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The Power of the Homegrown Australian Business

When ‘Aussie’ is a gold winner

Reach Accounting free course from EzyLearnIN ADDITION TO OUR MYOB and Xero online training courses, we also offer an online training course in Reach Accounting, the cloud-accounting software by Aussie-owned company, Net Registry.

Not many people are aware of this, and I’ve been quite remiss when it comes to talking about it on this blog. In fact, I’ve spent more time talking about Zoho and QuickBooks recently, than I have spent time talking about Reach.

This is partly because I’ve been quite interested to see how QuickBooks has been resurrected by it’s American-owned parent company, Intuit, as it attempts to take on Xero and MYOB in the Australian marketplace again.

Zoho is both comprehensive and cheap

My interest in Zoho, meanwhile, stems from one of my contractors, who uses Zoho Books to manage her business accounts; she was telling me about Zoho’s many features, and I surprised to learn just how comprehensive the Zoho Books software is for such a low price.

Zoho and QuickBooks are both positioning themselves as low-cost accounting packages to appeal to the substantial small business market in Australia, but there’s just one thing they can’t compete with Reach Accounting on, and that’s ‘Australianness’.

Reach Accounting is an Australian owned and operated business, and as the owner of an Australian owned and operated business, I like to support other Australians in their business ventures. Reach Accounting focus their accounting software towards people who start a business as a website designer.

Why it’s harder for Aussie businesses to compete

I’m always saddened when I hear of Australian businesses being sold to overseas conglomerates, which take the Aussie jobs back overseas with them, where the wages and materials are cheaper. It makes it all the more difficult to compete for customers in the Australian marketplace when your once-Australian competitor is now producing products or services at a much lower price at their offshore headquarters.

It’s also difficult to compete with the increasing number of overseas-owned businesses entering the fray, now that the Internet has unlocked a global marketplace. What many Australian businesses don’t realise, however, is that they possess a power those overseas businesses don’t: they speak Aussie.

Whether you’re a home-based bookkeeper or virtual assistant, one of your greatest assets is that you’re an Australian and that means you have a deep understanding of what it means to be Australian – from the accent to the vernacular, you get it.

The power of ‘G’day’

It’s also a lot easier to call an Australian company than it is to call an overseas one. My Zoho Books-using contractor was telling me of a complex situation she was experiencing with her account. Unfortunately, the nearest customer service office she could call was located in China, so she had to email.

Several confused emails later, she finally realised what had happened with her account, and managed to resolve the issue herself. She later told me: “It’s a good thing I studied semiotics at university, because deciphering those emails was like trying to interpret hieroglyphics.”

I suddenly thought about Reach Accounting, which is based in the Inner Sydney suburb of Ultimo. For the same price as Zoho Books – possibly even cheaper now, thanks to the fluctuating Aussie dollar – it would have been much easier to say “G’day” to one of the guys at Reach than it was to email China or India or Japan or wherever in the world Zoho’s customer service offices are based.

Don’t be afraid to say “G’day”

As an Australian business, don’t hide your Australianness from view. Wear it proudly, because it makes a big difference to customers trying to decide between your company and the multinational after their business.

For more information on any of our cloud-accounting courses, visit our website.

Become a Virtual Assistant and Start a Business

start a bookkeeping business
Business Opportunities for Ordinary People

While we are on the topic I want to mention our StartUp Academy because we are planning some fantastic ways of helping ordinary people start a business in 2015.

We’re using a combination of our Small Business Management Course and business opportunities from established companies who want to find people who can work from home and sell and support their products.

We’re also using our Small Business Management course to help our existing students start businesses using the skills they learn in their EzyLearn course – namely MYOB and WordPress. If you’re interested in starting a bookkeeping business read on about National Bookkeeping.

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Affiliate Marketing: Partner with Us to Start Your Own Business NOW

Start a Computer Training Business

start your own businessDo you want to start your own business? Perhaps a home-based business? At EzyLearn, we’re passionate about helping people follow their dreams and start their own businesses.

At the moment, we’ve got a host of opportunities available to people who would like to partner with EzyLearn and start their own home-based business with a focus on Bookkeeping. Continue reading Affiliate Marketing: Partner with Us to Start Your Own Business NOW

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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.

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Who is Melio? US payment provider that might become global because of Xero?

Melio helps with cashflow - give customers a payment link - Xero Courses from $20pw

Melio primarily competes with other accounts payable and payment automation platforms, including BILL (Bill.com), Tipalti, Stampli, and Coupa. 

These companies all help businesses with the approval process for paying suppliers or Accounts Payable.

It also faces competition from broader financial software companies like Ramp, Sage Intacct, and NetSuite. These organisations are in the accounting software space for mid-sized businesses?

So, why did Xero just buy them?

Continue reading Who is Melio? US payment provider that might become global because of Xero?
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What most students ask about MYOB courses

EzyLearn Online MYOB Training Courses logo - training & student support

This website page answers 99% of students questions about online MYOB courses and certification. It has evolved as we’ve added content and support services so it’s pretty thorough.

The answers to these questions have become a little more complex since MYOB created separate versions of their software:

  • MYOB AccountRight, and
  • MYOB Business (Lite and Pro)

The Bookkeeping Academy MYOB course combination includes training and support for both of these versions.

See the most common questions students ask us.

Continue reading What most students ask about MYOB courses
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The Xero BAS Course takes 5 hours

MYOB GST, reporting and BAS training courses

People often ask “How long does it take to complete a Business Activity Statement” but there are several different correct answers to that question.

If all your transactions are entered correctly in your accounting software and your bank account is reconciled the BAS Lodgement takes a matter of minutes.

The hard work is often completed by bookkeepers who do the daily data entry or the catchup bookkeeping to make sure all the data is captured. This task can take days or even weeks!

If you want to save money you can lodge your BAS yourself and use our BAS Course workbooks to learn how to do it.

Advanced Certificate in BAS and Financial Reporting Training Course - introduction to Payroll using Xero Workbook

Advanced Xero Training with the BAS Course Workbooks

Learn how to lodge your BAS, including simple payroll wage payments using our Xero BAS Course training workbooks and sample data.

We use Jerry’s Messy Startup case study and you will be his bookkeeper to make sure everything is accurate for lodgement.

It is assumed that you know how to perform daily data entry and bank reconciliations using Xero.

The tricky part of lodging Business Activity Statements is making sure you get the correct tax codes for GST transactions and payroll. If you get these codes wrong you could end up paying less tax to the ATO than you are supposed to or even underpay your staff.

BAS Courses for BAS Agents

The difference between a BAS Agent and a junior bookkeeper is the compliance requirements to make sure they get it right. A BAS Agent has a duty of care to ensure that the correct tax codes are used and the Cert IV in Bookkeeping and BAS Agent skillset courses (which are Nationally Accredited) take students through the legal framework around compliance.

When a Registered BAS Agent provides these services as a contract bookkeeper they are providing a BAS Service and that is administered by the Tax Practitioners Board.

A BAS Agent is trained but more importantly insured to ensure they get the information 100% correct – otherwise they can be sued. That means they have to have Professional Indemnity insurance to provide BAS Services to clients.

If you want to start your own bookkeeping business and provide BAS Services you need the Cert IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping Course.

You don’t need to complete a Cert IV in most circumstances

In most circumstances where you are completing the BAS as an employee you will be working under the supervision and direction of the business owner, business manager or the bookkeeper or accountant for that business.

Students who enrol into our BAS Courses simply want to know how to perform these tasks using accounting programs like QuickBooks, MYOB and Xero.

See the BAS Courses for Quickbooks, MYOB and Xero

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When is the best time to study? Early mornings or late nights?

circadian rhythm-hypothalamus Master Xero and MYOB using EzyLearn's unique short course modular format

I’ve been getting up at 5.15am for the last 2 years – am I crazy?!

I’ve been getting up early because I work out with some friends and prefer early mornings to late nights. This means that I’m going to bed earlier and not working as much at night.

In the past I preferred to work late into the night and pushed myself to get as much work done as I possibly could. Sometimes this meant working until midnight but I noticed that the quality of the work wasn’t always the best.

The sun rises pretty early and I’d rather work with the natural light of the day than the artificial light of the night. I dug a little deeper into this and discovered that there are studies that explains how we perform at various times of the day and how that is affected by when we get up and go to bed – Circadian Rhythms.

Circadian Rhythms can affect how well you perform when studying too..

Continue reading When is the best time to study? Early mornings or late nights?
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Have we spoken yet?

Accounting Tutors - online Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Microsoft Office Excel, Word training courses - compare airtasker, gumtree, applied education, SpotED

The most rewarding conversations I have is with EzyLearn graduates who’ve completed our courses and then gone on to manage their finances better or get an accounts job. I’ve been speaking to a lot of EzyLearn students lately and there is a consistent theme in most conversations – “what on earth is going on with the price increases for everything“.

I thought that the Covid-19 era was going to be the most challenging period because of all the disruption to our normal lives. I’m not sure if you have discovered the same but one of the best results was that more people started working from home or negotiated partial work from home arrangements with their employer.

The real disruption of The Pandemic is that we are NOW all paying the price of it with inflation and interest rates!

Continue reading Have we spoken yet?
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What is a branding theme in Xero and why would you use it?

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

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

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

Continue reading What is a branding theme in Xero and why would you use it?
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Who really cares?

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

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

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

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

Continue reading Who really cares?
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US Xero Competitor Missed $40M in Pay Cheques

US Xero payroll competitor Patriot Offers Advanced Payroll Features - Online Bookkeeping Courses - EzyLearn

This is a tough time for accounting software firms because they’re competing head-to head for new clients at the end of the financial year. Some are offering $1/month for 6 months (like BillCue), 50% discounts, 12 month low monthly rates etc.

The competition is so fierce between accounting software companies that most of them promote what they see as the biggest difference and reason to change.

I was surprised to discover the Xero even compared themselves to Hnry (the full service accounting software, accountant and payment service) at their own website. The more research I do the more comparisons I find at most software company websites.

Some of these software companies are startups with nowhere near the cash of market leaders like Xero & QuickBooks and one of the US based accounting software companies wasn’t able to process $40M in payroll payments in March 2023.

Continue reading US Xero Competitor Missed $40M in Pay Cheques
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Mentor Education Liquidation: Students or Creditors, Who’s More Important?

ASQA-How-to-get-a-refund-from-a-Registered-Training-Organisation-like-Mentor-Education-or-Open-Colleges-if-they-go-out-of-business-EzyLearn-MYOB-Xero-Courses

I broke the news about Mentor Education going into administration in March and mentioned some of the implications for existing students who have paid their course fees.

We’ve been contacted by some concerned Mentor Education students to see if we can help them continue their studies and get the qualifications they enrolled for. Students do have options but it looks bleak unless the new buyer lets current students continue their studies, assesses them and provide them with evidence of their competency.

Sadly for Mentor students the big question is WHO is going to help them?

Continue reading Mentor Education Liquidation: Students or Creditors, Who’s More Important?
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Xero vs HNRY + Thriday + Rounded + Parpera

Unlike HNRY Xero doesn't offer bank accounts that deducted Tax and GST payments for you - Online Xero Training Courses & Support

Would you sign up to a Xero controlled back account? Would you let Xero become your accountant or tax agent to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)?

Does that sound strange? Imagine if Xero managed your bank account for you and made sure that all your taxes were paid for automatically BEFORE allowing you to receive your pay.

Doesn’t that “sort of” happen already with Single Touch Payroll?

If Xero had their own accountants would you go with a Xero accountant for your own business?

Continue reading Xero vs HNRY + Thriday + Rounded + Parpera
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Poof! – and Mentor Education is gone – Oops, page not found, then Inspire Education Type Message

Only 404 errors for Xero & MYOB Courses from the Career Academy at Mentor Education website before shut down - EzyLearn Online Bookkeeping Courses

If you’ve been following what is going on with Mentor Education and my article about what happens when a company goes through voluntary administration you’ll know that Mentor was spending a lot of money on advertising courses which they hadn’t normally promoted in the past – short courses in MYOB & Xero & Payroll.

Mentor Education was a big success and quite a large RTO (Registered Training Organisation) that offered many different Cert IV and higher qualifications on their “scope”. This included the Cert IV in Bookkeeping and Accounting.

As soon as they went into administration I noticed a couple big changes.

Continue reading Poof! – and Mentor Education is gone – Oops, page not found, then Inspire Education Type Message
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Business Owners Learn MYOB & Xero with EzyLearn ANSWERS

Many accounts are affected when you pay an employee - Journal Entries - MYOB & Xero Bookkeeping Courses - EzyLearn

Business owners who need to learn how to use MYOB and Xero like the added support that is available if they have a question that relates to their own business.

Unlike Job Seekers who choose MYOB and Xero COMPLETE training courses to learn as much as they can about these bookkeeping programs, Business owners often have questions which relate to things they want to resolve in their business.

Most of the questions students have are solved as they progress through the logical order of the courses we’ve created but sometimes things get a little weird.

Continue reading Business Owners Learn MYOB & Xero with EzyLearn ANSWERS
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8 People Can Learn Xero COMPLETE For $88 ea

Corporate training and group discounts for Microsoft Office Excel and MYOB and Xero Training Courses

You read correctly! This is part of our Corporate Training pricing for Bookkeeping Certificate courses in MYOB and Xero. The price is low because it based on volume pricing. The same is true for Group Training prices for Microsoft Office Excel and Word.

You can get a further discount off the Corporate Training prices if you don’t need a Certificate at the end of your training. This option is great for business owners or small businesses who just want to get their team trained up but don’t need the evidence of a Certificate of Completion.

Continue reading 8 People Can Learn Xero COMPLETE For $88 ea