Author: Steve Slisar

Steve Slisar has been training people how to use computers since 1994, opened a training centre in 1999 in Dee Why and by 2005 had 3 training centres and created over 35 individual courses that include Screen videos with audio commentary, training workbooks for those who prefer to read to learn, and exercise files that are used with the tasks in the workbooks so you get practical experience in the software you are trying to learn. Now the creator of 5 of the most popular online MYOB training courses in Australia.

Posted on August 27, 2023August 27, 2023 by Steve Slisar — 1 Comment

Coffee Grinders Give Subscription Fees a Roasting

Spina Roasters Morisset use MYOB Accountright for their cafe business - online MYOB Training Courses from EzyLearn small

We’re so used to paying subscription fees for everything today but not really owning anything. I was speaking with Brian from Spina Coffee Roaster in Morisset and he reminded me when small businesses could buy MYOB AccountRight and then only upgrade if they wanted too.

I recall the first subscriptions that MYOB introduced relating to Payroll tax tables. If the PAYG brackets or superannuation (covered in the MYOB Payroll Course) were changed by the Australian Government then you had to buy the upgrade from MYOB – even though it was a simple change of a couple of percentages in the software.

Now, most small businesses don’t even budge when they pay $1000pa for a Xero subscription!

Posted on August 23, 2023August 23, 2023 by Steve Slisar

Welcome to Bookkeeping Academy Member: Gina Diprose

MYOB and Xero Bookkeeping and Training with Gina in Tasmania - Bookkeeping Courses

I wrote about the Bookkeeping Academy membership a couple weeks ago and how it’s our aim to help our students get discovered for bookkeeping work after they complete their course.

Gina has 10 years experience in every aspect of operating and managing a tourist and caravan park in her home state of Tasmania and she loved the bookkeeping side of the work so much she wants to do it for other businesses.

She learnt how to use Xero and loves how it means she can do the work from anywhere – even Zeehan in Tasmania’s west.

Posted on August 10, 2023August 10, 2023 by Steve Slisar

What is a branding theme in Xero and why would you use it?

Automate your accounts receivable with uCollect and Xero - online MYOB & Xero training courses by EzyLearn

Branding themes are just a fancy word for templates and you can create as many as you need in Xero. The biggest reasons to use different branding themes is if you use different payment methods or you have different brands within the business.

A major benefit when using branding themes is you can allocate a different theme for selected customers. For example if you have a set of customers that allow you to deduct payment for their invoices using a service uCollect you can allocate a branding theme in Xero that doesn’t give them the option to pay that invoice but instead shows a message for them NOT to pay and that the payment will be made automatically.

Posted on August 4, 2023August 5, 2023 by Steve Slisar

Need to Learn How to Read Financial Reports?

Payroll admin, workforce management biggest issues for Mechanics with MTANSW in 2017 financial report training course - EzyLearn

Financial reports reveal the financial state of a business and there are a bunch of standard reports for very specific parts of a business. The most common ones are the Profit and Loss Report and the Balance Sheet but they are more often referred to as Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet) and Statement of Profit or Loss .

If you’re a subscriber to this blog you’ll recall that I wrote about Xero’s 2023 financial report and how they announced a big loss yet their share price sky rocketed. There’s a lot involved in financial reporting and sometimes a business is more valuable if it is growing quickly than if it makes a loss, particularly if that loss is caused by one off items and helps contribute to future growth.

Posted on August 1, 2023October 24, 2023 by Steve Slisar

Compare Bookkeeping Course Providers – Mentor Education Credit Transfer Issues

Mentor-Education-Credit-Transfer-Form-to-a-new-RTO-that-you-might-need-to-pay-extra-for

A Cert IV in Bookkeeping and Accounting is the same as any other Cert IV in Bookkeeping and Accounting, right? Wrong.

One of the biggest issues that ex Mentor Education students face in trying to transfer their credits to another training organisation AND continuing their studies is that EVERY RTO can choose some of their own subjects.

So a Cert IV in Bookkeeping can be different from one RTO and TAFE to another even though they’re the same qualification – does that makes sense. Let me demonstrate.

Posted on July 26, 2023July 27, 2023 by Steve Slisar

How To Get Discovered By Local Employers

Local Awareness Digital Marketing for Bookkeeping Academy members - find a local bookkeeper - EzyLearn

For small businesses bookkeeping isn’t a full time job. It’s often something done by the owner themselves or their partner in life and these people are not usually that good at it – PLUS they’re family and that throws up all sorts of issues and resentments.

Wives, girlfriends, partners and friends are often chosen as the small business bookkeeper because they are either cheap or trustworthy but that isn’t always a good reason to “use” them.

Many bookkeeping jobs are part time, casual or contract jobs because they only require a few hours to a day a week to do and that is why so many students start a bookkeeping business. A big problem with this approach is lack of skills in marketing and sales but the Bookkeeping Academy can help.

Posted on July 23, 2023July 23, 2023 by Steve Slisar

FREE Courses for Business Owners/Manager who enrol into MYOB & Xero and Excel Courses

When you already know some basic office admin skills you can improve your career prospects by upskilling and learning more advanced skills. This is something that YOU have control over and can change. When you choose to learn more about Microsoft Office or Bookkeeping and choose a COMPLETE course package you also get access to the FREE Student Inclusions for Business Owners/Managers.

Business Owners is the term we use for students who are running or managing a business and want to systemise their business as well as become more productive by using more software programs.

Posted on July 19, 2023July 19, 2023 by Steve Slisar

New! Microsoft Forms Course – Pre Launch Discount

Microsoft Forms Training course - Online Form Builder Templates for selling your property in Morisset & Bonnells Bay NSW - EzyLearn Pty Ltd

When I operated training centres in Sydney most of the sales were made by phone. We’d advertise our course in the local paper, highlighting our phone number and encouraging students to call and enrol into a course. It was labour intensive and not that secure when you think that we were taking down students credit card details over the phone.

Then we introduced learning on demand where students could learn any topic they wanted during our opening hours and we introduced our first online form to take enrolments – the results were miraculous. We’ve subsequently made many changes to that form since then.

We didn’t have to be in the office to take enrolments, students could enrol whenever they were ready and we had a central database of all our students and the courses they enrolled into. Best still, this information was all emailed automatically into our Customer Service software system. You can now learn these skills in the Microsoft Forms Course.

Posted on July 17, 2023July 17, 2023 by Steve Slisar

NoCert, saves money

Yes, its true get a NoCERT discount on MYOB, Xero, Microsoft Office (Word and Excel) Courses - EzyLearn

Business owners can now get a discount on our MYOB & Xero and Microsoft Office COMPLETE courses if they don’t need a Certificate of Completion.

I recently wrote about the value of Certificates and who really needs one and we’ve discovered that most business owners prefer to focus on getting the knowledge to use their software better AND saving money – that’s why we introduced NoCert discounts.

Posted on July 14, 2023July 14, 2023 by Steve Slisar

I think I found the perfect job for you

Remote workers can roster support staff for NDIS care workers - NDIS Bookkeeping Courses using Xero and MYOB - EzyLearn

The perfect job is working from home doing office admin one day a week, yes? Most bookkeeping course graduates would agree that this is the perfect client. It means you have up to 4 days available where you can get other ideal clients and it means you work online with no need to travel (or dress up!).

This job is also involved in the growing NDIS sector so you’ll learn some great skills if you haven’t worked in the sector before. You must have experience working as an admin support person and be setup to work effectively from home.

Posted on July 12, 2023July 17, 2023 by Steve Slisar

Who really cares?

Who cares if you have an Advanced Certificate in MYOB and Xero - Online Xero & MYOB courses with practical tasks - EzyLearn

Our courses all come with a Certificate upon completion but do you really think employers want to see the certificate? Don’t get me wrong a certificate is evidence that you have completed your studies not evidence that you’re the best person for any job you apply for.

I was speaking with someone recently who asked how our certificate compares to another training companies certificate. Their course was cheaper but our team could not even find detailed information about what was included in their course!

In the end an employer will be making a decision about you as a whole of a lot of little compartments and you’re better off speaking about your confidence using Xero or Excel rather than the certificate you got.

Posted on July 7, 2023July 14, 2023 by Steve Slisar

Is NDIS Bookkeeping & Care the Next Major Employment Opportunity?

NDIS Bookkeeping and starting a Disability Care Business - Xero, Splose & Hnry vying for NDIS Healthcare business owners - Pricing arrangements & Limits

With $41.9 Billion budgeted to be spend on the NDIS there is little wonder everyone is exploring disability care as either a job opportunity or a business opportunity. It’s not just individuals who are exploring this industry but accounting software and technology firms too.

I wrote about HNRY, the full service accounting software, accountant and bank account for small business owners that only charges a small percentage to cover ALL of these costs but other firms are also appearing to help everyone in the NDIS ecosystem, including Splose.

Posted on July 3, 2023November 28, 2023 by Steve Slisar

Mentor Education: Company Wound Up, but… Too Big to Fail? EzyLearn’s OFFER

Mentor Education ASIC notification of Special Resolution to Wind Up a Company - Learn MYOB and Xero Training Courses

If you’ve been following what has happened with Mentor Education you probably also have a strong interest in the integrity of Australia’s accredited training industry.

We’ve had a lot of Mentor Education students make contact just to learn more about what they can do about their courses because they hadn’t heard from Mentor Education, nor the receivers. Some students were counting on their qualifications to find work, others were promised a wage increase with a qualification and others have been through several different training providers while they juggle work, family and study.

There appears to be some good news though you wouldn’t know it by any official announcements

Posted on July 2, 2023July 3, 2023 by Steve Slisar

Mail Merging for Water Filter Replacement Reminders using Microsoft Word Advanced Course

Freshflow water filter replacement cartridges for home water filter systems and office water coolers display - Microsoft Office Training Course Case Study

Ever since I have been in business I have been told about the power of “personalised” marketing messages. Back then it was about sending a personalised letter to customers about something they’re interested in or have purchased in the past. I was running a water filter and cooler business and we had retail customers as well as business customers. That’s when I realised the power of a database.

If you are new to any industry people don’t know you and it’s your job to get to know people and build up a database. The most common way to do this is to advertise, get leads and speak to people – but only 3% of people are ready to buy right now so it’s important to stay in touch with them and most people do that with an email marketing system like MailChimp.

If you an existing business with lots of customers but times are quiet you can also use the customer data from your MYOB and Xero accounting file to connect with people.

Posted on June 29, 2023June 30, 2023 by Steve Slisar

Hairdressing Salon Case Study for Payroll Course using Xero and MYOB

Start a hairdressing business as a hair stylist by renting a chair per day at a salon - Dee at Arndell Blacktown can help - Online Xero Courses for Payroll

Hairdressing salons are all about people, scheduling and gossip. They are located all over the world and are a fascinating place to watch. I had my hair cut the other day by a recently graduated hair dresser and she did a fantastic job with the cut and the conversation.

Hair dressing salons are a simple business insofar as renting a shop, putting in comfy chairs and mirrors and washing bays and then matching a customer with a hair dresser. The biggest issue is scheduling the right number of hair dressers to match the demand from customers, particularly if there are lots of drop ins.

Trim and Styles Hairdressing was using an Excel spreadsheet to manage their staff but now they’re using Xero and here’s why.

Posted on June 24, 2023June 24, 2023 by Steve Slisar

Kids Financial Education Begins at Roblox

Buy-Robux-virtual-currency-to-buy-things-on-Roblox-Financial-Education-for-Kids-and-Learn-about-Xero-Marketplace-of-App-Integrations-with-Online-Training-Courses

Roblox is hugely popular amongst young kids and my little girl loves playing it because she gets to interact online with her friends. She also gets to interact with a whole bunch of strangers who can dress up and choose how they want to be seen through their Avatars.

It’s a lot of fun and millions of kids are playing this game every day but the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are a “for profit” company that needs to pay the wages of it’s 2,100+ workforce (as of Dec 2022).

It was interesting to discover some of the court cases that have involved Roblox but my biggest issue was figuring out how to approach buying their Robux virtual currently so my daughter could buy some cute girl faces, blonde hair and bling!