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CIA Provides Secrets about Linkedin

LinkedIn: The Living CV

I’VE WRITTEN A NUMBER of posts about the power of LinkedIn to replace the traditional resume, but after speaking with an expert from CIA (Sydney-based company, Computer Information Agency or CIAOPs) I learnt some new secrets about Linkedin. Robert Crane, CIA’s Director, shared some tips as to how and why LinkedIn is a fantastic tool to help you get a job AND find more customers.

Robert-Crane-Digitar-web-linkedin-secrets
Robert Crane is the Director of Computer Information Agency

Here’s what Robert had to say…

One of the greatest advantages that Internet based technologies can provide is leverage. Nothing could be more the case than with social media. Unfortunately, too many businesses and professionals fail to see the potential that it can provide themselves and their businesses. Probably the most effective social network for business is LinkedIn.

You may be surprised to know that LinkedIn in has been around for over a decade. It was around long before Facebook and Twitter as a source of connecting business people together. LinkedIn allows you to create a personal or business profile to which you can add all kinds of information.

[quote]Many professionals use LinkedIn as a “living CV” where they can post their career and achievement records for others to view.[/quote]

Sharing that information with others help them grow their potential network and makes it easier for others to locate people with the right skills.

The True Power of LinkedIn

This is where the key technology of search begins to reveal the true power of LinkedIn, for not only can you share your information with others, independent parties can search LinkedIn and locate individuals with the skills they need. This is reason why so many HR people use LinkedIn to locate and target individuals with the skills they require.

[quote]Posting resumes and trawling employment website is now ‘old school’. Indeed, the highest quality applicants are signed up via Linkedin even before a job is offered.[/quote]

Is It Too Late for You?

This means that if you are not using Linkedin your competition probably already is. So what can you do to catch up?

  1. Firstly, you’ll need to create a LinkedIn account and then fill in the information about yourself. The more professional information you provide the better. It is also important to include a professional headshot as part of the profile so if you don’t have one of these go out and get one.
  2. Once you have all your information entered start looking for people and associates you know who are already on LinkedIn. When you find them send them an invite to ‘connect’ with you on LinkedIn.
  3. Once you network starts to grow make sure that Linkedin becomes an ongoing part of your business strategy. Don’t let the information you have entered get stale. Revisit your account regularly and ensure it is always as current as possible. As you meet new contacts look them up on LinkedIn and ask them to ‘connect’ with you. Always be looking to grow your network and don’t be afraid to ask people in your network for introductions to others on Linkedin.
  4. When you start to feel comfortable with Linkedin use the testimonial feature to ask business contacts and clients for referrals. These referrals can be directly posted on your profile for all to see.
  5. Nothing lends credibility like endorsement so always continue to seek them out and grow the number that you have. Once the endorsements start to flow make sure you direct other information about your business to your LinkedIn information. Use it on your website, business cards, etc.

Other Powerful LinkedIn Uses

The more you work with LinkedIn, the more powerful you will find it. When you need something you can ask your network of contacts, you can search their skills for what you need, and you can join any number of special interest Linkedin groups on the very topic that you are seeking assistance on. Because Linkedin has become such a worldwide tool for business, chances are you’ll find the person or business you’re looking for, if you know how to use it.

Jump On the Social Media Bandwagon

I went to a seminar recently and heard Nick Bowditch from Facebook speak. He said that the businesses engaging with, and using, social media will be the ones still around in 5 years. Perhaps it’s arrogant to think that social media is so mighty, but given the speed with which technology is moving these days, and the ferocity of competition, it’s better to build a profile, reputation and brand that people know, like and trust — and social media is the opportune way to do this.

Social Media and Digital Marketing online training course_comp

Are you in business as a bookkeeper, tradesperson, retailer, trainer or real estate agent and want to stand out from the crowd? We can teach you the online marketing techniques to help you do just this! Check out what’s included in our comprehensive Social Media and Digital Marketing online training courses.

 

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Woman who loves tech loves MYOB software

Telework Australia Website - work from home and MYOB coursesI wrote an article about work-at-home mums earlier this year and handed out praise to our own EzyLearn team, who are mostly work-at-home mums. Ever since I opened my first training centre in Sydney’s Northern Beaches suburb of Dee Why back in 1999 mums have come to EzyLearn to get new skills to find work and MYOB was always a popular choice.

Our MYOB courses have been popular because bookkeeping skills enable mums to work their own hours and earn a good hourly rate. The bookkeeping industry is also evolving to the point where the Internet and cloud accounting is enabling bookkeeping as a virtual service that mums can perform at home!

I’ve always disliked the term virtual assistant (or VA) because it makes you think that VA’s aren’t real that they are virtual. I was speaking with an HR consultant from the UK and he told me that in Europe they use the term remote worker or remote contractor which I think it much more relevant because it’s more accurate. The Australian government appears to have adopted the term Teleworking and they’ve assembled a website to explain how it works and encourage this type of work in Australia.

Frederique Digitar - MYOB invoices and working from homeOn the topic of women working from home, I had the pleasure of meeting Frederique from Women Love Tech the other week and we got into a conversation about the blogging business. I write this blog to help our MYOB course students learn more about bookkeeping, accounting software and the computer industry as it evolves into the cloud, but Frederique covers a lot of topics that are of interest to tech savvy women. She’s written some interesting articles about technology and I thought this one was very handy for anyone operating a business. It’s about how to create a good invoice.

One of the best parts of working from home is that you can get more done (if you have a good working environment and dedication to the task), it saves on traffic and it empowers more individuals to control their own destiny!

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Online Accounting: Has Xero Turned the Tables on MYOB in Australia?

Xero cloud accounting Share Price on ASX via CommsecWE RECENTLY FEATURED AN article by Margaret Carey comparing Xero vs MYOB and as early as 2010 I wrote about Xero’s solid growth in the online accounting area and how it could steal business away from MYOB.

If you read my blog posts or follow the news about accounting software and cloud-based accounting software, you’ll be aware that MYOB is now owned by a large private equity organisation called Bain Capital (which was co-founded by Mitt Romney). I believe it overpaid for MYOB and as a result has to fight hard to justify its price and keep as many customers as possible. However, regardless of that, it’s interesting to see that MYOB is now the US competitor to the New Zealand and Australian owned Xero.

How is MYOB American?

What do I mean? Well, MYOB was once an Australian-owned company that you could buy shares in — it was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. It was subsequently purchased by Archer Capital and later sold to Bain. During this time, the man who started MYOB, Craig Winkler, sold his shares in MYOB and became a major investor in Xero. Read this article from the Sydney Morning Herald to better understand the “lay of the land” about cloud-based accounting software.

You can buy shares in Xero

Up until last week you could only buy shares in Xero through the New Zealand stock exchange. Last week, things changed and you can now participate in the fresh new competition in the online accounting market by buying shares in Xero! The graphic shows the rise of the share price since listing.

This blog post isn’t financial advice because I don’t know about your personal circumstances, but it could prove to be some safe career advice to get to know the software because they have listed in Australia in order to endear themselves to you and other small businesses in our part of the world.

Want to check out Xero’s ASX ticker and start keeping track of their price? Follow this link.

MYOB Bookkeeper, does this affect you?

If you are looking for work as an MYOB bookkeeper you will come across cloud accounting sooner or later because all the accounting software vendors are developing cloud based products. MYOB has recently launched their cloud accounting program MYOB AccountRight Live because they want to take advantage of the mass movement into the cloud.

More importantly as a bookkeeper these days you need to have bookkeeping qualifications like a Cert IV in Bookkeeping as well as software skills to find work or run your own bookkeeping business. Because of the more competitive landscape in online accounting you’ll also find several different accounting systems are being used and the more you know, the move valuable you become.

Always updating our content

In conjunction with bookkeepers, accountants and other finance industry experts we are always adding training materials covering a number of different cloud accounting applications like Xero, SAASU, Reach Accounting and MYOB AccountRight Live to our online training platform. We are also adding case studies to our courses to make them more true to life and interesting. When you enrol and opt to purchase our Lifetime Access option, you will have access to all updates to our courses forever.

Our online courses can be counted towards your CPD points

Online bookkeeping accounting training courses for CPD points

EzyLearn Excel, MYOB and Xero online training courses count towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for bookkeepers and accountants. We’ve been an accredited training provider of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers ever since the organisation started in Australia. Find out how CPD points can be of benefit to you.

 

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Online MYOB Courses with a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

MYOB Training Courses with 30 Day money back guarantee

Full Money-Back Guarantee

IF YOU’RE FAMILIAR WITH our online MYOB courses you might recall that we offer a money-back guarantee. We’ve always offered this guarantee because online training is still a relatively new phenomenon for many students. Perhaps these students would still prefer some one-to-one, personal attention from a tutor in a class-based training course.

Our original money-back guarantee was for 7 days, but after speaking with a handful of new students they seemed anxious that they didn’t have enough time to get around the course to see if it’s right for them. Some of our fastest students manage to get through the entire course within 5 days, most people get through it in 2-3 weeks, but regardless of how fast or slow you learn, all new students have the 30 day money-back guarantee.

We also offer the 30-day money back guarantee because we think we offer the most comprehensive MYOB courses available in Australia. Our online MYOB training includes:

  • 5 MYOB courses (Set Up to Payroll)
  • 7 training workbooks (some MYOB courses have 2 workbooks)
  • 7 different case studies (each workbook takes you through another example of how MYOB accounting software is used)
  • Over 250 training videos
  • Several MYOB versions (version 15 to 19, as well as the latest version 2012)
  • Knowledge Reviews to test your skills regularly throughout the course
  • 12 month’s or Lifetime Access so you can use the MYOB courses as an ongoing resource.
  • FREE student membership to the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB)

 

Our MYOB courses will give you confidence whether you:

  1. are applying for a job that requires MYOB
  2. want to be more useful in your current job OR
  3. want to start (or better manage) your own small business

Our new 30-day money-back guarantee shows how confident we are in the value of our online training courses. Find out more about our MYOB training courses. Enrol today and start by 5pm next business day.

online bookkeeping courses to earn cpd points

EzyLearn Excel, MYOB and Xero online training courses count towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for bookkeepers and accountants. We’ve been an accredited training provider of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers ever since the organisation started in Australia. Find out how CPD points can be of benefit to you.

 

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Should I switch to Xero or remain with MYOB?

Xero and MYOB

cloud-accounting Xero and MYOBI’ve written many articles about the building competition between cloud-based accounting services like Xero, SAASU and Reach Accounting and MYOB’s AccountRight Live, but I sought an opinion of someone with much more experience with the various bookkeeping programs. Margaret from BusinessEEz is an accounting software specialist and she will share her opinions about whether you should switch to Xero or remain with MYOB.

We’ve noticed some big changes in the most recent version of MYOB AccountRight version 2012 and these changes not only affect small business owners, but also bookkeepers who perform most of the day to day and month end tasks for these small businesses.

Here’s what Margaret had to say about Xero and MYOB.

Should I switch to Xero or remain with MYOB?

Cloud accounting specialist xero and MYOBBy Margaret Carey

MYOB is about to launch AccountRightLive, the cloud-based version of AccountRight 2012 which is exciting news for business owners, bookkeepers and accountants as it means that you will have the ability to remain on MYOB and enjoy the flexibility that the cloud can offer. Xero has of course been in the cloud for some six years and has wooed many Australian small businesses with its ease of use, functionality and flexibility. However now AccountRight Live is becoming a reality, business owners and bookkeepers can more readily compare apples with apples when deciding whether to switch or remain with the familiar product.

There are a number of key points of difference.

Firstly with MYOB you can choose to switch between the cloud and the desktop at any time but Xero however is a cloud-only product, accessed via a web browser and an internet connection. Some people may like the flexibility of being able to switch between the two, taking offline backups etc. and others are happy with the restriction of internet–only access, no offline backups.

[quote]MYOB is also allowing for up to 5 concurrent users, a welcome addition for users on Plus and compares well with the unlimited users for Xero.[/quote]

However, I believe that functionality is a major driver in product decision and there is a lot to consider here.

Functionality of MYOB

MYOB has been around for many years and over time has built up some industrial strength functionality. Xero has only been around for 6 years (less in Australia) and whilst new releases with new features come out every couple of months, it still has a way to go to catch up with the in-depth functionality of MYOB. So if your business has some more sophisticated processes – eg Job Costing, Purchase Order tracking

If you hold inventory for buying and selling, then you need to remain on MYOB, Xero does not have an integrated inventory solution, there are plenty of add-ons available but why go for an add-on if you can have an integrated solution?

Xero does now have a reasonable integrated payroll solution but again, if you have some more sophisticated requirements such as TOIL, RESC etc, you should carefully review how well Xero will handle these.

The number one efficiency feature with Xero is its bank feeds. You can directly download transactions from your bank accounts into Xero and through some sophisticated but easy to set up rules, Xero will suggest the correct postings for the transactions – this is a powerful feature that can save several hours of data entry but is probably more suited to the micro business than the small business.

In summary,

  1. If you have a fairly simple business model, no inventory, straightforward payroll and are comfortable with a cloud-only solution then test drive Xero – you could well find that factors such as the bank feeds clinch the decision for you.
  2. But, if your business model is more sophisticated, you are still attached to a terra firma option or you need inventory then you are better sticking with the software you know.
  3. For all shades of grey in between – further analysis may be required to make the best decision for your business.

Learn more than just MYOB

When you enrol into our MYOB courses you receive free membership to the Bookkeeping Academy where we’ll show you how to use other accounting software programs like Xero, SAASU, Reach Accounting and more..

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Will you do it when you feel more confident?

Confidence to get that job and start a business

Confidence

Is low self-confidence contributing to you not achieving your work or life goals? When we held MYOB Courses in our Sydney Training Centres I remember speaking to a lot of mums who were returning to the workforce after a long absence while they were looking after their kids. Lack of confidence was one of the major topics that came up. It was like a whole lifetime had passed since they left the workforce and their lack of confidence was stopping them from finding work.

The same is true for business owners. I was recently speaking to a business coach who has helped many small business owners start and grow their businesses, including bookkeeping businesses. We are very happy to have Di Brown as a contributing specialist so read on to discover some insights about confidence and reaching your goals.

Is lack of confidence holding you back?

Business coach for starting a new business or getting the dream jobBy Di Brown

Are you one of the many people whose lack of confidence is holding them back, keeping them stuck or stopping them from making a career change they desperately want?

How many times have you heard someone say, ‘I will do it when I feel more confident?’ The truth is, the only way you are going to become more confident is by doing it. In her book Feel the Fear and do it Anyway, Susan Jeffers states that you are never going to get rid of fear. Even the most successful and confident people feel fear. The only difference is that they ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’. Eventually through repetition and experience it does get easier and you do become more competent and confident.

We all started out with confidence, it is inside every human being. For example when babies attempt to walk for the first time, there is no hesitation about what they want to do. There is no worry about falling because they know exactly what to do when it happens. Stand up and do it again! We were all babies once with the confidence to learn to walk and go for what we wanted.

The action of doing

It’s in the action of ‘doing’ that confidence grows! Do you remember when you first learnt to drive a car? I do! It was a new experience and a bit scary; there were so many different things to remember. There was the brake, accelerator, clutch and gears, speedometer and blinkers. I don’t know about you but when it was time to change lanes, I even had to remember to keep the steering wheel straight when I looked over my shoulder. There were quite a few occasions when I turned my head to make sure it was safe that the steering wheel would come with me. I wasn’t very confident at all.

Well eventually I did get the hang of it. I don’t have to consciously think about how to drive any more. I feel completely competent and confident. Sometimes the car somehow gets home by itself! The way I became confident at driving was by doing it. If I waited until I felt more confident learn, I would probably still be catching the bus.

[quote]In our MYOB training courses our training workbooks contain case studies with exercises you can perform to increase your confidence.[/quote]

Confidence is within each and every one of us. Although in some of us it is just allowed to lay dormant. When our confidence lays dormant it can stop us from going after and getting what we want in life and business. It allows self-doubt to creep in which then allows fear to rule our desires and decisions. Imagine if we allowed self-doubt to win, we would probably still be crawling and catching the bus.

Confidence is positive

Low confidence can often manifest itself as negativity – seeing the glass as half empty, doubting ourselves and often making excuses. Whereas confident people are usually positive – seeing the glass as half full, they believe in themselves and their abilities, and they believe in living life to the full.

Is your confidence awake and thriving or asleep and inactive? If you don’t feel very confident, it’s time to wake up what is rightfully yours and choose to use it.

One way to awaken your confidence is by ‘acting as if’ you are already confident. It may feel a little strange at first but with time it will come naturally. There are many ways you can show confidence. You can change your behaviour, your body language, how you speak, what you say, and how you think.

When you think about someone who is confident ask yourself: –

  • Do they make excuses or do they do whatever it takes?
  • Are their postures straight and upright or are they slumped over?
  • Is their language direct and full with certainty or are they wishy washy?
  • Are they doubting themselves or thinking about completing the task at hand?

Whatever it is you would like to do, ‘just do it!’ Before you know it, your competence and confidence will show up just in time for you to take on your next adventure.

 

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We’ve just created 103 new MYOB training videos and 2 new workbooks

workbooks and videos for MYOB training coursesExisting students for our MYOB training courses will be thrilled to know that they can now have access to our latest new course for MYOB Setup using AccountRight version 2012!

We create new content regularly and because of the huge amount of change that MYOB software is currently going through we are updating most of our material and creating a lot of new training content. This recent batch of training material has been created by our registered BAS agent, Jacci.

If you are familiar with our LIFETIME student access offer you’ll be thrilled to know that existing students can access this new MYOB training course for free! This is a fantastic time for us to demonstrate the benefits of our LIFETIME student access because we manage to give our existing customers something new that they don’t need to pay any extra money for.

[quote]This is our chance to deliver the benefits to students who have been using our courses for years.[/quote]

What’s even better is our most popular MYOB training course for Day-to-Day transactions is 75% through it’s remake for version 2012 so expect an announcement via this blog site shortly.

We’ll also reveal some of the videos to demonstrate the differences between the earlier version and the current version of MYOB software via this blog.

If you are not a subscriber, then subscribe to receive these blog posts in your email.

If you are considering enrolling into an MYOB training course you don’t need to be in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Brisbane. You can be anywhere in Australia or even across the world, as some of our students are, and get the benefits of our online MYOB training. Find out more about our MYOB Training Courses.

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Will MYOB in the cloud take Bookkeepers jobs offshore?

accountants and MYOB bookkeeper jobs going offshoreI’ve written a lot about MYOB in the cloud recently as training companies like us, accountants and MYOB software users grapple with their changing software and upgrading issues and a recent article I read brought up an interesting topic. Whether Cloud based accounting software will takes jobs offshore?

MYOB in the Cloud and IT support

The article I read was more about IT jobs and IT departments and whether cloud computing was making It Departments redundant. When you think about the various jobs within the accounts department the same question can be asked. I wrote a blog post about the looming threat to Australian jobs by overseas workers earlier in 2012 and scarily, it was reinforced by an article in yesterdays Sydney Morning Herald about 1 million jobs going offshore in the next 30 years.

If you check out the article you’ll notice that not only bookkeeping jobs, but accounting in general is one of the largest sectors under threat from offshoring! The picture above shows some other sectors under threat.

MYOB in the cloud vs data files on your PC

MYOB in the Cloud will enable the bookkeeper, data entry operator and accountant to access accounting records at the same time and from different locations and this is one of the best selling features of MYOB in the cloud compared to a data file on your computer. The issue for Australian workers is that anyone in the world can now perform this work if they have the skills to use the software and knowledge of basic Australian accounting.

Keep upskilling

One of the best ways to ensure your worth and value as a MYOB user is to keep yourself up-to-date. Continuing Education is important if you want to be a BAS agent, but it is also a very good way to become the MYOB and Bookkeeping resource for your own customers.

When you enrol into our MYOB training courses, you’ll automatically receive 12 months membership to the Bookkeeping Academy as well as free student membership of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.

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MYOB Course Certificates to be issued on Friday

We have been inundated with MYOB Certificate requests in the last two weeks so this blog post is just to let you know that we will be issuing MYOB course certificates at the end of the week (ahead of schedule).

If you are close to finishing the knowledge review assessment tasks for the MYOB course now is a great time to finish them and submit a course evaluation so you can be in this round of MYOB course certificates.

If you are contemplating our online MYOB training course you’ll be very happy to know that the EzyLearn MYOB Course certificate includes the logo for the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB). We are proud to be an Accredited Training Provider of the ICB and also of their their continuing professional development (CPD) program for bookkeepers. You may also recall that you can join the ICB as an EzyLearn student for free.

Make sure you subscribe to this blog for the pending announcement of our Basic GST/BAS Taxation Principles course announcement coming shortly. You will soon be able to enrol with EzyLearn for all your requirements to register as a BAS agent with the Tax Practitioners Board.

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EzyLearn students receive MYOB courses for free

MYOB AccountRight Plus 2012 online training coursesHave you pondered the benefits of a lifetime student access to our MYOB courses? Here is the best answer we can think of – our newest MYOB course is the MYOB Setup course for version 2012, and all students will have access to this course for no extra charge*.

I wrote recently about the significant changes that are occurring with MYOB accounting software as they take their journey from desktop to cloud and in-between. I’ll explain more about the in-between part in another blog post. These modifications have caused a change in how to use MYOB software so we’ve undergone a re-write of all of our courses. The MYOB Setup Course is now in beta stage and we are looking for existing students who want to give it a bit of a run through. Do you want to have a sneak peak at it?

Beta stage simply means it’s ready, but we want to see if our existing students like it. Do you want to become a VIP training member? It’s free, so submit your details in our Bookkeepers Register and select the VIP option.

I just want to use this opportunity to let you know another reason for choosing EzyLearn for your MYOB training: We create our own training materials and the people who create the courses also provide support to students. This means that we are amongst the first company to create training material for the latest versions of MYOB.

* If you have enrolled into a lifetime MYOB course access option.

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MYOB bookkeeper training VIP member

MYOB Bookkeeper VIP

EzyLearn MYOB Bookkeeper Gold VIP member logo - smallA great way to participate in a continuing education program for bookkeeping is to apply for our MYOB Bookkeeper VIP membership. It’s free! Membership is not guaranteed however and you have to participate in our MYOB bookkeeping Training Courses incubator. If that sounds like you, read on…

Why a MYOB Bookkeeper VIP membership?

If you are a regular EzyLearn blog reader, you’ll be aware of the sadness we experience by not being able to have a coffee and Tim Tam with you. We are inching closer to finding a solution to that though and I think we’ve found it! The MYOB Bookkeepers VIP membership. You could call it a club for people willing to participate in our training material creation process.

What’s in it for me?

  • You get to road test our new training material and participate in the creation process (well OK, that’s also a benefit for us)
  • You get to elevate your status in the learning community
  • We’ll include your details in our forthcoming bookkeeper register
  • We’ll explore ways to help you perform online marketing to build your own business
  • You’ll get access to other training resources to widen your skill base
  • You’ll get to know similar minded people and build a great network
  • You’ll be able to explore new bookkeeping technologies with us and keep your skills up-to-date

Continuing Professional Development for Bookkeepers

Continuing Professional Development is going to become more and more relevant and important for MYOB Bookkeepers across Australia as the industry becomes more regulated and you will be at the coalface of our training development.

We have some exciting news to release in the coming months about new partners who will be working with us to provide our students with small business management skills including the ability to write a comprehensive business plan including financials. As a MYOB Bookkeeper VIP member you will have privileged access to this new material.

The MYOB Bookkeeping Training Courses is your first step to gain access to the club but even if you are an experienced bookkeeper or accountant you are welcome to submit your details into our Bookkeeper Register.

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Another Reason to Start a Bookkeeping Business. Capital Gains.

Capital Gains or Loss on investments and businesses - Australian Capital Gains Tax - Learn MYOB & Xero in online training courses to start a bookkeeping business

I’ve written several articles about starting a bookkeeping business in recent months but an article I just read in the Sydney Morning Herald about the value of a bookkeeping business re-inforced a great reason to be in business for yourself. Capital Gains.

Yes, it can be hard to start a new business from scratch and yes, you may need to get out of your comfort zone to meet new people and share your story and yes, you may need to do some courses and learn some new skills, but the rewards are more freedom, flexibility, capital value and you might meet some great business owners and managers in the process.

Continue reading Another Reason to Start a Bookkeeping Business. Capital Gains.
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Satisfaction Statistics for online MYOB Training Courses

Our offer and your satisfaction

EzyLearn Support Satisfaction Statistics for MYOB training coursesWe strive for an innovative training experience for our Microsoft Excel and MYOB training courses by providing:

  • Beginners to advanced software training skills for one price so you don’t have to agonise over which course to choose for your current skill level
  • Lifetime access to course resources including updates
  • Variety of learning tools including training videos, workbooks with exercises, exercise files and knowledge reviews

As a result it is important for us to develop training materials that are easy to use and self explanatory so that our students learn quickly and we don’t need to provide too much support. We need to ensure that any problem a student faces is dealt with so that future students are guided more smoothly through their learning experience.

Sometimes it’s the software

Zendesk customer support for our online MYOB training courses

I wrote in a recent blog about the significant changes that MYOB are going through with their software and how it affects not only our students but real, live businesses that use MYOB software in day-to-day operations. We’ve experienced this most recently in our MYOB bank reconciliation course where we exported the accounts list and journal entries from a previous version of MYOB so that students can easily import them into the current version. This worked very well for all the previous versions until MYOB started developed their current versions using the Microsoft .NET platform.

After going through several scenarios about how to improve the flow of our course and scouting MYOB’s support communities we’ve discovered that importing from previous versions to the current version is a little more difficult than it use to be. Students will just need to create the data manually and this isn’t a major problem, but it highlights some of the issues that are faced in the real world anyway.

But what can we do?

To handle our growing number of student members (and we call you members because you have lifetime access to the course materials including the new updates) we implemented a powerful customer support system called Zendesk, a system that is used by over 20000 companies world-wide including Twitter, msnbc.com, Denver Broncos, Lonely Planet, and SAP. We also turned on the satisfaction ratings which scared us at first because we would truly see how well we are doing according to our students. The result? 90% Customer satisfaction – that’s a high distinction I believe.

Why write a blog post about it?

tim tams and coffee at Sydney training centre
Source: http://annychih.com/the-best-job-in-the-world/testing-out-tim-tams/

There are several aspects to learning that most people are used to:

  • Training that is easy to follow and easy to duplicate so you can do it yourself
  • Training material to answer most of your questions
  • The social experience of meeting other people and sharing stories during the coffee break

Sadly, online training can’t provide the thousands of personal experiences our trainers experienced with their students during the coffee breaks, while eating Tim Tams. It’s this human contact element that we can’t replicate online so we closely watch the satisfaction ratings for the answers and support that our team provide to students when they have questions or difficulties.

We can’t replicate the coffee and Tim Tams online, but we can implement leading support tools and find great team members so we maintain a high distinction in support.

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MYOB stats say no, but bookkeeping business a go

Is it a good time to start a bookkeeping business?

now is the time to start a bookkeeping business
GST-registrations from SMH 20120816

Tim Reed, the CEO of MYOB recently mentioned that they track the number of Australian business registering for GST because it gives a good indication of the number of business entering the market and the chart showed an astonishing decline in the last 12 months. What I found most interesting is that our recent blog about Starting a bookkeeping business cheaply was one of our highest read blog posts. So is it a good time to start one?

Is there a need?

If you ask any business owner or accountant you will soon discover that there is always a need for good bookkeepers. Most business owners start out in business because they are good at their craft and bookkeeping is the last thing they want to worry about. After all, it is a compliance issue not a money earning issue. What do I mean by compliance? I mean the Australian Taxation Office require you to lodge your financial information with them if you want to operate a company.

The next common question is how much will I earn as a bookkeeper and the answer depends on how good you are and how you want to work. If you are an employee working full-time for a company you will most likely earn award wages, if you are a bookkeeping business owner you can charge more because your customers know that you have a business to run, but also because you are only working for them a handful of hours per week or month.

There is a need for MYOB skills

One of the most commonly sort after skills in Australian office administration type jobs is the ability to use MYOB accounting software. We have many students from accounting backgrounds do our MYOB Training Courses because they haven’t used the software in their corporate work. We’ve even had bookkeepers perform our courses because many Cert IV’s in Bookkeeping (a common course for those wanting to be registered BAS agents) do not include training on how to use MYOB – they cover bookkeeping principles.

Who are your competitors?

If you look at the graph in this blog post you should probably be encouraged to start a bookkeeping business because it appears that your competitors are scared to start one right now. It’s also a good time to note that the bookkeeping business is starting to become a regulated industry and a profession in it’s own right. After all you need qualifications and to be a registered BAS agent if you are going to operate a bookkeeping business these days and with these higher standards come higher expectations and higher pay.

If you explore your local competitors in your bookkeeping business planning process you will start to better understand just how important bookkeeping is. It will make you feel more comfortable in choosing your new profession and taking the right steps to get to your desired goal.

Do you have what it takes?

The real question you should ask yourself if you are looking at starting a bookkeeping business is do you have what it takes? Are you good at explaining bookkeeping and accounting terminology to your customers in their own language? Do you have the skills to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Do you have the confidence to speak to prospective customers and charge the amount you want to charge?

The business planning stage is very helpful in building your confidence, but the winning formula is:

  • a willingness to speak openly and simply with potential customers,
  • find solutions to customers problems and
  • explain accounting to them in simple language

Remember that owning a bookkeeping business requires people skills, business skills and bookkeeping skills. If you are interested in starting a bookkeeping business contact our business partners at workface.com.au and begin your journey to flexible hours and business success.

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MYOB AccountRight version 2012 is different

Reasons to decide if upgrading MYOB Accountright version 2012We create new training content for our online MYOB training courses each quarter and we’ve just been going through a flurry of recordings and re-writes for our MYOB Setup course because we know that MYOB AccountRight version 12 is different.

MYOB AccountRight version 2012 is part of the cloud strategy

Did you know that MYOB is going through a lot of changes as they position themselves as a cloud based accounting software provider? A recent article in The Australian goes onto explain that MYOB’s cloud-based strategy is designed to get people away from using Microsoft Excel (for which we have training courses with lifetime access) and onto their cloud based systems. It also explains that one benefit to the company is the ongoing monthly revenue stream as opposed to many of their customers who only upgrade their software when they really need to.

MYOB is created on a Microsoft programming platform

The other major reason for the changes in MYOB AccountRight version 2012 is that it, and all their other products, have been re-written from the ground up using a whole new programming language in Dot Net (Microsoft .NET framework). We wrote a controversial blog post about how accounts are recommending some of their customers not to upgrade their MYOB software and some information on their website reveals that MYOB themselves are not recommending the upgrade under certain circumstances, in particular:

[quote] If you use M-Powered services, or other third party add-ons, we recommend waiting until we’ve finished developing these features before upgrading. [/quote]

Benefits of MYOB Training Course lifetime access

Either way, we are upgrading our training materials and keeping our old training material available for those students who want access to both versions. We promote lifetime access for our MYOB training courses and all students on this enrolment plan will have access to the new MYOB AccountRight version 2012 courses for free.

Stay tuned as we keep you up-to-date on our progress. The 45 new videos for our MYOB AccountRight version 2012 course have now been recorded and are uploading to our training video server as we speak. When they are live at the training site we’ll issue another blog post.

You can find out more about the upgrades that MYOB AccountRight version 2012 software is going through by visiting this link at the MYOB website.

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Need to reinvent your career? This weekend?

Your Career

Reinvent your career become a bookkeeper or start a bookkeeping business

Our MYOB Training Courses are available through our partner network of accountants, business development and career services companies across Australia and one of our partners is exhibiting at the Reinvent your career expo this weekend.

I recently wrote about their project to help students find bookkeeping work or start a bookkeeping business and you’ll get a chance to learn more about what they have planned this weekend!

MYOB and your career

Many of our students learn to use MYOB accounting software so that they can

  1. Find work in the accounts department of a company,
  2. Become more valuable to their current employer, or
  3. Start their own bookkeeping business.

When you look at this list you realise that learning = change and change usually provides new opportunities and advancement. Workface are a team of career experts and MYOB Bookkeeper Training at Reinvent your career expoI will be at the stand to demonstrate how the company can help you and your friends become more valuable in your career by becoming a bookkeeper.

Workface have a professional business development consultant who provides training tools and support for those students who want to start a bookkeeping business so make sure you pop into the expo this weekend and come and say hi.

It’s in Sydney so I don’t expect out-of-towners to make a trip to Sydney for it, but if you are Sydney-based and want to participate in our open meetings to build a community of bookkeepers please come and talk to me.

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Want to start a business from home?

I’ve had the pleasure of working with many interesting and intelligent people and since operating my first physical training centre in Dee Why in 1999 I’ve found it very rewarding to help people learn new skills so that they can find a job. We now do a lot of online training and I’m even more excited when we can help people start, promote and manage their own business – particularly if students are doing it for the first time. If you are interested in exploring ways of starting a business from home and working as an independent contractor see the business opportunities available.