening balances for each of your accounts, including individual customers and suppliers. We recommend doing this now, as it’s very fast and effective.

• In Purchases, Step 4, you can enter details of the bank account you use to make electronic bank payments straight out of MYOB.

• Throughout MYOB, linked accounts are used to allocate automatic features to the correct ledger account. These links are set up in Purchases (Step 5), Sales (Step 4), Accounts (Step 3). Take the time to ensure that all automatic options are posting to the correct area in your chart of accounts.

By the time you've finished setting up the key areas of MYOB, you'll have developed a feel for the software and you'll be ready to proceed.

Day to day use
The first thing you'll notice is MYOB's Command Centre interface. The flow chart icons show you where to start and how data moves through the system. You'll find the main modules listed across the top of the screen and selecting one will change the display below.

Click General Ledger and you'll see reference to your chart of accounts. Click this to open and view your accounts. Click Job List to open up the job control functions. You can set up job items on your Job List and then allocate every transaction you record to one of these items. This allows you to track the profitability of each area to your business later. 

Click Chequebook for access to the process of paying suppliers and maintaining your bank account transactions. This is also where you will reconcile your accounts by ticking off the transactions displayed against your bank statement to ensure entries are recorded correctly.

The Sales module helps you process customer invoices and manage other accounts receivable issues. You can tailor your invoice format to suit your business, even adding your logo and rearranging fields on the form. And you can prepare and print job estimates, which can be converted to actual invoices later. 

Time and Billing is only available in MYOB Accounting Plus and Premier. It gives you the option to record labour against customer jobs and convert this to a customer invoice. This will be particularly useful to service-based businesses and professionals who charge an hourly rate.

For small payrolls of up to 30 employees the integrated Payroll feature allows tracking of regular payments, taxation, superannuation and leave entitlements, and automatically allocates transactions to your accounts. Use this module to print plain paper group certificates and complete your lodging requirements with the tax office. 

The Inventory module is a full stock control feature. You can create and maintain details of items you carry in stock, and here you'll find an automated stock reorder option and the ability to build new items out of existing inventory components.

Card File maintains details of all customers, suppliers, employees and other businesses and people referred to in transactions throughout the package. It offers you a quick way to track information and interaction with people in the business.

In most cases, you'll find that you record transactions using simple forms similar to their paper equivalent which you complete on the screen. At this point you should familiarise yourself with the various options and enter a few sample transactions.

Getting information out
MYOB offers over 115 reports, organised into key functional areas. It also offers a link to Microsoft Office and Wordperfect if you have these installed. To get access to reports, choose the Reports menu and choose Index to Reports. You'll see the reports grouped under their respective module headings.

When you are viewing reports, choose the filtering option to limit your reports to certain dates or a range of customers so they focus on the data you need to manage your business. 

GST
MYOB offers a new structure for tracking tax, incorporating the existing sales tax system and a new approach for tracking GST collected and paid. Basic reporting options are available already and plans for supporting the Business Activity Statement (BAS) will be available in the future. Next month, we'll look at setting up MYOB to record GST.

BREAKOUT BOXES

Build Your Own Chart of Accounts
Opting to build your own chart of accounts is worth considering, particularly if you involve your accountant in the process. This way, you can ensure your chart is consistent with your accountant's requirements. In any case, you can save yourself time and expense later on if you ask for input from your accountant before you start using any accounting software. Many accountants have a standard chart of accounts they can provide on disk which will save you having to set up your own.

Using the Demo file
If you'd like to work with MYOB without going through the process of setting it up, choose File, Open and open the file clearwtr.dat. Use the data in this sample company to explore the functions in MYOB.