We get contacted a lot about what is the best accounting / bookkeeping software to use in Australian businesses. The standard consultant and right answer is always “it depends”. It depends on so many things:
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The top 10 ERP systems in the Australian Market
Updated November 2023
Whilst I contend that ERP Systems are dying out and being replaced by ECP (Enterprise Cloud Platforms), I must acknowledge that we are in a transition phase and many businesses in Australia are actively looking for the right “ERP” solution. This article attempts to explain the current state of the ERP / Mid-market market in Australia and to a lesser extent globally.
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8 trends in the Accountant’s Software Industry
In August I posted this article (I’ve just updated the graphics slightly) signaling my intention to publish a series of blogs on the Accountant’s Software market. Across the preceding 12 months, I had undertaken two separate paid research projects on the state of this market and wanted to publish some of the key findings for the interest/benefit of others.
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Accountant’s Software Market
I’ve spent some time recently analysing the software landscape for Accountant’s in Australia. Its been interesting, eye-opening and mind-boggling all at the same time.
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QB Connect Au 2019 – the review no-one else will write
The end of May marked the third installment of the Australian QuickBooks Connect (QB Connect) event. This was the first year Intuit took their big show to Melbourne, in fact it was the first year the event traveled away from Sydney.
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Xerocon 2018 – The review no-one else will write
Recently former Intuit employee David Leary and his fellow #CloudAccounting Podcaster Blake Oliver declared the changing of the guard atop the three “big whales” of worldwide SME accounting tech (Rod Drury moving on from Xero CEO, Brad Smith likewise Intuit and Stephen Kelly unceremoniously removed as Sage CEO) signaled a clear end of Cloud Accounting 1.0 and the industry moving into the 2.0 phase. It’s not only a point hard to argue, it is one that for me, was clearly demonstrated at this year’s edition of Xerocon (South).
Hey mid-market, get your heads out of the sand, Xero & Intuit are coming!
It’s time the mid-market accounting technology space woke up and realised its 2018. In Australia, MYOB have handed them the “goose that lays the golden eggs” with their decision not to take Single Touch Payroll to MYOB Premier (see my previous article) and yet none of them are in a position to genuinely capitalise, because they aren’t even playing the same game as the likes of Xero and Intuit!
Where are the bank feeds? How about a solid ecosystem of best of breed add-ons? How about AI and machine learning? How about a modern, mobile optimised UI with decent UX design? Why are these the domain of “small business” systems like Xero and QBo at one end and “corporate solutions” like Workday at the other? What happened in the middle?
A recent experience with a client (which is representative of what is going on in the broader mid-market) has really “got my goat” and compelled me to speak out!
Is STP, MYOB’s make or break play?
MYOB have a significant make or break play in market at the moment and few seem to be commenting on it. And I’m not talking about Practice Management and the abandonment of the the Reckon Accountant’s division acquisition.
QB Connect Sydney 2018 – the review no-one will write
Last November I was lucky enough to be invited as guest of Intuit to it’s annual conference in San Jose, California. I had so much to write about the event and the key insights I garnered, I spread my review across two separate posts:
- QB Connect 2017: The Review No-one Else Will Write – Part I
- QB Connect 2017 – The Review No-one else Will Write Part 2
6 months on and the QB Connect event landed in Sydney for the second edition of the Australian conference. Armed with a “media pass”, I was fortunate to gain entry to the main day of the event and a one-on-one interview with Rich Preece, Intuit’s Global Accountant Segment Leader.
The ACCC has concerns about the MYOB Reckon deal – I have concerns about the ACCC?!
WARNING: This article is heavily laced with opinions and is not suitable for consumption by those who are sensitive to strong views…
At the end of March, the ACCC released its preliminary findings into the proposed acquisition of Reckon’s Accountant’s division by MYOB.
2 documents were released:
- A media release dated March 29, 2018, titled “ACCC CONCERNED WITH MYOB ACQUISITION OF RECKON ASSETS“
- A Statement of Issues dated March 29, titled “MYOB – proposed acquisition of Reckon’s Accountants Group“
In short, I find the media release ridiculous, poorly worded and off-point. The Statement of Issues, whilst not without some substance, shows a lack of genuine investigation, understanding of competition and technical wherewithal.