Writing Off Bad Debts in MYOB

The above screencast demonstrates how to write off bad debts in MYOB. Full instructions along with more screencast tutorials will be made available from our web site soon. Be sure to send in any requests!

MYOB Account Numbers

Within each of the major account types (header or detail) there are a number of account types that may be nominated. The account number in MYOB is a four-digit number that is added to the prefix that identifies the type of
account it is.

The number you give an account will determine it's order and grouping in the financial statements. So what are the types of account and their prefix in MYOB?

1. Asset:
In the simplest of terms, assets are what is owned. Assets are resources controlled by the business from which future economic benefits are expected. Examples of assets include cash, accounts receivable, furnishings, vehicles and equipment. Assets will probably be grouped as current or non-current (but we'll get to that in another lesson).

2. Liability:
In everyday terms, this basically means what is owed. Liabilities are the future economic sacrifices that the business is obliged to make. Examples of liabilities include accounts payable, credit card debts and bank loans. As with assets, liabilities will also be grouped as being current or non-current in nature.

3. Equity:
Equity (frequently called owner's equity or proprietorship) is the owner's claim on total assets of the business. A simple way to look at equity is 'what the business owes to the owner.' Common equity accounts include capital, retained earnings and drawings.

4. Income:
Income (also called revenue) arises from the ordinary activity of the business. This usually comes from sales or services provided in the ordinary course of business.

5. Cost of Sales:
Cost of sales (commonly called COGS or Cost of Goods Sold) are the expenses to the business directly related to the goods being sold. As service businesses do not have inventory, they have no need for COGS accounts. Typical cost of sales accounts include Purchases and Freight Inwards. Cost of Sales are taken from Net Sales on the Profit & Loss in order to arrive at the gross profit figure.

6. Expense:
Expenses are assets consumed or services used in the process of generating revenue. Typical expenses might include things like rent, wages paid, office supplies, bank fees, advertising expenses and electricity. Expenses are taken from gross profit to arrive at net profit.

8. Other Income:
Other income is where you would put income received which is unusual or outside the ordinary revenue-generating activies of the business. Examples
might include interest received or the proceeds from disposal of a long-term asset.

9. Other Expense:
Other expenses is often used for out-of-the-ordinary expenses or those not related to the income producing activity of the business.

For more MYOB information, visit our MYOB Tips and Tutorials Page.

MYOB and Windows Vista

It seems the change to Windows Vista is proving a headache for a number of people using older versions of MYOB.

It would appear MYOB Australia will only be supporting users of MYOB Accounting and AccountingPlus Version 16 or Premier version 10.

For details of Vista supported products and links to any upgrade downloads, see our newly uploaded page MYOB and Windows Vista.

MYOB: Save Time with Batch Reporting

Do you find you are printing the same reports each time? You can save time by printing all of your nominated reports at the same and with just one click of the print button.

How do you do that? It is called batch reporting and setting it up is simple.

Step 1:
From the Reports drop-down menu at the top of the screen, select Report Batches.



Step 2:

Click on the New button. In the Batch Name field, enter a name for the batch.
In the example I have called the new batch "Usual Monthly Reports."




Step 3:
Now you just need to put a click next to each of the reports you want to include and select OK.

As you can see above, I have chosen a Trial Balance, Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss.


HINT: You can add or remove reports from batches at any time by selecting the batch from the list and clicking on the Edit button.

Printing a batch for a selected period

Step 1:
Printing a batch is quick and easy. Firstly, go to Reports > Report Batches.

Step 2:
In the period field, select the period to date that you want to print the batch for. Highlight the name of the batch you wish to print and click on the Print button.

As you can see, using batch reports is a real time-saver and easily customised to suit your own needs.

Note: This tip applies to MYOB Accounting and MYOB Accounting Plus Version 10 or later.

For more MYOB hints, visit our Tips and Tutorials page.

MYOB How-to: Set up BAS Information for GST

In addition to the GST, a business will report other obligations such as its income tax instalment, Fringe Benefits Tax instalment, PAYG Withholdings, Wine Equalisation Tax and Luxury Car Tax.

The BAS Information window is used to set up the main reporting options for GST.


Step 1:
From the top menu select Setup and scroll down to click Company Information.





Step 2:

Click on the BAS Info button at the bottom of the window. (Note: You can also change the existing
business address or contact details from the current area).





Step 3:

There are a number of options in the Bas Information set up and these are selected using the drop-down
arrows at the end of each selection field.


In the Goods and Services Tax section, select the reporting frequency, the accounting basis (cash or accrual), the calculation
method and the GST reporting option (1, 2 or 3).




Step 4 :
Now do the same in the PAYG Instalments and PAYG Witholdings section to select the options which apply to you.

Needless to say, it is important the BAS information and reporting options are set correctly and kept up to date if you are relying on them to prepare figures for the ATO.

For more MYOB how-to's and tips, visit our Tips and Tutorial Page.

MYOB How To: Add Users with Passwords

MYOB allows you to add users with passwords and set the level of access the new users have.

This can be quite useful if you have staff members who enter invoices but do not wish to permit them access to alter
banking functions or other sensitive data.

Step 1:
Open preferences by clicking the Setup pull down menu at the top of the screen and choosing Preferences.

Step 2:
Click on the tab for Security.

Step 3:
To add users and set passwords, click on the Password button at the bottom left of the security window as shown below.



Only the person logged in as the Administrator can add or edit users and their passwords.

Step 4:
To add a user click on the New button. The program will prompt you for the
new user details.




Step 5:
Enter a User ID and tab to the password field.
Type in a password and TAB.
Type in the password again to confirm.
Click on the OK button.


Step 6:
To stop a user using a particular function, make sure that user is selected on the left-hand side of the User Access window.

Click in the column titled "Not Allowed" against the functions you want to bar.

HINT: Clicking a function heading selects all of the functions under that heading.

In the example above, I have restrict access to all of the banking functions for the user CHRISTIE.

Click on the OK button when you are done and that's all there is to it.

MYOB How To: Delete Unnecessary Tax Codes

When you first install MYOB, the program is already set up with several tax codes.

Some of these may not be necessary for your business. You can delete tax codes you do not need and "tidy up" the tax list if this makes data entry a little easier for you.

Here is how to do it:

Step 1:
Select the Lists pull own menu from the top of the screen and scroll down to choose Tax Codes.




Step 2:
Click on the detail arrow next to the code you want to delete.
In this example I will be deleting the Luxury Car Tax code.

Step 3:
Now simply select the Edit pull-down menu and click on Delete Tax Code as shown below.




Click OK to exit the Tax Code Information window and you're done.


HINT: A consolidated tax code is used to group together more than one code.
A consolidated code will be identified in the Type column of the Tax Code List. You will find that a consolidated tax code must be deleted before the individual codes can be deleted.

MYOB End of Financial Year Guide 2007

I've just uploaded the MYOB End of Financial Year Guide for 2007 to our server.

You can download the PDF at directly from our site (750 KB so give it a moment) or right click the image to the left and select "save target as".

If you need any help rolling over the financial year, feel free to send us an email or give our office a call.

MYOB Tip: Tracking More Than Salesperson Data

The majority of small business owners do not need nor use the Salesperson field to track employee sales. Did you know you can use this feature to track all kinds of other useful information such as which methods of advertising are paying off?

Example: Assume I want to track my marketing efforts. I use the Yellow pages, newspaper advertisements and my website for promotion. To do this, I would create an employee card for each item I want to track. I simply go to 'lists' in the top menu and scroll down to 'cards.' Click the employee tab and "add new."

You can see above I have added a cards for Newspaper Ad, Website and Yellow Pages. When you create a sale, simply use the salesperson field to begin tracking. In my example, I am tracking marketing. If my buyer heard about my products from the Yellow Pages, I would enter this into the salesperson field as shown below.

Now I can generate reports such as Analyze Sales [Salesperson] to see information at a glance on the new data I am collecting.

This is a handy little feature and can easily be adapted to track information of interest to you and your business.

Possibilities include easy monitoring of:

• Referrers
• Payment methods
• Preferred appointment times
• Geographic location of customers

If you are not tracking the sales prowess of your employees, it makes sense to put this feature to good use elsewhere.

If you would like to see more MYOB tips and tricks in the blog, please leave your feedback in the comments field or contact me at christie@lewistaxation.com.au.

Your thoughts and suggestions are always very welcome.

MYOB How To: Account Names Instead of Numbers

An important MYOB preference you can change is the choice of listing and selecting accounts by either the name of the account or the account number.

Altering the default settings and listing your accounts by name is a quick and simple procedure.

From the top menu click set up and then scroll to preferences. The preference settings will open and you should select the "windows" tab.

As you can see above, the fourth option is "Select and Display Account Name, Not Account Number."

To activite this preference simply place a tick in the box. When the tick is removed, the accounts will be listed by account number.

MYOB Tip: Unsure of Tax Code

Most business transactions recorded in MYOB will use either a GST tax code or the N-T tax code.

If you are entering data yourself there may be times when you are unsure of the exact tax code to use. It is a good idea to have a specific tax code set up just for such an occassion. In the following example I have used a tax code called QUE (to represent question mark).

Here's how it is done:

1. With your MYOB data file open, select 'Lists' from the top menu and scroll down to 'tax codes.' The tax code list will display on your screen with all the tax codes listed.

2. From the bottom of the page select "new" to add your unique tax code.

3. You can call it anything you like but be sure it is something you will remember or recognise when you need it. I suggest you use your usual linked accounts but set the tax rate at 0% for this code, although ultimately the accountant will fix it up when they apply the correct codes.

4. Save the new code and your screen should something like this.

The next time you are unsure of the correct tax code to use when recording a transaction, you can use your new (question mark) code. This can be assigned correctly by you or the accountant at BAS time.