Updated 22 Dec 2018
In case you were wondering, the current version of AccountRight Live is AR2018.4 and many problems still persist. MYOB have focussed on adding
features rather than fixing bugs and performance issues. Due to STP
and MYOB's refusal to add STP support to v19, users were forced to upgrade to AR2018.4.
Many of these users have large files and they soon discovered new issues - AR2018.4 does not handle large files very well
(MYOB staff recommend a file size no greater than 300 MB). Users report performance issues, frequent System.OutOfMemoryExceptions and crashes.
Initially MYOB staff blamed these System.OutOfMemoryExceptions errors on the user's computer, not having enough memory. They
eventually realised after a large number of complaints that this was an issue with how the software was coded. In late 2018 MYOB
started a project to understand the issues those with larger files were having.
See this recent forum post as an example
Please fix your software
In addition many users see messages like 'No Records exist or match your criteria' when using the Transaction Journal or 'There's no information to display' when generating Reports.
See an example here - No Records Exist.
Updated 1 Mar 2017
See this 8 page forum topic - refers to AR2016.3 (latest version as at 1 Mar 2017) - here
Note: This page was originally written approx 12 months after AR2011 was released - and has been updated several times. The current version sold by MYOB Aust is AR2024. To be fair there have been improvements since AR2011 was released. There have been approx 13 major fixes - many of the bugs have been fixed - but many remain a low priority and have not been fixed. Many users are frustrated with even the latest AR2024. See here
for a recent example - as well as link in 1st para.
It is unfortunate a new user cannot directly purchase the v19 range of Plus products, they must either look for a reseller with old stock or buy off ebay. (Update - MYOB Australia is now allowing new purchasers to use v19.16 instead of AR2024, but only if the purchaser asks for it.)
Most of the comments below still apply. We will not be recommending users upgrade to the AR2024 range of product until the predominant theme on the MYOB Community forums in relation to AR2024 (or AR2017 or 2018 or 2019) is praise from happy users. There are still numerous posts reporting problems (new ones with the latest release) as well as regrets for upgrading to this range.
AR2013.5 focussed heavily on speed improvement, and relative to AR2011 it has improved significantly. But relative to v19 it is still slow, with lots of people having varying issues. See a sample here:
Make myob so you don't have to exit 5 times a day
If you are thinking of upgrading, we would recommend looking at the most recent posts on the MYOB Community Forum. Look for praise (not from MYOB staff or Partners but regular users). In the meantime the best we can do is offer a downgrade service for those who want to go back to the v19 range. Although the service is costly, a user will recover all the costs, and then some, by using our tax tables. See here for more information about this service.
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Original post about AR2011 (and then AR2012)
Much has been said about the current offering from MYOB Australia, (originally AccountRight 2011 and now) AccountRight 2012 (AR2012). The lastest Plus version number is something like 2012.10.14.7949.
If we at FGHTables understand correctly, MYOB changed to the SQL style database to address ongoing concerns from multi-users especially those using MYOB® across a network. While the earlier versions generally worked very well for single users, many observers commented on the fact that the earlier MYOB® was not properly designed for a multi-user setup.
MYOB have been criticised for releasing the new version without adequate testing. Despite many service patches and updates, it seems AR2012 is still very slow and still lacks some of the functionality of the version 19 products. While most of the bugs like incorrect totals, missing transactions etc have been addressed, most consultants are still advising their clients to wait and continue using the version 19 products. It seems that there is very little upside at this stage. Perhaps multi-users over large networks have experienced improvements - there are very few reports of users finding AR2011/12 better than version 19.
And then there is the 1 data file limit - look forward to paying extra if you are a new user and want more than 1 datafile.