Product Reviews

The small business software market is booming as companies realise the growing need for sophisticated tools at the lower end of the market. MYOB has a solid reputation for creating products designed with small businesses in mind. MYOB BusinessBasics is the latest addition to its range and is designed to take the strain out of managing your finances. It is aimed at very small businesses with a target market of startup companies, sole traders and owner-run small businesses.

Taking a leaf out of Microsoft's book, MYOB requires you to activate the software before you start using it. If you don't activate your company file, you can use it for 30 days before you are locked out and have to activate it. While we understand the point of activation from the software provider's point of view, this compulsory registration is time-consuming and irritating.

Like Intuit's QuickBooks 2005 (reviewed opposite), BusinessBasics is aimed at users with little accounting training and has been designed to be as easy to use as possible. Navigating the software is simple. Sections have been given plain English names and you don't have to worry about jargon, so you

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choose from options such as 'Spend money' and examine a 'Jobs list'. This is a refreshing approach to an often complex area. The program uses a wizard-based approach and an Easy Setup Assistant guides you through the process of creating a company file.

One of the most time-consuming things about running your own business is managing all the paperwork. BusinessBasics allows you to print or email invoices from within the software, and helps you convert quotes directly into invoices. When an invoice is recorded the Accounts List is automatically updated. The money owed is added to the debtor's account, which helps you keep track of things. You can also download bank and credit card statements. Where transactions match, they automatically show up as cleared. You can also keep track of expenses linked to specific jobs. You can work out exactly how much profit you have made after all outgoing costs, such as travel or photocopying, have been deducted.

Accessing views of all this information is simple. You just click on the reports index and display reports that detail all the information stored in the software. The reports are broken down into clear, logical sections such as Cash Transactions or Customer Payment History. To find the report you want, just click on the correct tab at the top of the page, such as Sales or Banking, and select the correct report. BusinessBasics also includes a new Audit Trail Tracker report that allows you to keep track of any changes made to the company file, and view who made the change, when it was made, and what it was.

However, while this program is easy for a beginner to use, rapidly growing businesses could outgrow it quickly and require a more complex package such as QuickBooks 2005.