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Mick
06-09-2010, 07:36 PM
Anyone use an Online Accounting system. MYOB have one now!
Ive been having a little trouble with MYOB on my Mac and figure it would be much safer if everything was online. I also like that I can link it to my bank making it easier to figure out whos paid, expenses etc.

MYOB is $25/mth and Xero is about $30 or $50 (i cant figure whats going on with xero with amount of accounts or something)
I realise even $25/mth isnt really cheap but for peace of mind and ease of use, it may be worth the cost.

Anyway, have a look and tell me what you think...

http://myob.com.au/products/small-business/accounting-finance/liveaccounts-1257828367166

and
http://www.xero.com/

tree beard
06-09-2010, 10:21 PM
Hi Mick,

Ever get the feeling that sometimes you are paying to add an extra cog in the wheel and make your life more complex than it should be?

personally, I would hate to have my account details and info offsite and in some one elses care...regardless of confidentiality assurances. I now use mac...it rocks and is so much more secure! so i have migrated my accounts from Gopher to money (its a simple and cheap program) cost me about $50 bucks (thats a one off cost). My accounts are in good order and my accountant thinks i am being an over achiever. Oh and the program is not perfect but neither was MYOB when i used it or gopher...but they were just as good :)

When u get down to it, your basic accounting you will have to do yourself no matter how the package is sold to you. You will have to check and audit what is done automatically just to make sure its is correct. So get a handle on what you need your accounts program to do before you buy or outsource your accounting.

Oh and if you spend the bucks tell us how it goes:wtf

Mick
06-09-2010, 11:15 PM
Hi Tree, Im ok with MYOB, its just that somethings happened and I have to keep using Time Machine to get the program to load properly. Its not a huge deal, just makes me worry a little.
Its a good program though, been using it for a few years now.

Thinking about it, $25/mths will add up pretty quickly and a cost thats not really necessary.
Im just sort of thinking out loud and want others, like yours opinions!

Is that Microsoft Money?

holdenhead
06-09-2010, 11:43 PM
I use Sassu. Its an online accounting program and it has been great. Very very easy to use and match up this with the bank. $25 per month. I looked at xero at $50 per month but i liked sassu better. I was using erecord before which I thought was ok but changed over and have made things so much easier.

Cheers Rick

glassngrass
07-09-2010, 09:17 AM
Both Xero and saasu have been discussed already - http://www.indmowing.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=5510&page=7

saasu is a great product - and in coming months will have bank feeds - where bank statement lines will be automatically injected daily from banks.

Xero already has bank feeds and is more advanced that saasu - I love this product - however upgrades to saasu that are currently being rolled out will close the gap.

Xero does not have inventory, but saasu does - likely feew if any of you need to track trading stock.
Xero does not have payroll, but saasu does. There are several third party payroll tracking service providers that integrate seamlessly with Xero, such as epayroll and paycycle. These are free for first employee.

There is another player in the web-based field - Reach Accounting.
At $25/month with guaranteed no price rises for 24 months

For advanced functions and ease of use, I recommend Xero, but saasu is also an excellent product. If you were shown how to use the reconcile bank and bank rules features - you'd rather be on Xero than saasu at present, however again, saasu are about to release advanced features that will enhance bank statament imports and also bank feeds.

saasu cost $25/month
Xero cost $49/month (however for the client managed Xero I can provide Indi members for $35/month)

Want the advantages of web-based (off site storage, access anywhere, etc...) but love your QuickBooks?
Consider the QuickBooks Online. This is the enterprise version with ALL the fruit, but hosted on Reckon's servers.
Cost $275/year. I set up three clients on this and they love it - but as with all web based services, you want a good, reliable ADSL connection.
I got one QB online service available at reduced $250

As for MYOB - I hate it and won't use it except to migrate existing MYOB clients to something else.

Xero have several years up on MYOB, QB and Reach in the web-based accounting space, and they continue to invest heavily in its ongoing development, evident also by the growing array of third party services that integrate with it.

Whichever company you choose,. MYOB, QB, Reach, saasu or Xero - going web-based is a step in the right direction

tree beard
07-09-2010, 01:02 PM
Hi Mick,

No its not a microsoft product its from www.jumsoft.com/money as i said its basic, but im rocking along with it. As with all of these things its how well u take to the program and how it overlaps with what you have used....but no complaints and its a Mac product not a crossed over to mac from pc if you know what i mean :)

courty
07-09-2010, 01:11 PM
Glad to see I'm not alone,once you go mac you'll never go back

Mick
21-09-2010, 05:08 PM
I forgot about this thread, I started!

Anyway,
Ive looked at most of these online accounting sites and really, not sure if Im keen.

MYOB does "Item" invoices when I want Service. I cannot find a way to change it! I also cannot see a way to edit the invoice like adding payment options etc.

Xero is priced to high and I dont need anything to complicated.

Saasu is just to slow to work with and really not very nice to look at (complicated looking)

So yep, looks like Im sticking to First Edge for now!

glassngrass
21-09-2010, 05:47 PM
I forgot about this thread, I started!

Anyway,
Ive looked at most of these online accounting sites and really, not sure if Im keen.

MYOB does "Item" invoices when I want Service. I cannot find a way to change it! I also cannot see a way to edit the invoice like adding payment options etc.

Xero is priced to high and I dont need anything to complicated.

Saasu is just to slow to work with and really not very nice to look at (complicated looking)

So yep, looks like Im sticking to First Edge for now!

Saasu isn't built to look pretty - but is powerful and reliable - medical suppliers and large organisations rely on it

While Xero has advanced functionality, it really is the world's easiest accounting program. Nobody to date has accepted my offer to supply the Xero client managed product at $35/month - $14 less than retail.
If you bought MYOB or Quickbooks, the cost would average $25 per month, but paid annually up front.
You would gladly pay $49/month for Xero if you used it 60 days.

What's your time worth to you? At $35/month, you need only save 10 minutes per week for the cost to be worth it.
Cost aside - the convenience of a hassle free and painless experience in doing your books is worth the subscription.

But I'm just a professional bookkeeper - what would I know?

Mick
21-09-2010, 10:24 PM
Glass, spare me the attitude with the, "But I'm just a professional bookkeeper - what would I know?"
Im not a book keeper and Im sure Im not alone in thinking these programs are over complicated for the basic service industry we're in!

I see NO time saving in using online subscriptions. For example, Time to load between pages, having to click instead of type and Tab etc would take at least double the time compared to First Edge.

MYOB cost me something like $150!
I agree with you and think online is a good way to go but after checking them out, Im pretty sure, Im not keen!
..............................................
I had a heap of review written down but just deleted it because I could just put it down to these 7 words... They are all rubbish for service industry!
I dont want Item, Qty, Unit etc. WTF? I want Date, Card (Supplier), Amount and Account. Thats all I need!

If paying an expense like fuel, I dont want to input the expense invoice and then have to open another page to pay it. Thats double the work.

If your selling something (an item) they would be great. But like I said, for service industry they are just not suited IMHO!

Many people dont like First Edge but I have to say, after playing with these it is soooo much simpler, easy to navigate and quicker to use.
I just wish there was an online version of it. I'd be happy!

Tender Lovin Lawn&Garden
27-09-2010, 11:30 PM
seeing though e-record is now no longer avaliable is this what people are using or do you also need the program and this is just storing the files.

Mick
28-09-2010, 08:01 AM
I was told there will be a new MYOB online "site" next year. Is told it may be more along the lines of what I want. Basically an MYOB First Edge clone.

Tender, you dont need any programs to use these sites, its all online.

Tender Lovin Lawn&Garden
28-09-2010, 08:30 AM
I was told there will be a new MYOB online "site" next year. Is told it may be more along the lines of what I want. Basically an MYOB First Edge clone.

Tender, you dont need any programs to use these sites, its all online.

was looking at it last night i recon i will start using it this afternoon as i need a new program thanks to the ato stopping e record.

Chris B
15-10-2010, 08:17 AM
was looking at it last night i recon i will start using it this afternoon as i need a new program thanks to the ato stopping e record.


Did you end up using the new online myob? If so how are you finding it?

Chris B
15-10-2010, 08:20 AM
With the online accounting programs if we do all our invoices on the spot and give them to the customer handwritten, how does that work with the accounting programs? Do you just input each invoice into the computer again and just not print them or email them?? or is there a quicker way?

Also if its linked up with the new auto bank feeds , once its set up would we just need to enter invoices and thats it?

Chris.

Tender Lovin Lawn&Garden
15-10-2010, 04:53 PM
With the online accounting programs if we do all our invoices on the spot and give them to the customer handwritten, how does that work with the accounting programs? Do you just input each invoice into the computer again and just not print them or email them?? or is there a quicker way?

Also if its linked up with the new auto bank feeds , once its set up would we just need to enter invoices and thats it?

Chris.

Yeah im using it takes a bit of stuffing around to set up. I dont like everytim you add a new customer you have to think what number did i use for the last customer. Not even sure why you put a number in there as you never use it again. If you do hand ones put in computer as though your going to print it and when you say to print it brings it up in adobe format then you just close it rather than print it.

Chris B
15-02-2011, 08:43 AM
Anyone else using the online accounting services with any feedback? I want to start using one next financial year. Myob live accounts looks ok

garden warrior
23-02-2011, 11:56 AM
I use freshbooks and it works fine for me !

glassngrass
23-02-2011, 12:36 PM
MYOB Live accounts still has 'issues' and has a long way to go.

QB Online works very well. It's the full QB enterprise version with all the fruit.

Freshbooks is a great resource for invoicing and tracking your receivables - but it is NOT a full accounting package. It can, however, synchronize with saasu and Xero.

Xero now enables you to customize a sales invoices as you like. Invoices can be emailed direct from within Xero, and bank feeds make tracking who has paid you by bank trfr quick and easy. Imagine - as you finish a job you access Xero via your phone and have the invoice emailed or faxed to client before you get to the car!
The more I use Xero, the more convinced I am it will take over the accounting space completely - and so it should!

Chris B - Like you, I was writing out manual invoices for clients with each job, then when home, enter these into the accounting program. Xero can save you this double handling as you only write out those you need to present on the spot.

garden warrior
23-02-2011, 12:44 PM
Thanks i will check xero out.

garden warrior
23-02-2011, 12:47 PM
Xero = $49 per month !!! too much for me.

MAGOO
23-02-2011, 03:12 PM
try sassu.com ... they are trying to get their iphone app approved so then you can finish job.. press a few buttons and it is invoiced. I am waiting for iphone app before I trial this

glassngrass
23-02-2011, 04:08 PM
Xero = $49 per month !!! too much for me.

As a Xero Certified Advisor and professional bookkeeper - I have already offered to make Xero available to INDI members for $35/month.

But even if it saves your just one one hour each month (will easily do that each week) then surely it's paid for itself.

What is more important to you, cost or value?

garden warrior
23-02-2011, 05:00 PM
Sassu.com has more options than xero and at half the price, Yes its worth my money to invest in a good quality software program but why pay more if your not getting any more for it ..

garden warrior
23-02-2011, 05:01 PM
im swapping from freshbooks to Sassu because it has more to offer..

glassngrass
23-02-2011, 05:31 PM
Sassu.com has more options than xero and at half the price, Yes its worth my money to invest in a good quality software program but why pay more if your not getting any more for it ..

Saasu is not half of $35 Xero...

Saasu has payroll and inventory - but if you aren't using this, then Xero is sure to be better value for you because :
Bank feeds make keeping up to dat really easy.
Advanced reconciliation features make reconciling not only fast, but fun
You don't need to be a programmer to customize your sales invoices in Xero (you do with saasu)

brettly
25-02-2011, 09:56 AM
It shows Xero at $29/month(medium)?..is that the one to use?

glassngrass
25-02-2011, 04:36 PM
The $29/month small plan will NOT be for lawnies as you would be restricted to 5 Bills and 5 sales invoices per month, and reconciling just 20 bank statement lines per month.

The $49/month medium plan is the king as it can track all the amounts you owe, and clients that owe you.
You would only go higher still if multi-currency was an issue. Can I safely assume you don't accept GBP, EURO, NZD, USD, etc... as payment? Then the medium plan is for you.

Go direct and cost will be $49/m
Thru me (client managed account) it is $35/m (only for INDI members)

Chris B
19-03-2011, 02:55 PM
Anyone know if the quickbooks online has the bank feeds like myob online?

glassngrass
19-03-2011, 03:12 PM
Anyone know if the quickbooks online has the bank feeds like myob online?

Not yet, but they are working on it.
The current QB online is superior to the MYOB online product.
While the QB online doesn't yet have bank feeds, it can accept imported bank statements (as even the PC based QB can)

Chris B
19-03-2011, 05:33 PM
So looks like once quickbooks has the bank feeds then they will have just about every feature possible?

Myob looks good but doesnt allow for expansion as no payroll.

glassngrass
22-03-2011, 07:05 AM
I have previously mentioned an alternative that should not be quickly dismissed - and should find appeal among the budget conscious (and misers)

Reach is another online solution that works well. While not as 'pretty' as Xero or powerful as SAASU, and it does not have bank feeds, it does however, include basic payroll.

So why consider Reach?

Spreadsheets don't work when customers make part-payments or one payment covering several invoices.
Reach handles 'unusual' transactions really well, such as part payments, payments applied to multiple invoices, and over-payments where there is a surplus for applying to future invoices.

You can email invoices in PDF direct from within Reach. (Outlook not required)

To help to keep on top of your debtors, you can SMS your clients reminder notices from within Reach at no cost.

It also has the ability to attach a scanned image of your source documents to the transaction, making keeping boxes of bills redundant.

At only $9.99 per month (fixed price for 24 months) - this is well worth a closer look.

FREE trial for 30 days.

Check it out.

http://reachaccounting.com.au

cadase
22-03-2011, 06:25 PM
I was using Quickbooks online, gave it up.
I just found it very annoying using the remote connection thingy
Had to type the username and password everytime, it wouldn't remember them for me, password had to be a certain length contain certain letters, which is ok, but then they make you change the password every month, plus their regular and irregular site maintenance, just too hard, I'll stick to the piratebay version

South East Mowing
22-03-2011, 06:44 PM
I run 2 p/time businesses. Do I need to purchase twice or can it handle both. 1 has G.S.T and the other doesnt.

I have previously mentioned an alternative that should not be quickly dismissed - and should find appeal among the budget conscious (and misers)

Reach is another online solution that works well. While not as 'pretty' as Xero or powerful as SAASU, and it does not have bank feeds, it does however, include basic payroll.

So why consider Reach?

Spreadsheets don't work when customers make part-payments or one payment covering several invoices.
Reach handles 'unusual' transactions really well, such as part payments, payments applied to multiple invoices, and over-payments where there is a surplus for applying to future invoices.

You can email invoices in PDF direct from within Reach. (Outlook not required)

To help to keep on top of your debtors, you can SMS your clients reminder notices from within Reach at no cost.

It also has the ability to attach a scanned image of your source documents to the transaction, making keeping boxes of bills redundant.

At only $9.99 per month (fixed price for 24 months) - this is well worth a closer look.

FREE trial for 30 days.

Check it out.

http://reachaccounting.com.au

glassngrass
22-03-2011, 07:44 PM
Business that tough, huh?

South East Mowing
23-03-2011, 09:24 AM
Business that tough, huh?

No its not!! Doing very well actually. :?

glassngrass
23-03-2011, 01:54 PM
Unlike software you purchase (books in a box), SAASU, Xero, QB online and reach are on a subscription basis.
They all require an individual subscription for each business, however allow for an unlimited number of log-in users.

The exception is QB online. A single subscription allows you to record keep for an unlimited number of organizations, however the subscription is per lo-gin user.

brettly
23-03-2011, 05:03 PM
Im currently trialing Xero, it now has payroll and other features..seems ok, good interface.

DavidS
28-03-2011, 08:19 PM
John,

Have a look at Cashflow Manager, very good simple program that is not complex like Quick Books or MYOB, one of purchase price and you can pay a yearly sub for support if you want. I have been using it for 10 months now and find it great.
www.cashflow-manager.com you can have Basic, Wages or Gold, just need to work out which one you need. You can email all your accounts and invoices, keep track of your debtors, print all relevant reports for BAS and other reports required for Financial year end plus lots more.

MAGOO
02-04-2011, 12:36 PM
I am using SAASU .. and it does have bank feeds, and I am trying the Iphone appp to invoices on the fly (where I want my business to be).

No bad... My book keeper setup the Chart of accounts for me.

25 a month i feel is worth it and the good thing is I have given my accountant remote login so she can do it from her office and saves on call out fee.

glassngrass
07-06-2011, 11:06 AM
Reach Accounting promotional pricing of just $9.99 has ended and they have returned their pricing back to $25/month, however they are doing a joint promotion with Netregistry.

If you purchase a new domain name with Netregistry, then you get a FREE five year subscription with Reach.
http://www.netregistry.com.au/domain-names/domain-registration/

That really IS excellent value.
Includes :
- five year's free use of Reach (most lawnies are not operating after five years)
- access online via your smart phone (so you can send - invoices to clients on the road after each job)
- ability to send sms account reminders from within Reach (no cost)
- attach and store a scanned image of your source documents to the transaction, making keeping boxes of papers redundant, and retrieval of those past bills really easy.
- Reach will customize your own invoice template for you at no cost

You already got a domain name? If you register another and have it redirect to your existing at a cost of about $35 or less for two years, then you got FREE five years of Reach Accounting.

Get your new domain name first...
netregistry.com.au/domain-names/domain-registration

glassngrass
07-06-2011, 11:17 AM
The Reach website says the offer is TWO free years. Netregistry homepage says TWO free years.
BUT - http://www.netregistry.com.au/domain-names/domain-registration/ says FIVE free years.

Netregistry says this is likely a typo, but they will honor this if the offer is taken up before they correct this.

Call to Action
If you aren't currently using an accounting package or are wanting to change to web-based, then I recommend you take up this offer and register a new domain name even if you already have one.