The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group MYOB for Dummies Major Keary |
Designed for Australian users, MYOB for Dummies is now in its third Australian edition. The author, Veechi Curtis, is a qualified accountant who has written extensively on MYOB and who teaches the application of computer-related technology to small business.
There are several versions of MYOB, one for basic-level users and others with specialist modules. The book is relevant to all versions, and is especially useful for the MYOB novice. There is an assumption that the reader knows how to use a computer and is familiar with the fundamental technicalities of keeping financial records.
Information is well organised and well presented; it is easy to find topics, and the language is clear and direct. Even readers with a tenuous grasp on book keeping will find the text easy to follow. The author provides plenty of helpful advice on how to automate repetitive tasks and sort out common problems. A handy cheat-sheet for finding keyboard navigation aids and short-cuts for both Windows and Mac users is provided as a convenient tear-out card.
The book is in parts that deal with: getting started and setting up MYOB; everyday activities (income, expenses, purchases, inventory, wages, and reconciliations); advanced functions (using forms, creating reports, file management, and the GST); 'the part of tens' (a Dummies feature that lists concise hints and warnings in groups of ten); and appendices of useful information, including URLs.
I am by no means expert in the field of accounting packages such as MYOB, but on reading through MYOB for Dummies I feel quite confident of being able to use the software with this book as a manual. It is a very practical text in which the various processes and procedures are well explained. It does not pretend to be an in-depth discussion of the complexities of GST and BAS, but deals with those topics in sufficient detail for small business users to know what is required when recording transactions.
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Veechi Curtis: MYOB for Dummies 3rd edn. ISBN 1-74031-057-8 Published by Wiley, 375 pp., RRP $39.95 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the February 2003 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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