MYOB Gives Business Owners the Best of Both Worlds

MYOB Gives Business Owners the Best of Both Worlds
New Zealand business not ready operate totally in ‘the cloud’ - survey

14 May 2010

MYOB today unveiled its vision for online services and announced the upcoming release of MYOB LiveAccounts, an online accounting solution for New Zealand businesses that need to raise invoices, track expenses and manage income - online.

MYOB CEO Tim Reed says that according to an independent survey of over 950 New Zealand businesses conducted for MYOB, Kiwi business owners are looking for online tools and functionality, but prefer to run their business from the desktop.

“Our vision for online services is driven by what our 1 million Australasian business customers are telling us,” Mr Reed says. “Businesses want to use the internet to perform a variety of functions – but they also want the security, rich functionality and control offered by desktop solutions for other areas. Most businesses are no yet ready to run all their business tools and processes in a fully online environment.

“MYOB is here to help businesses make the most of the internet and offer a choice of accounting products and business solutions to suit businesses of all sizes. We already offer New Zealand’s largest range of desktop accounting solutions and today’s announcement further extends the choices we have online,” explains Mr Reed.

MYOB’s independent research indicates that the majority of New Zealand business owners would prefer to have the best of both worlds, both desktop and online. According to the independent research survey, in New Zealand, the software as a service (SaaS) model appeals to less than a quarter of all of SME businesses – with only 4% of bsinesses who see operating all their business processes on the internet as œvery appealing. Combining the desktop software and internet services (S+S) appeals to more than half of all SME businesses (58%).

“Most businesses tell us they don’t want to use purely online solutions,” Mr Reed says. “Being connected to the Internet is great for some things – such as getting automatic updates of your bank transactions – but in other areas a desktop solution is preferred.”

“What MYOB is offering really does provide the ‘best of both worlds’: desktop solutions that will be connected to the Internet through our MYOB AccountRight range, and a pure online solution via MYOB LiveAccounts,” says Mr Reed.

“MYOB’s online strategy is to provide a range of products and services that enables business owners to make the most of the internet and their desktop to run their business they way they want to – rather than being forced to take a single path to managing their business.”

“That’s why we provide more than 50 different products in the MYOB family, including a range of online products that are currently in use by more than 80,000 clients,” adds Mr Reed.

Mr Reed says the newest addition to the MYOB product family, MYOB LiveAccounts, is a great example of this approach.

“MYOB LiveAccounts offers the ideal choice for businesses looking for a straight-forward and streamlined way to manage their business online, at any time.”

“For businesses looking for an online solution, but who don’t need the full range of desktop features, MYOB LiveAccounts will offer a simple, inexpensive and hassle free way to do the accounts. Businesses can raise invoices, track expenses, monitor bank accounts, manage GST and keep in touch with every aspect of their business thrugh real-time business reports, explains Mr Reed.

MYOB LiveAccounts is currently in Beta testing and is being used by a range of businesses and accounting professionals. It will be made available on general release within the next couple of months.

“The feedback from people has been great,” explains Reed. “MYOB LiveAccounts has a new approach and innovative workflows that makes it really easy to use – especially for non-financial experts.”

Some of the key features of MYOB LiveAccounts at time of launch will include:
• Accounts available for use anywhere and anytime you can access the internet
• Easy to use – it’s focused on keeping the accounting simple
• Linked to daily bank feeds via BankLink for automatic updates of bank and credit card transactions (connected to over 30 financial institutions in New Zealand)
• No limits on use, users or in technical support (online support notes, email and live chat)
• Business owners can migrate data from other MYOB desktop products to LiveAccounts (Business Basics or the AccountRight range)
• Business owners will be able to try the software for 30 days without obligation and free-of-charge.
• Free use for accountants, bookkeepers and other accounting professionals.

“Through our accounting solutions MYOB is providing connectivity for both businesses and accountants that will enable much closer working relationships. These new platforms will continue to drive productivity improvements and will take financial visibility and business insights to a higher level,” Mr Reed says.

“Having provided internet-based solutions for nearly a decade, we are always looking to invest in new ways to make business life easier. In fact, we have committed NZ$90million over the next three years to research and development to do just that.”

ENDS

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