11th February, 2020
The Connected Practice comes to life with upgrades to user interfaces, more features and even simpler workflows – all showcased on the road at MYOB INCITE 2020.
Exciting enhancements to MYOB software have been announced in recent weeks, getting the accounting and bookkeeping industry talking.
The suite of upgrades has been teased as part of the online accounting company’s annual roadshow, MYOB INCITE, which followed an ‘all cards on the table’ style speech from chief executive Greg Ellis.
Ellis sparked excitement regarding product updates by first announcing that the brand’s product delivery rate would move to a 90-day schedule – resulting in more updates, sooner.
His keynote address was later followed by live demonstrations of MYOB Practice and MYOB Essentials, which revealed the full run of updates due to arrive in 90 and 180 days.
Delivered onstage in Melbourne by Connected Practice consultant Anthony Bailey and head of product for accountants, Amy Johnson, the presentation regarding MYOB Practice began with an overview of a compliance workflow model for a small firm.
“The typical compliance process for a small practice can add up to just over 13 hours spent on the client’s work,” said Johnson, who went on to note that over 70 percent of an accountant’s time can be spent on data collection, preparing and doing the work, and reviewing the work.
“MYOB Practice helps solve these problems.”
Johnson handed over to Bailey to begin demonstrating how this is achieved, with the information delivered through live, on-stage product demos.
“In developing MYOB Practice, we’ve set out to increase your efficiency and profitability by dramatically reducing the time you spend collecting, preparing, doing and reviewing work,” said Bailey.
Key to this is the release of compliance workflows for all main entities, such as:
Beyond the compliance workflows, Bailey and Johnson also announced apps will be available for MYOB Practice for the first time, beginning with a focus on practice management, CRM and compliance apps.
The run of updates forms a fundamental part of the accounting software’s aim to listen to, and develop for the challenges faced by its clients, according to MYOB’s head of product, Dale Dixon.
“Our customer-led strategy is to create a world-class user experience for partners and customers that is simple and fast,” said Dixon.
“We’ve significantly changed the way we develop and take products to market, with iterative releases which put new products in the hands of our customers as soon as possible.”
With a stated aim to be the most useful solution for the widest range of SMEs in Australia and New Zealand, MYOB Essentials has been rebuilt to include a powerful reporting suite, feature-rich, highly flexible payroll and a mobile-responsive experience for greater portability.
MYOB Essentials customers will also gain access to integrations from over 150 additional apps, giving them greater scope to drive efficiency and productivity.
As is usually the case at MYOB INCITE, announcements for Essentials were delivered to complement the announcements showcased in MYOB Practice, with a presentation by Dixon and head of customer marketing and direct sales, Jane Betschel.
Dixon said changes to Essentials will mean customers have access to a truly streamlined product, saving time, reducing data entry and driving new insights into their businesses’ performance.
“We’re committed to helping Australian and New Zealand businesses succeed by providing intelligent, intuitive tools that make business life easier,” said Dixon.
Prefacing his discussion around Essentials with the news that new customers will gain access to the enhancements from mid-March, Dixon also confirmed existing users will begin to roll across into the new software in the months following.
He then launched into live demonstrations of the new Essentials platform, which included a closer look at the dashboard, which brings together a wealth of business financial data into a single screen, including a number of graphs “showing how the business is tracking at a glance,” he said.
The atmosphere in the room at MYOB INCITE 2020 in Melbourne was one of excitement mixed with the realisation that something big had finally arrived on the scene.
For accountants and bookkeepers who had been hearing about The Connected Practice for years, now they finally had line of sight in how their online accounting software would deliver it.
“I think I’m going to have to spend more time getting to know all the features in MYOB Practice,” one attendee was overheard to say.
Certified consultant and founder of bookkeeper and advisory business Love Your Numbers, Leanne Berry was also in attendance at the Melbourne INCITE event.
“On top of all the other updates, the introduction of MYOB Team is fantastic,” said Berry.
“Small businesses no longer need to look to acquire another app – especially those in hospitality, trades and retail – to log hours in a system that automatically flows through to payroll.
“I also loved all the work that’s been done around reporting in Essentials to make it more robust and customisable.”
And with a much faster turnaround on delivering these updates to market, it won’t be long before you start noticing a change to your MYOB software.