We are constantly writing blog posts with tips, information, articles and tricks. I thought I would write one on my latest encounter with MYOB entries and in particular, entering an ABN into the system.
In previous versions of MYOB there was not any real checks in place for the incorrect entry of your ABN, however in the current version (V2011) I was entering the ABN in the Payment Summaries Window but MYOB kept saying this was incorrect and was not allowing me to proceed to the following window. I first came across this problem when entering my dummy ABN in the Payment Summary Section for some of the updated Payroll workbook, which is well underway.
Upon further investigation as to why this was happening, I got my answer:
The most recent version of MYOB Account Right has some basic and automatic checks behind the scenes to prevent incorrect numbers being entered and to protect clients’ from accidentally entering incorrect ABN information (In my case, it was deliberate) and to stop the high number of incorrect returns being filed. What a great idea!
Now some people think that this is linked to the ABR website and it was certainly my thought before I investigated further. But this is not the case. It is actually all based around a formula to ensure the number format is in fact valid. As we all know, ABN’s are an 11 digit number; but what you might not know, is those first 2 digits are actually a checksum. The ATO has actually publicised the formula which is used to check and create valid ABN checksums.
Basically what all this jargon means, is your ABN does not need to be real, it simply needs to be entered in the correct format.
