Quickbooks or MYOB

[Graingrower]

I'm ready to upgrade my accounting software and I'm tossing up between Quickbooks Accounting ($349) and MYOB AccountRight Basics ($289). I'm only looking for basic bookkeeping software to complete BAS statements and prepare my tax return for my accountant. I don't need any payroll management. Can these products reconcile bank statements and do they have basic budgeting tools? Any other comments?

Do the invoice details go straight in? When I create an invoice, the deatils of that invoice should be automatically sent to the transactions and matched up with payments.

What about downloading bank statements. Can I sort transactions in any order I want, or am I stuck with date order. The last software I had, I could download 3 months of bank statements and load them straight into the transaction ledger. Say I had 3 phone bills, I couldn't sort it and put them together to make editing easier.

 

[quoll]

Use a spreadsheet. Yes I am serious.

We have tried MYOB and Quickbooks, our problem was we needed payroll. Main issue with accounting software is the method they use for rounding, we spent alot of time dicking around getting numbers in the computer to match actual invoices/reciepts, the GST calculation is crap. Other issue is double entry bookkeeping and the general accounting/bookkeeping process's which have evolved to just make life difficult thus creating barriers for entry, thus assisting those that can to maintain a job.

Spreadsheet is a lot easier. Column for DATE, DESCRIPTION, PRICE, GST. You can have as many workbooks as you like, I like to split them up into entities, so each trust will have 2 one for money out and 1 for money in. Then a master sheet at the front that summaries the whole lot. And you can dump your bank account stuff into a spreadsheet really easily as well so it makes it easier to reconcile your credit card statements and keep track of bank accounts and bank fees.

Chat to your accountant and see what format they can work with easily.

 

[Aaron_C]

I use MYOB and it's decent. I have an accounting background (somewhat) but the double entry nature of it makes it much easier when it comes to doing your financials at tax time. To each their own though.

 

[coastymike]

Neither. Try xero.com owned by the guys who sold myob

 

[Mry]

I was a Quickbooks advocate but now I recommend MYOB. There are plenty of packages out there to choose from but most go with either of those.

If you have a small amount of transactions, a spreadsheet can work. I offer a spreadsheet template to my clients to prepare their BAS and tax return work from.

 

[Ausprop]

for small operations I say spreadsheet... I can't count the frustrations I have had with MYOB locking my files for no legit reason, upgrade issues etc.

 

[moyjos]

Ask your accountant...he may have a preference.

 

[Bigtone]

Neither. Try xero.com owned by the guys who sold myob

Yep I agree , xero r going to smash the market , so so much better

 

[Sim]

Skip Quickbooks and MYOB ... go for Saasu - it's Australian (unlike Xero, which is a Kiwi company). Saasu have been around a very long time and have built a very robust platform.

Saasu's support is excellent, functionality is fantastic and the bank feeds save a heap of time. They are continually improving the product with monthly releases of new features and functionality.

I switched over from Quickbooks to Saasu just over a year ago for both my business accounting and my family trust ... extremely happy that I did.

Integration with other systems is also excellent - either directly, via API, or via 3rd party services such as OneSaas.com

 

[josko]

Hi,

I use MYOB...haven't used Quickbooks. Support is excellent.

Ausprop, your files get locked? Are you still paying for support and upgrades? I can't say I have had a problem.

Regards JO

 

[MIW]

I have used Quickbooks long time ago and then switched to MYOB. I have and had no problems with using MYOB but I do have some background in accounting too.
You can download files from your bank and you can subscribe for support (it's not cheap though).

 

[Welcome]

We use MYOB but hate it with a passion but are in too deep to change....

Very hard to integrate with other software due to limitations of MYOB itself. The current flat file architecture is the biggest problem (everything in one file) which makes running even simple, very specific queries very resource and time intensive. Although next major release is supposed to fix that.

If I could turn back time would have started with http://www.netsuite.com.au

Up until we needed to intergrate with other software it did the job and is quite user friendly. If your business requires inventory... I would avoid MYOB.

 

[INXS]

I would recommend you talk to your accountant about banklink. It sounds perfect for your situation and is very cost effective. Don't recommend MYOB unless you have knowledge of double entry bookkeeping. Quickbooks is yuk. Xero and Saasu are on what's called cloud accounting. The jury is still out on how secure the cloud is!.

 

[coastymike]

With 256 bit encryption the cloud is as secure as your bank accounts. Gmail is effectively a cloud type product. Microsoft 365 is cloud based with data stored in singapore. Facebook cloud based with data stored in the US and a host of other locations. Cloud products are increasing and the concerns remind me of the days when people were worried about using the net for banking. Now everyone uses the net for banking.

 

[Sunfish]

They are both pains because they constantly upgrade and only offer support for a couple of years. This may not worry YOU but your accountant may have problems if your program is old.

Someone mentioned a spreadsheet. That's OK but if you can find an older accountant and you only have a modest no. of entries each year, an old fashioned multi-column cash book may work. [It's just a hand written spreadsheet after all] No risk of a hard drive failure.

Mrs Fish would have accommodated you but she has retired, sorry.

 

[tgarthe]

I second the notion of looking at banklink. Will make your life a lot easier and tax time a breeze as your accountant already will have most of the info they need.

 

[INXS]

With 256 bit encryption the cloud is as secure as your bank accounts. Gmail is effectively a cloud type product. Microsoft 365 is cloud based with data stored in singapore. Facebook cloud based with data stored in the US and a host of other locations. Cloud products are increasing and the concerns remind me of the days when people were worried about using the net for banking. Now everyone uses the net for banking.

From my research I am aware of quite a few organisations who will not use cloud accounting because of what they perceive as security issues. The IT experts we use for our accounting practice have recommended we not use cloud accounting for clients. Have not Gmail and facebook all been hacked?. Yes, a lot of people use netbanking but again this has had it's issues as well.

It is a big leap of faith for a business to give all there business information to an organisation that promises to keep it in a secure environment. Personally I would rather have more control over my records.