Labs

MYOB's functions are organised into three groups, rather dramatically described as 'command centres'. There's one command centre for accounts, one for banking and one for sales, each containing its own business process flowchart. When you create your initial quote for a job, this is noted in your sales register but not in your chart of accounts. When your quote is accepted, simply click on the relevant entry in the sales register and select the option Change

Matching invoices to payments received or to refunds is equally simple. As you're doing all this, the program is working behind the scenes to keep your chart of accounts up to date for you. All you have to do is remember to input details such as expenses or bank interest manually.

That probably sounds very easy to use. But, while there's a lot to like about MYOB Business Basics, it can also be a bit perplexing. When you open your chart of accounts and click on an individual account, rather than being shown a record of transactions you're presented with properties of that account. In effect, the Accounts List is acting like the design view of a database. This is fine if you're used to working with databases, but many users will find it confusing.

If you need business accounts software that's more detailed than QuickBooks, this program fits the bill, but you'll need to put in some effort to master it.