MYOB US — Premier Accounting Small Business 2008

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From the June/July Review of Small Business Accounting Systems

MYOB (which used to stand for “Mind Your Own Business), has been producing accounting products for the global small business community since the late 1980s and focuses several of these products on the U.S. market, most notably its AccountEdge and FirstEdge systems for Mac users, and Premier Accounting and BusinessEssentials for PC users. The Premier Accounting line is the company’s most comprehensive accounting and small business management suite, providing compliant GL, AR and AP functions, along with payroll and HR functions, inventory, sales and purchasing, time-based billing, contact management, electronic banking, financials reporting, customer/vendor communication tools, and appointment/scheduling capabilities. The program supports multiple currencies.

MYOB also offers multiple add-on options for the program, including credit card processing, direct deposit, electronic payment functions, wage reporting services and fully outsourced payroll. Premier Accounting 2008 costs $299 for a single-user license ($159 if upgrading), with additional concurrent users costing $149 each or $499 for five. The multi-user upgrade pricing is $249 no matter how many licenses are being upgraded. The system is offered free to accounting professionals who serve small business clients using the system.

Ease of Use/Basic Functionality -- 4.5 Stars
During initial installation and setup of the company, MYOB Premier Accounting provides a wizard called the New Company Assistant that guides users through required basic steps including setting up initial charts of accounts for which more than one hundred types of businesses are included based on industry classification. A Setup Assistant then further guides users through additional tasks. The program is then centered on the Command Center, which opens into a subwindow and provides icons for the core areas of the program, including Accounts, Banking, Sales, Time Billing, Purchases, Payroll, Inventory and the Card File. Selection of one of these modules brings up a workflow diagram that shows specific tasks to which the user can jump. For instance, the Purchases section includes links to the Purchases Register, entering purchases, paying bills, preparing electronic payments, printing checks, printing or e-mailing POs, printing 1099s and 1096s, printing or e-mailing payment notifications, or accessing the transaction journal. This intuitive layout makes it easy for a user to get to a specific task, such as entering sales transactions or receiving payments. The Command Center also provides access to a transaction search function, reports, analysis and a user-specific To Do list.

Transaction screens provide customer/vendor selection lists, which can be quickly searched and also allows on-the-fly addition of new customers/vendors. Lists are available for selecting salesperson, standard comments, shipping options and payment method, while the windows offer icons for printing, e-mailing, accessing the journal and changing invoice layout. Full contact lists, including employees, customers, vendors and personal contacts, are available through the Card File, which supports multiple shipping addresses, e-mail contact and other data. All functions of the program are easily accessible and easy to use. Communication tools and customization options further enhance the system.

Core Accounting/Security Functions -- 4.5 Stars
In addition to key accounting modules for GL, AP and AR, the payroll function has the ability to track hours, vacation and sick leave, benefits, direct deposit, and customizable deductions. It also includes W-2, W-3 and 1099 reporting. As well, MYOB offers outsourced payroll options. Premier Accounting includes a respectable inventory module that allows up to 30 pricing levels per item and handles kit building, negative inventory, multiple location support and inclusion of item photos. It also enables setting of re-order points. For sales, the program makes it easy to convert a quote into a work order and then into an invoice as the sales process continues, with the ability to e-mail or print such documents. The sales function also provides job tracking options that include four levels for sub-projects. The payables component enables electronic payments or printing checks.

Additional features include contact management, time billing, credit card acceptance and electronic banking and reconciliation. A Customer Appointment Manager add-on provides scheduling for multiple staff, with multi-person calendar views (see www.myob-us.com/addons). The system includes a full-time audit trail that enables tracking of all transaction activity along with security options that can restrict users to specific program areas. New for 2008, MYOB has enhanced Premier Accounting’s customer, vendor and employee relations functions, adding itemized customer statements to the invoicing functions, enabling printing or e-mailing of check stubs and payment notifications for vendors, and improving benefits and leave tracking in the payroll system.