MYOB Launches New Zealand First in Cloud Accounting

MYOB Launches New Zealand First in Cloud Accounting

AccountRight Live enables SMEs to work seamlessly on cloud, desktop or both

New Zealand’s largest provider of business management solutions, MYOB today announced the release of its much-anticipated cloud accounting solution, AccountRight Live.

The most widely used accounting solution in the New Zealand market, MYOB AccountRight has been the gold standard for smaller businesses for two decades. AccountRight Live is a full-featured accounting solution which enables SMEs to seamlessly manage their business anywhere, anytime on the desktop and in the cloud – a choice that is a New Zealand first.

In another industry first, as part of its commitment to helping local businesses work “anywhere, anytime”, MYOB has also established live 24/7 client support by phone, email and online, supported by new roles in its Christchurch office.

MYOB general manager Julian Smith says the design of the new product reflects MYOB’s commitment to making it easier to get more Kiwi businesses enjoying the benefits of cloud computing.

“AccountRight Live will help transform the way New Zealand businesses work,” says Julian Smith. “The advantages of the cloud can help them work more productively, collaborate more, and work from anywhere.”

“For the thousands of business owners who use and trust our AccountRight desktop software range, this new product allows them to easily experience the benefits of cloud at their own pace. They don’t need to migrate data to a new system or learn a new interface; they simply install our latest release and turn the live features on.

“It’s the next evolution in online accounting that will make business life easier for New Zealanders.

“As we’ve highlighted, we believe this approach is key to engaging the mass market – including the more than three quarters of local businesses who don’t currently use a cloud system – in using the cloud. They can choose to do their accounts in the way that suits them: online, offline or by alternating between at any time.

Mr Smith says by bringing more New Zealand businesses into the cloud, the potential of AccountRight Live for the local business community is significant.

“We know that businesses using the cloud do better, earn more, and are more likely to be providing better paying jobs for more New Zealanders.

“Another key benefit of cloud accounting is the potential for collaboration. With AccountRight Live you can work on your data with your accountant, bookkeeper, business advisor and other team members in different locations, at the same time.”

All changes made in the cloud are saved in the one file in real-time. For additional security, a back-up of the file is copied to the desktop every 20 minutes or whenever specified – ensuring businesses remain in control of their vital business data.

AccountRight Live also enables businesses to directly link their bank accounts, providing bank feeds from more than 100 leading banks and financial institutions. This allows transactions to be automatically and securely imported, reducing manual data entry and improving accuracy.

Designed for security

Julian Smith says security – a key concern for New Zealand businesses, particularly when considering using the cloud – is at the core of the new product.

“AccountRight Live is a great example of industry best practice. Throughout the development process, we’ve included security specialists in the design and construction of our architecture and testing,” says Julian Smith.
The product was also externally validated by a specialist, third-party security vendor, with a full code review performed by a separate A-class vendor and penetration testing of the final system done by another third-party.

By allowing businesses to authorise other users, such as their accountant, sharing information also becomes more secure.

“You can also authorise others to access your data simultaneously from any location. This eliminates the need to deliver data to your business advisors via CD, USB, email and other less secure means,” says Julian Smith.

The choice of online or offline

AccountRight Live also allows businesses to access their accounting data regardless of whether they have an internet connection available, because a copy of the application is loaded onto their computer.

When online, the products business logic and data are in the cloud while the desktop provides the interface. Businesses can also work offline by checking out of their online file. The application then puts the shared version in the cloud in read-only mode, to avoid duplication, with all changes seamlessly synced back up to the cloud and the exclusive lock removed, when users reconnect.

“For local businesses, we believe this simple, evolutionary step-up to the cloud will allow them to enjoy the considerable productivity benefits of the cloud, while still working the way they want to,” says Julian Smith.

“In creating this product, we’ve worked hard to remove the barriers of time, complexity and cost that Kiwi businesses say are holding them back from the cloud, so they can connect more, collaborate more, become more productive and have more time to work on their business.”

AccountRight Live is available on the MYOB website and via MYOB partners on 8 November, with subscriptions starting at $23 per month. MYOB businessSUPPORT members receive access at no extra cost. Clients who purchased an AccountRight desktop license from 1 October 2012 will have six months free access. All AccountRight Live clients receive 24/7 live support.

Full-featured business accounting

AccountRight Live features include:
• Anywhere access - your accounts and inventory are available from your internet connected PC, anywhere you want.
• Save data in the cloud and to your PC - access your accounts in the cloud and make a local backup to your PC to work on whenever you like.
• Automatically import and match bank transactions - link your bank account to AccountRight Live to import bank transaction records automatically via BankLink, from over 100 financial institutions, whether you work in the cloud or on the desktop. This feature is currently available in beta.
• Online collaboration - one set of accounts, yet same-time cloud access for multiple users.
• Live access for business advisors - provide your business advisor live access whenever you choose and work on the same books at the same time.
• Business insights dashboard - comprehensive daily snapshot of your business.
• Automatic updates - continuous access to software updates upon release.
• API (application programming interface) - developer partners can create and integrate applications. This is currently being developed.
• Windows 8 compatibility - full compatibility with Microsoft’s latest operating system.
• 24/7 service and support - 24/7 live access to MYOB experts via phone, email and online.

AccountRight Live is available for the existing AccountRight Plus, AccountRight Standard and AccountRight Basics software. It will be available for AccountRight Premier next year. One in three New Zealand businesses rely on MYOB accounting software, primarily AccountRight.

Other MYOB Live online solutions are already helping tens of thousands of businesses to get better connected:

• Getting businesses online: MYOB Atlas
More than 8,600 NZ SMEs have built an online presence in the past 6 months through MYOB and Westpac’s GetOnline.co.nz initiative. It provides businesses with access to the MYOB Atlas website builder and other tools needed to easily create a well-designed website in 15 minutes at no cost for the first year.

• Easy online accounting: MYOB LiveAccounts
Designed for smaller businesses with simple needs, MYOB LiveAccounts with payroll delivers easy online accounting for less than $1 per day. Like other browser-based online accounting systems, LiveAccounts enables businesses multi-user access to their data via a web browser. LiveAccounts also offers automatic links to a business’s bank transactions, eliminating tedious data entry and saving time.

For MYOB product information, research results, business tips, discussions, customer service and more visit http://myob.co.nz , http://myob.co.nz/blog and www.twitter.com/MYOBteam.

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