Category: MYOB Training Courses

MYOB courses for jobseekers and business owners from Setup, Daily Transactions, Bank Recs, GST BAS and Reporting and Payroll. Students from Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Darwin do these courses at their own pace. Includes LIFETIME course access.

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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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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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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.

***

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.

 

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Start a Bookkeeping Business For Very Little Money

I recently wrote about our MYOB Training students and how many of them want to start a bookkeeping business so I thought we would go through some of the costs involved.

Remember that these are the startup costs and you may incur more marketing costs as your business grows. Starting a bookkeeping business, like most other businesses, takes a little extra time, effort and money initially. You need to spend money on advertising so you get to speak to as many prospective clients as possible.

The more prospects (or leads) you speak to, the more you understand what bookkeeping clients want and also what you are able to help them with – and what you can’t or don’t want to.

Continue reading Start a Bookkeeping Business For Very Little Money
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Law makes CPD for bookkeepers relevant

CPD for Bookkeepers

I WAS RESEARCHING ABOUT SAFE HARBOURS for a recent blog post and noticed a reference to an ATO Practice Statement. I then realised another reason why Continuing Professional Development (CPD for Bookkeepers) is so important.

Safe Harbours only became relevant to bookkeepers since changes in the law made it mandatory for anyone lodging a BAS to be a registered BAS agent. These changes then resulted in registered Bookkeepers needing Professional Indemnity Insurance and qualifications that demonstrated a thorough understanding of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Safe Harbours ATO PS LA 2006_2 CPD for bookkeepers
Safe Harbours ATO PS LA 2006/2

CPD for Bookkeepers and Tax Law

When I explored this practice statement I realised that it was outdated. The ATO Practice Statement was outdated because of the outcome of a court/tribunal case (see below).

Safe Harbours ATO PS LA 2012_5 CPD for bookkeepers
ATO PS LA 2012/5

I don’t know about you, but if I have some spare time and I’m in the mood for researching, I find it fascinating to discover how the law works, how and why decisions are made and how it affects people in that industry. CPD for Bookkeepers gives you the benefit of keeping up-to-date with your bookkeeping skills.

If you are enrolled in our MYOB Training Courses you get free membership to the Bookkeeping Academy (CPD for Bookkeepers) where I will introduce you to bookkeeping industry professionals who will help you understand more about the industry, the laws that govern the industry and tools you can use.

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Safe harbour for misleading statement penalties

Use a registered agent in a safe harbour

Safe Harbour for registered agentsIf you or your BAS agent take care in making a tax return or statement you will not incur a penalty if you have understated your tax liability or overstated your entitlements. This is part of the safe harbour definition by the Australian Tax Office and it highlights a significant change in the legal framework for completing  BAS returns.

The safe harbour only applies to statements made on or after 1st March 2010 and  it  affects who is responsible for tax information lodged with the ATO.

It’s a question of who is responsible for tax information lodged with the ATO, you or your bookkeeper/BAS agent?

Below is a quote from the ATO’s website that puts it in their words:

[quote]For statements made by a tax agent up to and including 28 February 2010, you are liable for any administrative penalty for the making of the false or misleading statement. It is not relevant if you made the mistake, your registered agent or a mix of both.[/quote]

Read more about safe harbours at the ATO website and see a simple example case study.

Safe Harbours around the world

Wikipedia has a definition of a Safe Harbour as it applies in a legal concept.

[quote]Legislators may include safe-harbor provisions to protect legitimate or excusable violations, or to incentivize the adoption of desirable practices.[/quote]

Does it apply to you?

Safe Harbours apply to you if:

  1. You want to be a bookkeeper and lodge BAS’s for your customers and/or
  2. You are a business that uses a bookkeeper.

Legislation came into place on 1st July 2011 whereby BAS agents must have professional indemnity (PI) insurance to protect their clients in case of negligence.

If you are contemplating our MYOB Training Courses to start a career as an MYOB bookkeeper speak to us about the qualifications required to gain admission to the Tax Practitioners Board.

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Video: Receipts in a Shoebox?

Receipts in a shoebox

Receipts in a shoebox? Shoeboxed Australian websiteI WAS LOOKING in my top draw and noticed some receipts, bundled by the month, with a bull clip holding them together. Do you know someone who also stores their receipts in a shoebox?

I have, of course, now entered them into our MYOB accounting software. However, it begs the question: How many business people do you know who still store their receipts and other paperwork with way?

The legal requirement to file receipts

Continue reading Video: Receipts in a Shoebox?

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Finding a job using Linkedin as your resume

How to use linkedin to find a job or new customers
How to use linkedin to find a job or new customers

LinkedIn + your resume

I recently wrote about the death of the resume and how Linkedin is replacing the written resume, now I have located a great ebook to help you master the art of using Linked in as a tool to help you find a job or get new customers.

The most interesting change in the employment market that I have noticed is the slow evolution from job seekers looking at job ads to employers searching for the best employees. Social media tools like Linkedin make this all possible.

Attracting the right people

If you are a business owner you have a website to attract customers. You combine great writing and interesting pictures to attract potential customers to your website and then contact details and an offer to ensure they make contact with you. LinkedIn is the same concept for individuals, you combine the right keywords and headings to attract people to your LinkedIn profile. Once people are attracted to your profile you can let them know that you are interested in a job, contracting work or other opportunities.

Find Bookkeeping work or customers

If you are completing our MYOB Training Courses you might want to consider joining LinkedIn if you are not already a member. If you are a member and want to get better results this concise ebook about LinkedIn has some excellent information that will help you get more results from your current LinkedIn profile.

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MYOB Payment Terms and Getting Paid on Time

MYOB Payment TermsReceive payments MYOB payment terms

I wrote a blog post about getting paid on time back in late June 2012 and thought I would share some information that might help if your customers are not paying according to your MYOB Payment Terms.

If you are not already aware, MYOB enables you to set payment terms at three levels:

  1. System wide default
  2. Customer (or supplier) card level
  3. Transaction (ie. Invoice) level

Debtor Control and Credit Risk

Setting up MYOB Payment Terms enables you to maintain tight control of your credit risk. When the MYOB Payment terms are set-up correctly you can run reports that show exactly how much money is owed to you and how old it is. The age of the debt is referred to as the Aging Period and it’s commonly 30, 60 or 90 days. We teach these MYOB skills in our MYOB Day-to-Day Transactions course.

Direct Debit Facilities

If you work in or own a business that provides ongoing services and charges a monthly fee then a direct debit facility is something you should definitely look into. Direct Debit services are traditionally offered by the major banks like St George Bank, but there are also some small and nimble companies that help you get paid on time and here are a couple of them:

When you decide to use these services you would create another “bank account” in your chart of accounts and keep track of the money that goes into these accounts, the fees they charge and then the money that comes out and into your main bank account. It’s very similar to setting up a Paypal account for your company, the Paypal account becomes another bank account in your MYOB file that needs to be reconciled.

I hope these tips help to reduce your debt collection woes and make for happier, healthier bookkeeping.