MYOB has leaped into cloud-based ERP with the launch last week of MYOB Advanced, a powerful business suite for mid to large sized companies.
MYOB Advanced is based on the US ERP (enterprise resource planning suite) Acumatica for which MYOB obtained an exclusive Asia Pacific licence about a year and a half ago. In the meantime a team of developers in Auckland has localised the software’s tax module for GST and changing spelling to Australian English throughout.
MYOB has long needed an accounting program for mid and large companies. The Australian company JCurve, which offers a low-cost version of NetSuite for SMEs, has marketed itself to companies that had “outgrown” MYOB.
MYOB’s internal research shows that the MYOB Advanced ERP has a high appeal among customers and non-customers alike. Surveys showed that the program was very or quite appealing to more than 50 percent of respondents.
MYOB Advanced sits above the AccountRight range and is intended as a cloud alternative to MYOB Exo. These two products are suited to companies with 30-250+ employees, according to the MYOB product chart.
MYOB Advanced is relatively affordable given the number of features at A$99 per user per month (NZ$109) for the entry-level Standard edition.
The Standard edition gives users access to all functions, while Plus (A$139) and Enterprise (A$179) add greater numbers of workflows and more licence types such as sales, warehouse, projects and finance.
An employee user licence costs between A$12 to A$25 depending on edition and volume.
Unlike cloud accounting software in the small business end of the spectrum, the Acumatica program makes no sacrifices in function. It has complex inventory management including multiple warehouses, sales and purchasing, accounting and general ledger and a CRM.
The platform is also highly customisable, best demonstrated by its mobile app which MYOB describes as a “player”. A company can decide which data from the ERP it wants to display in the mobile app and can tailor it to its own needs.
MYOB’s initial release for the mobile app will include expense claims, approvals and tasks. A software developer can customise or extend the app as required.
The ERP’s interface and set-up are also configurable. Every screen, report, menu item or database object can be customised. A user can change the visual appearance, add fields and objects, and extend or replace business logic.
Contacts, tasks, appointments and emails can be synchronised with Microsoft Office 365, the cloud productivity suite, however the software works with any email client application (i.e. Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.).
The API (application program interface) is also well developed, MYOB claims, although the only software with a ready-made connector is the Salesforce software suite. MYOB Advanced creates web service “endpoints” for common screens in the ERP and a developer can map fields and actions to an external program or web service.
The e-commerce module lets customers view inventory, place orders and check status through a public portal without the need for third-party e-commerce software.
MYOB Advanced runs from two Amazon Web Services’ data centres in Sydney under an “active-active” configuration. If one data centre experiences a major problem and is taken offline, the program automatically switches to the other data centre on the other side of the Sydney basin.