Posted on 1 Comment

The Skinny on Resume Writing

Basic do’s and don’t on resume writing

Resume writing to perfection
There’s an art to resume writing but it’s not rocket science.

The job market is tough; that much is true. But if you’ve been sending out your CV with very little response, the job market is only one part of the problem. It’s more than likely that your resume isn’t doing you any favours.

Keeping resume writing simple

Resume writing is about showing prospective employers why you are the best fit for a position and their organisation. It’s not about listing all the jobs you’ve ever had in the past — a café owner looking for a new barista is probably not interested in the three years you spent working in a corporate law firm.

When it comes to pointing out your experience, there are some basic do’s and don’t’s to resume writing. A resume shouldn’t be like a laboured novel; nor should it be so subtle in pointing out your experience that the reader is left to work out exactly how your experience applies to the position they need to fill — recruiters don’t have time for that.

And remember, the majority of companies today outsource the recruitment process to recruitment agencies that receive thousands of CVs and resumes on a daily basis for their large portfolio of clients. Even those companies that still  handle recruitment themselves will have extremely busy HR departments; even in large companies, often there’s only one person reviewing the abundant CVs they receive.

35 seconds to make your mark

When it comes to resume writing, you have to get them in quick! Being time poor and exceedingly busy, most recruiters only spend about 35 seconds on each CV or resume.

This means you have 35 seconds to convince a recruiter that it’s worth reading your CV further or, better still, getting you in for an interview.

You’ll achieve this if you:

  • Get to the point, but don’t be arrogant — this is a massive turn-off.
  • Don’t over-embellish: if you didn’t actually do something, don’t say you did — you will get found out.
  • Are concise: don’t cram your resume or CV full of interesting (to you) but ultimately irrelevant previous positions (like dog walker in 1982), achievements or interests (ferret racing is better kept to yourself).

But don’t see the minimalist approach as an opportunity to get fancy with the design of your CV.

Unless you actually are a designer of some sort, just use a clean template that clearly highlights why you’re the right person for the job. I once received a CV formatted like a crossword puzzle to list the person’s experience and education; clever perhaps, but the CV after that was easy to read and it was that person I called in for the interview.

To avoid the daunting task of resume writing from scratch each time you decide to change employment, you should get into the habit of updating your CV on a regular basis.

Need more help?

EzyLearn is in a great position to help you with your resume writing because we understand the employment market and the needs of employers. We also have team members with top quality resume writing skills and experience in creating quality resumes for administration and bookkeeping positions in particular. Other related blog posts: Finding a Job Using LinkedIn

If you’d like to share your job hunting experiences with us and others, please visit us our Facebook page — you can also let us know here if you need help with resume writing. We can also help you brush up your Microsoft Word skills for resume writing


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.


 

Posted on 2 Comments

LinkedIn Profiles: How Useful Are They, Really?

What is the power of a LinkedIn profile?

how useful is a linkedin profile online learning social media training
We scrutinise the power of a LinkedIn online social media profile.

THERE MAY BE SOME debate over whether having a LinkedIn profile actually helps professionals make valuable connections with other professionals, but the same could also be said of traditional networking.

As a writer, I probably should network more, but personally, I don’t find much value in it. In the past I have either fallen prey to someone wanting publicity for their pyramid-scheme-type business or I’ve turned into a borderline stalker myself; harassing someone who perhaps only gave me their business card out of a feeling of social obligation.

Besides, a business card tells you nothing about how competent or capable that person is at their job. For writers and journalists, I’ve always found it pretty easy to validate their claims on Google; for other professionals: not so much. Until LinkedIn, that is.

The Professionalism of LinkedIn

LinkedIn may not connect you with the recruiter of your dream job, but Twitter doesn’t guarantee you’ll become BFFs with Mariah Carey, either. What LinkedIn does, however, is give you an online professional profile.

And it’s the rather perverse nature of today’s digital society that makes an online professional presence invaluable; LinkedIn itself can act as your calling card, demonstrating how others endorse you and your work; it can act as your resume; and it can help you to actively find the right job.

The Power of a LinkedIn Profile

Any time you meet someone, you can pretty much guarantee they’ll Google you. Whether they’re prospective employers you’ve interviewed with, people you’ve met in a professional setting (clients, industry alums) or even colleagues, you can bet at some point or another they have Googled you.

What that Google search turns up can totally change the way they interact with you.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve LinkedIn-stalked a fellow writer only to discover their LinkedIn profile is not so impressive, after all. From this point on the entire dynamic of our relationship has changed immediately; suddenly I feel I’ve got the power.

On the other end of the scale, discovering the meek-mannered, unassuming but otherwise seemingly-unimpressive editor I chatted to with extreme ease is actually a former Vanity Fair staffer or contributor to The New Yorker adds another dimension to our relationship — usually, I’m putty in their hands.

***

And it’s in this context that, yes, a LinkedIn profile does work. Whether you’re using LinkedIn as a job-hunter or a networker, your LinkedIn profile tells people everything they think they need to know about you.

The old phrase — first impressions are lasting impressions — is out. It’s online impressions that are the lasting impressions.

If you haven’t already, we welcome you to connect with EzyLearn at LinkedIn.


learn online training Xero courses videos for less

Our Xero online training courses include EVERYTHING for ONE LOW PRICE. Furthermore, if you select our Lifetime Membership option, you’ll have LIFETIME access to our ongoing course updates. All EzyLearn courses are accredited by the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) and can be counted towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points. Find out more about our Xero online training courses. 


 

Posted on 1 Comment

The Marketing Lessons All Small Businesses Can Learn From Big Businesses

ID-10069551We regularly receive tips from the academic board of our small business management course and they’ve recently shared something about marketing.

[quote]One of the biggest mistakes a small-business owner can make is to think that advertising budgets and marketing strategies are the playthings of big business.[/quote]

By borrowing some of the strategies some of the biggest businesses do well, there are many marketing opportunities small business owners can utilise to generate some organic business leads—and many of them are low-cost!

  1. Web Presence – Face it, whenever you speak to a potential new client, the first thing they do is Google you. If you don’t turn up in Google, or worse, what does is out-of-date or uninformative, you’ve already lost some of your credibility and you haven’t even done business with them yet!
    Your website should clearly outline what services you offer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it! Design a website that shows off your personality and sets you apart from your competitors. Our WordPress course can give you the skills you need.
  2. Email Marketing – Is a great low-cost marketing option providing you do it right! Many companies—big and small—make the mistake of bombarding their mailing lists with too many advertising emails, most of which are irrelevant and often result in the click of an “unsubscribe” button.
    The trick, here, is to divide your mailing list into categories based on your client’s interest and business needs, and then tailor EDMs or newsletters to each category. The messages with the best cut-through are quirky and informative and act simply as a touch point with your customer that isn’t blatantly spruiking your business or rehashing your sales pitch.
  3. Social Media – If you’re going to use social media for your business, great! But if you think that by just starting a facebook page and then arbitrarily updating it with photos or your latest special offers when you feel like it will work, well you’re wrong!
    If you’re going to use social media for your business, make sure you deliver value to your social media friends and followers. Special offers are great, but after a while people tire of them. Keep your content fresh and interesting, and above all, regular!
  4. Google training coursesOnline Advertising – The thing about the internet, particularly search engines like Google, is that they’re terrific if you know what you’re looking for. If you don’t, however, it’s like running into a crowded Allianz Stadium on grand final night and calling out, “where can I find my car keys?”
    This is where online advertising comes in. Search engine advertising (also called Search Engine Marketing or SEM), like Google Adwords, is a cheap way to get started so that anytime someone searches on google using your keywords, your ad will appear with a link straight to your website.

Don’t forget—Apple Inc, once a little start-up in Steve Jobs’ garage—never launches a new product quietly, so why should you launch your business quietly?

If you create a good marketing plan and stick to it, you’re guaranteed to see results. If you’re unsure what goes into creating a marketing plan, we cover marketing strategies in our Small Business Management course.

Posted on

Why Is a Code of Ethics, Conduct or Practice Important for your Business?

ID-10095040

As a journalist, I choose to act in accordance with the Code of Ethics set out by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), of which honesty, fairness, independence, and respect for the rights of others underpins the code.

This means I strive to ensure that every story I research and write about is honest, fair, independent, and respectful to the rights of others—even this blog post! And over the years, most of the organisations I have worked for, have too, upheld the ethos of the MEAA Code of Ethics.

Of course, just because a particular industry or trade union prescribes a set of guidelines, doesn’t necessarily mean each organisation or practitioner within that industry will uphold them—case in point: News International’s involvement in the phone hacking scandal in the UK.

And usually, until there is a breach of ethics like that of News International’s, it’s rather easy to forget why a code of ethics is necessary, particularly since compliance to the code is often voluntary, or at least, highly malleable.

But by submitting to a code of ethics, conduct or practice, you’re establishing yourself as an authority in your field; you’re telling your customers, clients and employees that you have integrity.

If you’re a bookkeeper or operate your own bookkeeping business, your clients are entrusting you with one of their most prized possessions—their livelihoods, and a code of ethics illustrates to them how you and your business operate.

But there are other reasons to adopt a code of ethics, aside from professional status. Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, for instance, instituted a “values-led business” code by donating 7.5 percent of profits to charity, while other organisations value a work culture grounded in a strong ethical framework that promotes high staff retention, greater customer loyalty, and increased productivity.

For all the different reasons an organisation or business would have to adopt a code of ethics, the outcome never deviates—a code of ethics ensures accountability.

If you choose to submit to the Australian Association of Professional Bookkeepers’ Code of Professional Conduct, you’re communicating to your clients what they can expect from you, and, in turn, what you can expect from them—conduct that is ethical and lawful, confidential, objective and independent, and competent.

Posted on 1 Comment

ANNOUNCEMENT: Are you thinking about starting a business this year?

small business course and business plan

Starting a Business

The first step in the process of starting a business is making the decision, but what happens next? It’s the idea. The great thing about being human is that we are always full of ideas. It doesn’t matter what level of education or even your age we all have ideas and we all have desires so the first step of starting a business is pretty simple.

The most important step however is action, how you develop your idea into a product or service that others are interested in or need. We provide online training for Australia’s most popular accounting software, MYOB so it’s clear there is a demand for bookkeeping skills in small businesses. If you have accounting or bookkeeping skills and qualifications and are interested in starting a business you might want to explore a Small Business Course that has now been loaded on our Learning Management System (LMS).

The Small Business Management course covers all the aspects you need when starting a business and the first subject covers “Originate and Develop Concepts“. The rest of the course goes through all the skills you need to create a business plan for your new business so it is a great course to do if you are thinking about starting a business. It’s also a good course if you want to elevate your skills in your current work too.

Our small business course is designed by Maggie Richardson from the Australian Small Business Centre and the good news is that she’s helped over 1,000 people build business plans to turn their ideas into reality. You’ll also be happy to learn that businesses are more successful when they operate to a business plan. If this is your year to start a business come and join us online with the Small Business Management Course.

National Bookkeeping Business Plan Template
Get a bookkeeping business plan created by a registered BAS agent and get started fast

Start a Bookkeeping Business

If a bookkeeping business is something you’re interested in then you’ll be excited to learn that our Registered BAS Agent and Course Creator, Jacci has completed Maggie’s Small Business Management Course and created a business plan for a bookkeeping business that you can use as the basis for your own plan – most of the hard work has been done.

Just change the details for your own circumstances and you’ll have a plan that will help you get clients and stay on track to make a profit and enjoy the benefits of choosing your own hours and working close to home.

Posted on 1 Comment

Cloud Accounting Software and Automatic Bank Feeds (MYOB training video)

As part of our commitment to be the number one choice for online MYOB Bookkeeping training courses we are always keeping an eye and ear out for changes and improvements in the bookkeeping industry. If you do your own banking reconciliation, you might agree that sifting through printed statements and checking each entry off in your accounting software is maybe the most tedious part of bookkeeping.

But it need not be. With accounting bank feeds – a new feature in the world of cloud accounting – your bank transactions are automatically synched with your cloud accounting software.

This means that as long as you’ve entered your purchases into your accounting software, when your statement comes in from your bank, it will automatically marry up your purchases for you to approve with just the click of a button.

Automatic bank feeds removes the single most tedious step from the banking reconciliation process, which, depending on the size of your company, can take anywhere fifteen minutes to two hours (sometimes even more).

For a little more detail on how MYOB and bank feeds works, watch this video:

http://youtu.be/XKBUH5ycGYY

Or, for more information on how Xero and bank feeds work, watch this video:

http://youtu.be/qTsy3lW-UZM

But it’s important to know how your accounting software will access your sensitive banking information as currently there are two main methods for doing so.

First there is the method used by the likes of MYOB where your accounting software provider integrates a direct feed of your bank transactions from each of your banks into your software without needing your bank username and password.

The second method, called screen scraping, requires your accounting software to use a third party to access your bank transactions, thus necessitating your bank usernames and passwords, which can become a grey area with regards to protecting yourself from banking fraud.

While the companies that use the screen scraping method take security very seriously, should a breach occur, you could find yourself in violation of your bank’s terms and conditions because you gave out your usernames and passwords.

It’s up to you to choose what method you feel comfortable with but always check your bank’s terms and conditions before you give out your login in details.

Whatever option you choose, by eliminating the hours of data entry, your saving not only time, but also money.

And for the layperson doing their banking reconciliation themselves, services like Shoeboxed only eliminate the data entry even further.

PS: We’re also almost ready to announce our new Cert IV in Small Business Management with the Australian Small Business Centre so if you are looking to start a business or learn the skills to manage one stay tuned…

Posted on 1 Comment

Do you stand out when looking for work?

Create Postcards to use with your resume to find a jobIt’s that time of year when people are turning their new years resolutions into action and we’ve noticed a massive increase in students searching for help in writing resumes, as well as resume and business plan templates for those who are looking at starting a business.

I was speaking with Rehab Consultant Ross Miller, who helps people who’ve been injured at work find more sedentary office type jobs, and he mentioned an interesting idea.

[quote]Create a Postcard with your details on it and attach it to every resume you send[/quote]

At first it seemed a little absurd but after we got talking and he revealed more of his idea it made a lot of sense.

When you submit your resume with your job application you end up as a document in a pile and for years people have been looking for ways of standing out from the crowd. With the advent of new printing technologies like moo.com in the UK, it is becoming easier to produce and print a professional, full colour, Postcard for not a lot of money.

Social-Media and online MYOB Training coursesRoss’s idea is to create a Postcard with your photo and a brief bio about yourself on one side, plus an image that reflects the industry you want to work in (picture of a retail shop or office etc) and some words to describe it on the other side. What do you think of that idea?

If you like this idea let us know on our Facebook page. If you have other innovative ideas share them on our Facebook page.

NEW in 2014

Are you looking for work closer to home or interested in changing your working style from an employee to an independent contractor so you can work your own hours and do things you actually enjoy doing? Look at the Work at Home Opportunities that we help to create!

Posted on 1 Comment

How Do You Earn $80 Per Hour as a MYOB Bookkeeper?

How much can you earn as a MYOB Bookkeeper?

FOR ANYBODY WHO DECIDES to be self-employed and own their own business, or who is doing so already, the question of how to match the hourly rate of someone working on salary while working in your pyjamas is one that frequently goes unanswered.

But ponder no more.

If you’re well versed in the advanced features of MYOB, Xero or Quickbooks, possess an accounting qualification and can operate your business as an independent contractor, you’re well on your way to earning the big bucks as a bookkeeping consultant.

Specialist skills earn you more money

Currently, bookkeepers with a good understanding of things like time billing, job reporting and forecasting, advanced payroll, end-of-period transactions and journal entries, as well as Australian tax, are highly sought after by other businesses to work as consultants.

Of course, you could also carve out a niche specialty for yourself if you happen to be highly skilled in a particular sector or industry.

MYOB Training Online

Our MYOB courses (offered for one low price and include lifetime access) cover 85% of the MYOB skills the majority of MYOB bookkeepers require to perform most bookkeeping tasks. For everything else, however, it’s a good idea to engage the services of a specialist who can provide a solution to your specific needs.

We also provide in-depth online training courses in Xero, Quickbooks, Small Business Management and start up and social media.


learn cloud accounting online training course videos xero excel myob quickbooks

At EzyLearn we include all versions of a software program in our training courses. When you enrol in Lifetime Course Access you get access to ALL versions and ALL FUTURE VERSIONS as we continually update them — at no extra cost!

Posted on

What’s the cheapest cloud accounting software? How does it compare with MYOB AccountRight Live?

We’re augmenting our MYOB Training Courses as you may already be aware and that includes new training courses for cloud based accounting software like Reach Accounting.

Currently, the cheapest Australian cloud-based accounting software is Reach Accounting, provided by Australian domain registration and web hosting company, Net Registry.

Net Registry has been operating in Australia since 1997 and, over the years, has grown from a start-up business to the largest and most trusted provider of domain names and web hosting in the country.

Web hosting, as some of you probably already know, is another cloud-based service, so it seems only natural that Net Registry would eventually move into the cloud accounting space, which they have done with Reach.

While Reach is certainly the cheapest Australian-based cloud accounting software on the market, offering great benefits, such as, multiple user access (so everyone from owner, to staff, to bookkeeper, to accountant can have access at the same time from different offices), unlimited support and no hidden fees, it differs in functionality to MYOB AccountRight Live.

Over the years, MYOB AccountRight, has become a rather sophisticated piece of accounting software; its features include, access via the PC or the cloud, inventory, bill by time and more.

However, if your business model is relatively simple, Reach Accounting could prove a more economical option coming in at around $10 per month cheaper than the basic version of MYOB AccountRight Live, by far Australia’s cheapest cloud-based accounting software.

Although we do not provide training on MYOB AccountRight Live, we are exploring it along with Reach Accounting as part of the Bookkeeping Academy.

Posted on

Is Reach Accounting good for serviced based Small Businesses?

We have previously written blog posts about our Bookkeeping Academy and in particular, how students of our MYOB training courses can gain access to this for FREE. We are currently creating training materials on how to use Reach Accounting from NetRegistry.

We are currently creating new content for various cloud accounting software vendors, and in particular is the Reach Accounting package. This package is ideal for small serviced based businesses such as graphic designers, website designers and even bookkeepers . The Sales layout (Invoice) is more suited to small service based businesses’ as it does not allow you to manage items or inventory, but at only $14.95 per month it is extremely affordable while enabling you to remain compliant with your recording and reporting requirements.

Reach Accounting BAS Calculation Report
BAS Calculation Report

Our Course Designer, Certified Bookkeeper and Registered BAS Agent had this to say about Reaching Accounting:

I love the report functionality and its ease of use, especially for people who are not familiar with bookkeeping or accounting reports. The BAS Calculation report is a prime example of this, whereby [quote]it gives us the information needed to simply transfer onto the BAS[/quote] . Another thing that really impressed me was the Thank Client Email functionality, this is received by the client in a professional look, displays the information needed and they can also see a list of their transactions regarding the invoice just by clicking a link in the email.

We are continually creating new content for our Bookkeeping Academy and if you have not already, sign up to one of our MYOB courses which include Lifetime Membership, and free 12 months access to all the content at the Bookkeeping Academy.

Please feel free to share your comments with us our Facebook page and connect with us at Linkedin.

Posted on 1 Comment

What is Teleworking?

Teleworking from home in Australia - NBN

In a nutshell, teleworking is the ability for employees to work remotely, usually from a home office, rather than travelling to the workplace. And it’s something that Australia, and indeed, the rest of the world has been moving towards for some time.

If you think about it, ever since the widespread adoption of email, the wheels have been in motion for an era where people could opt to work from home rather than commuting to the workplace every day.

For a while, though, it has been a bit of a logistical nightmare. If you’ve ever tried to work remotely before, then chances are, at some point you’ve uttered one or all of these complaints: “This file is too large for me to email”, [quote]I don’t have that software installed on my home PC[/quote]  or “My Internet’s really slow. I might as well just come into the office”.

But when you throw things like broadband Internet, laptops, tablet devices, smart phones and the latest little life-saver, cloud accounting and storage software (like Dropbox) into the mix, working remotely, or teleworking, slowly but surely got easier.

The benefits of teleworking to employees and employers, plus also to the Australian government are huge, which is why the Australian government spearheaded the move to a National Broadband Network (NBN), which, when rollout is complete, will see high-speed Internet cabled into nearly every Australian home (93%).

The NBN will give you the freedom to things like enrol in distance education or complete one of our MYOB courses, work from home, or even start a home-based business without having to worry about poor or unreliable internet coverage.

Teleworking is the future of all Australian workplaces – you can learn about the benefits of teleworking here.

Posted on

Are you a website designer who needs a bookkeeper?

Website-Designer SEO and PPC in AustraliaIf you are familiar with our online MYOB courses you’d know that each course includes at least one training workbook and each workbook goes through a common scenario of daily, weekly and monthly transactions to teach our students how to use MYOB accounting software. We are now seeking information from website designers and SEO professionals about their bookkeeping needs because we are assembling a new MYOB training workbook for website designers!

When we start designing our workbook case studies our quest always begins with “What does a web designer and SEO expert offer” and here are some of the things we have come up with.

  1. Concept design and website goal setting
  2. Theme design (if you use WordPress)
  3. Page structure, menus and written content
  4. Images to be used (graphic design, clipart or custom photography)
  5. Blog writing
  6. Social Media Marketing and commenting
  7. E-commerce
  8. Domain name registration
  9. Hosting Services
  10. Setting up and managing Google Adwords Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing

If you are a website designer and you want to have some input into the the contents of this course please feel free to make contact. You need to be an Australian based company and you can feel free to promote your services via our facebook page.

Posted on 2 Comments

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.


 

Posted on 3 Comments

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.


 

Posted on

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.


 

Posted on 1 Comment

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..