MYOB Accounting Plus 11

In recent years, the MYOB accounting package has soared in popularity. Could this be down to its value for money and numerous features, or is it because of the minimal accounting knowledge needed to use it? Whatever the reason, MYOB has certainly become a force to be reckoned with, and this latest version - MYOB Accounting Plus 11 - is no exception.

Installation is effortless, and you're ready to key in your company details in no time. The New Company File Assistant guides you from the start, screen by screen, through the procedure of setting up your company and preparing an account set.

Once your accounts are set up, the first thing you notice is the updated screen design. Still based on a flow-chart system, the new screens are crisper, have less clutter and more white space. This makes for easier reading of menu items, and the end result is higher productivity. Not surprisingly, the aim of this latest version is to save the user time.

For instance, one annoying feature in previous versions was the need to remember ledger account numbers when inputting data. It's far simpler to remember 'office supplies' than it is to recall an account number such as 6-1160. Fortunately, MYOB has come to the rescue with a new feature allowing the user to select names or numbers for accounts. While the name feature isn't the default, it's easily enabled by choosing the 'Select and display account name - not account number' option from the Setup/Preferences window.

Completely new to this version is the Bank Register, designed to enable transactions for a selected account to be entered more quickly via a single window. From this window, it's possible to enter cheques, deposits, payments to suppliers, payments from customers and sales and purchases. The downside, however, is the inability to enter additional information such as finance charged and discounts, or to change details like the VAT amount and payment method. As well as inputting transactions, the Bank Register can give a general overview of an account's status, including all running balances.

Reconciling bank and credit card statements can also be done from within the Bank Register and, provided your company has e-banking facilities, you're even able to download statements using the Get Statement option and have MYOB search the account records and mark all the matching transactions as cleared. This feature works with the most popular file formats such as OFX, QFX, OFC and QIF.

Invoicing is another area that's been improved. In previous versions, it wasn't possible to prepare a single invoice that covered both time and materials. The only way this could realistically be achieved was to prepare two separate invoices. This oversight has been remedied with the introduction of a combined invoice. By enabling the 'I include items on time billing invoices' option in the Setup/Preferences window, it's now easy to record materials and time spent on a project - all on the same invoice.

Additional formatting features have also been included in the Invoice and Purchases screen. From the Edit menu on the main toolbar, you can insert lines, headers and subtotals, making it easy to separate and subtotal different categories of a sales invoice or purchase order.

Fields such as Payment Method, Cheque Number, Card Number, Name on Card, Expiry Date, Notes, Company e-mail (your company) and Company fax (your company) can also be added to the invoice and packing slip forms, so they're customisable to suit the way your company works.