MYOB for Mac

[Delecq]

I've been using MYOB Business Basics for a number of years, with no product upgrades from the company. They have recently been taken over by a company called Mamut, who have offered me an upgrade to MYOB Firstedge, I am wondering if anyone is using First edge on a Mac an is there an benefit to upgrade.

[hlsps]

Hi
I have used MYOB Business Basics on pc for a few years. Talking to my accountant we should be okay to carry on as normal. However, he is looking at alternatives for me, I will ask him to look at MAC options as well as some of his other Clients are using MACS. I wrote and complained to Mamut. I wouldn't have minded upgrading but refuse to pay a service charge for a service I dont need.

[Edward Moss]

How compatible is MYOB with Sage. I'm thinking of using it as they have 50% off at the moment, but my accountant uses sage. Can you export the data into Sage?

[hlsps]

I am just waiting for a reply from my accountant at the moment. Will let you know as soon as I have it. I know my accountant uses Sage but I think we have decided I will switch over to the free Microsoft Accounting Express as I really dont want to pay Sage service fees each year. Unfortunately this is a Windows application and wouldn't help you. He had gone off to do some research for me on the Mac question last night.

[Delecq]

I don't think Sage or MS accounting are available in Mac format, we are limited to what accounting packages are available.

[CassioAcc]

I don't think Sage or MS accounting are available in Mac format, we are limited to what accounting packages are available.

You could run fusion / parallels on your mac (as I do) and run Windows for your Accounting software.

[David Griffiths]

How compatible is MYOB with Sage. I'm thinking of using it as they have 50% off at the moment, but my accountant uses sage. Can you export the data into Sage?

Without knowing the specifics of MYOB (I have had clients who used it in the past) I would be surprised if there weren't facilities for export of certain reports to csv or other files which could be read by anybody. You could print ledger reports such as customers, suppliers and nominal in pdf format, which would be a useful archive for your own records as well.

Our own accounts production software (Caseware) actually reads MYOB files direct. MYOB also sell their own accounts production package which is fairly widely used, and we used to use it ourselves. That will almost certainly read the files direct as well. There is always a way of getting data from one system to another, if there is a will to do it. ;)

Edit: Just because something is 50% off does't mean that it's the right choice!

[David Griffiths]

I don't think Sage or MS accounting are available in Mac format, we are limited to what accounting packages are available.

Don't forget the online offerings, such as Kashflow, which are independent of the machine that you run it from.

[Delecq]

I've got no problems with MYOB Buisness Basics. I wanted to know if anybody had upgraded from Buisiness Basics to Firstedge and if there are any benifits with upgrading. As for using online accounting, I prefer to have all my accounts on my local machine & my backup, just a personal thing.

[David Griffiths]

As for using online accounting, I prefer to have all my accounts on my local machine & my backup, just a personal thing.

Me too! :)

[DuaneJackson]

I wrote and complained to Mamut. I wouldn't have minded upgrading but refuse to pay a service charge for a service I dont need.

I really dont want to pay Sage service fees each year.

This is how these firms make money - by extracting service, support and upgrade fees out of their customers on a regular basis.

[hlsps]

Well after reading some comments on here and talking to my accountant I decided to go for the Microsoft Accounting Express. It's the free version. Took an age to download but looks like it could be really good. I would say it is more like Sage and seems easier to use than MYOB. I like the time sheet function so that I can track my time each day against each Client then generate an invoice from the time sheet. That has saved me a lot of time as rather than invoicing and doing the time sheet in Excel then entering it in MYOB it is all done in one. Took me about half an hour to get the invoice laid out how I wanted it and personalised but would have been less if I had thought about it more!!

[garyk]

Well after reading some comments on here and talking to my accountant I decided to go for the Microsoft Accounting Express. It's the free version. Took an age to download but looks like it could be really good.

Took an age to download and will take an age to run, looks nice, good feature set for a freebie, but not at all snappy when I had a look at it.

Gary

[hlsps]

Yes it took a while to download but no speed issues in loading it and running it. Am very happy with it so far.

[onesys]

Hello all

Reading your comments I sympathise with both camps. Small businesses are looking for an affordable way to keep track of their financial, business and client details. Getting cheap or ideally free packages without compulsory support fees or training seems great but it can often be a false economy. Businesses end up replacing these software packages after a short period because the developers can’t survive on the software sales or can’t afford to update it when required. (or they get bought-out and businesses are forced to switch to other software)

The flip-side is Microsoft, as they can cross-subsidise non-core software packages and give them away for free. This is great until you notice a crucial functionality that is only available in the ‘pro’ version. Then you have the difficult choice to start from scratch or play their upgrade game.

I work for a Sage partner that has to charge a support fee but we know that in the long run this is the best solution for businesses. It depends on how you value your own time. Even if you don’t opt for our training in the beginning, it is much more time/cost effective to pick up the phone and for an expert to talk you through a procedure or functionality, so you can carry on working in a matter of minutes. The support fee also ensures that the software can be developed and that we / Sage are not going to disappear overnight.

Every year we help businesses that have been caught out by another software demise. It is not just the hassle of getting used to a new package but also the transfer of your historic data. Peace of mind, hassle-free use and business continuity are worth a small fee.