MYOB vs Xero ........... Puddle Jumpers experience

You've probably all read how much TvA love "The Cloud" but I wanted to share my experience of cloud based accounting.

We have a company called Puddle Jumpers, we design, make & sell Outdoor Clothing for Kids online, to retailers in NZ and around the world. We have two main ranges of Waterproof Jackets, overalls and overpants and then a range of accessories - this adds up to around 120 different SKU's or inventory items.

Keeping track of orders and sales is a daily task and very rewarding when parents sing the praises of our Outdoor Gear and for making their life easier!

Now back to The Cloud... quite appropriate really... clouds... puddles...sorry, I digress!  

I have been using Xero for our accounting, one of the first and most definitely the most hyped online accounting platforms around.  If you haven't heard of Xero it really is the bomb.  It is so simple and easy to use that the developers are worth every one of their share market price dollars.  Yet Xero does have its limitations.  I feel it's based on a small business's accounting needs then you purchase add-ons for such things as Inventory.

For us Xero has been great but with MYOB bringing out its cloud version at a much lower cost per month, including inventory plus as much customisation as you like, it was a no-brainer for me to switch to MYOB AR Live.  They even migrated my file from Xero making life all rather simple.

MYOB AR works very similar to Xero in its live bank feeds and easy access over the internet for anyone working on the file (including your accountant) but a little bonus feature is that you can work offline and sync later (handy if you are doing work out of reach of the internet).  But the real plus is the price per month given you have all the add-ons and reporting/customisation that you would normally expect without having to pay more for them.  

So first, if you are not on the cloud get there... but choose wisely. Both Xero and MYOB have free trials where you can play around with sample companies - a great way to see which you prefer.  Take a look and decide which you prefer and which gives you what you need.  From a 'non-accountant' person I am proud to say I'm actually enjoying my accounting software!