SMEs enjoy $700+ per month worth of ‘me time’ thanks to bank feeds

SYDNEY - Oct. 31, 2013 - PRLog -- SMEs utilising MYOB’s bank feeds - a service that automatically feeds bank transactions into cloud accounting software - say it saves them an average of 10 hours per month, according to the business software company. The average value they put on this time saving is $713.

CEO Tim Reed says he was impressed with the findings of MYOB’s recent research that asked clients to estimate how much time they had saved in automating their bank transaction reconciliation.

“That’s a big saving in the context of how time poor business owners can be. We know SME operators often sacrifice personal and family time in order to run their businesses. This kind of time and cost saving is equivalent to a day off a month or a couple of weeks’ holiday each year,” he says.

The MYOB Client Insights Panel surveyed more than 600 small and medium-sized client businesses across Australia and New Zealand who use MYOB BankLink (http://youtu.be/0xw9-wFaLV8) bank transaction feeds. Bank feeds are a way for business owners to automatically import and match transactions from their business bank accounts with security, reliability and accuracy. The service is a key feature of MYOB LiveAccounts and AccountRight Live cloud accounting solutions.



Mr Reed says the research has quantified in tangible ROI terms just how much value accounting software can add in lessening the workload and driving unnecessary tasks out of the routine of a small business.

“Here’s real proof that MYOB’s accounting software (http://myob.com.au/liveaccounts), and in particular bank feeds, can significantly change our clients’ business lives for the better. It pays for itself many times over,” he says.

“We also uncovered broader benefits such as less stress and greater ability to spend time on the business and/or with loved ones. 40% of clients who saved time with feeds spent it on improving systems and processes, 28% spent it on reviewing business performance and 20% spent it on strategic planning and marketing. From a personal perspective, 38% spent the extra hours with immediate family, 29% on ‘me time’ and 26% with extended family and friends.

“At MYOB we continually work on new ways to help our clients run their businesses more efficiently and effectively. We’re delighted when we see our products and services genuinely deliver tangible benefit, and that some of this benefit is returned in establishing work life balance.”

The research showed these business owners now spend 42% less time on bookkeeping thanks to bank feeds. 77% said feeds resulted in less work at end of the month and 71% said there was less data entry. Time saving was the biggest benefit (89%), with others including easier bank reconciliation (75%), clients feeling more up to date with their accounts (70%), staying on top of financial paperwork (70%) and managing accounts more efficiently (70%).

Onions Australia office manager Kelly Hogan says she used to dread the process of reconciling bank accounts each day and is finding bank feeds invaluable.

“I love them. It saves so much time because it does all the work for you – with just a couple of clicks of a button, you can go on with your day. It’s so easy and you know that everything will always be reconciled at the end of the month. I would definitely recommend this... It will just make your life so much easier,” she says.

For MYOB product information, research results, business tips, discussions, client service and more visit the MYOB website (http://myob.com.au/), or its blog (http://myob.com.au/blog), LinkedIn (http://linkedin.com/company/myob), Twitter (http://twitter.com/MYOB), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MYOBteam) and YouTube (http://youtube.com/user/MYOBAustralia) sites.

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For further comment or other information please contact:

Kristy Sheppard, MYOB Public Relations & Corporate Affairs Manager

P: 02 9089 9068 / M: 0407 450 860 / E: kristy.sheppard@myob.com

Symon Madry, Haystac Public Affairs Account Director

P: 02 8094 7779 / M: 0409 919 508 / E: myob@haystac.com.au

About MYOB Australia

Established in 1991, MYOB is Australia’s largest business management solutions provider. It makes life easier for over 1.2 million businesses across Australia and New Zealand, and provides support via many client service channels including a network of over 20,000 accounting firms, bookkeepers and other consultants. MYOB’s solutions simplify accounting, payroll, tax, practice management, CRM, websites, job costing, inventory and more, for businesses of all shapes and sizes. It is committed to ongoing innovation, particularly in cloud computing solutions, and now spends more than AU$30 million annually on research and development. In 2013, MYOB expanded its offerings with the acquisition of accounting solutions provider BankLink. For more information, visit myob.com.au.