Focus Blog

All the latest software & technology news & tips

Tips for creating strong passwords

When it comes to passwords, putting in the effort now can make a huge difference in the long run. It’s time to forget about single-worded passwords, they are easy to crack and are no longer strong enough.

20 December 2017

4 ways to lose your Office 365 data

There is a misconception that Office 365 doesn’t need to be backed up because it runs in the cloud. This is a very common misconception – to assume that data protection isn’t required for your cloud applications.

15 November 2017

Microsoft Teams: the new way to collaborate with your team

Microsoft Teams brings together people, conversations and content – along with the tools that teams need. It allows teams to easily collaborate so that they can achieve more.

19 October 2017

Disaster Recovery for your Business

Cyber-attacks, natural disasters, technical malfunctions and uncontrollable human errors happen every single day and there’s no way to prevent these from happening but you can reduce the risk of data loss.

04 October 2017

Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts

If you are a frequent user of keyboard shortcuts you know just how handy they can be.  Although memorising a bunch of shortcuts and what they do can be daunting, it’s important to remember that you only really need to know the ones that are relevant to you.

06 September 2017

How to protect yourself against Cybercrime

Cybercrime is an ever-growing threat. It’s easy to think that the only form of cybercrime you need to worry about is hackers stealing financial information, however there are more concerns than just this.

01 August 2017

MYOB Exo 2017.1 Release

MYOB Exo Business 2017.1 was released Wednesday 5th July 2017, and we have summarised MYOB’s release notes.

11 July 2017

Meet AirDroid: Control your Android with your PC

AirDroid is a super handy mobile application that allows you to take complete control of your Android device via your computer’s web browser.

04 July 2017

Exo Tip: Clarity Report Browser

Ever wondered what reports come out of the box with Exo and if any of them would assist with your business processes? This tip will take you through the process of reviewing these reports and adding them to your Exo drop down menu for future reference.

23 May 2017

Turn your ‘dumb’ car smart with Android Auto

Android Auto is a simple application that essentially allows you to turn your “dumb” car into a smart car using the power of your smartphone.

22 May 2017

Customer Guidance for WannaCrypt attacks

Many Microsoft customers around the world and the critical systems they depend on were victims of malicious “WannaCrypt” software. This blog spells out the steps every individual and business should take to stay protected.

15 May 2017

12 reasons to use Microsoft Office 365

Productivity is a great word that people love to use. However, in the real world, productivity can be summed up in a simple question: Can I do my job easier or not? Microsoft has invested heavily trying to make the user and administrator experiences of Office 365 as easy and simple as possible. If you are thinking about moving your business to Office 365, here are 10 reasons why you should.

09 May 2017

Exo Tip: Set up Exo on a new PC

Read this tip for a step-by-step guide to set up Exo on a new PC.

04 May 2017

COPE vs. BYOD vs. CYOD – What’s the difference? And how can you protect your data?

Each of these approaches have inherent advantages and pitfalls, however there is no right or wrong answer; it is all based upon the unique needs, objectives, and capabilities of their individual user groups within each business.

13 April 2017

Christchurch – a place to call home through thick and thin.

Last stop: Christchurch. You’ve now heard why our teams love living in Southland and Central Otago, but now it’s time to hear about living in the big smoke of Christchurch.

11 April 2017

What makes Central Otago a place our team can call home?

You’ve heard why our Invercargill & Gore teams love living in Southland, now hear what the Central Otago team love about living in Queenstown and Wanaka.

28 March 2017

Exo Cheat Sheet and quick tips

With so many different functions in Exo, it can be hard to keep track and remember them all, so we have created a “cheat sheet” to help make your day a little simpler.

28 March 2017

Exo OnTheGo User Setup

Registering MYOB OnTheGo users and connecting their iPads for the first time.

22 March 2017

What’s so great about Southland anyway?

We want to showcase the places where we (the Focus team) live, sharing what we love most about our regions, the best places to eat, drink, fish, shop, walk, bike or whatever. This time…. Southland.

14 March 2017

Show multiple tabs at once with Windows AERO

In the latest version of Exo (2016.3) there is now the ability to show multiple tabs at once in the taskbar of Windows.

13 March 2017

Microsoft OneNote - The Hidden Gem

Often dwarfed by other MS Office family members like Excel and Word, Microsoft OneNote is well and truly the hidden gem in the Office suite. This awesome, powerful note-taking application seems to only be talked about by the serious users but it is about time that we all gave it the attention it deserves.

28 February 2017

End of Financial Year in MYOB EXO

Here is our annual reminder and ‘how to’ guide for the process you will need to follow if your end of financial year is on March 31.

23 February 2017

Understanding your team’s technology needs

When it comes to upgrading the technology in your business, a more involved approach is the way to go. No longer is it the best option to simply get the newest version of what you had, we need to start thinking how the technology is used, and more importantly WHO is using it and the role they undertake in your business.

14 February 2017

9 Easy Computer Things Everyone Should Know How to Do

It really doesn’t matter how tech savvy you are, there are certain things that every one of us has to deal with when using a computer –and let’s face it, we don’t always deal with them in the most efficient ways. Read this article for 9 things that everyone can (and should) learn to keep their computer running smoothly.

01 February 2017

How can I make sure people can find my website?

That’s the $64,000 question. It can be overwhelming reading about how you can make sure people find your website when they search on Google, Bing or any other search engine. The steps that you need to take, where you need to put words and what words you need to put where; can all just seem a bit like mission impossible to do yourself. But luckily, that’s where you’re wrong.

17 January 2017

Netflix just got a whole lot better: you can now watch TV shows or movies offline.

Netflix has just released a long-awaited functionality: download movies, TV shows or documentaries and then watch them offline, any time.

12 December 2016

48 Microsoft Word shortcuts you never knew you needed

Most of us spend a little longer in Microsoft Word than we would like to, and doing things the long way is not helping us. With little formatting changes that keep needing to be made to ensure it looks professional and beautiful, it can be a very time consuming task to simply complete a document.

30 November 2016

Email Security: Best Practices

Email is the lifeblood of a company; the main way we communicate, and how we get things done. So when there is a chance that our main form of communication could be at risk, we need to take measures to ensure that all threats are minimised – enter email security.

15 November 2016

Boost Productivity at your Workplace

This article has been written to provide you with some general tips about how to boost productivity with processes, as well as through the use of some pretty-darn-handy apps. From online sharing, analytics tools, notes apps, social media automation, time tracking, visual organisation, or just a simple way to keep articles or stories that you want to read later – there really is a tool for everything these days.

01 November 2016

Is Video Conferencing Right for your Business?

While the cliché goes “a picture is worth a thousand words”, that must mean a video is worth ten thousand? In many situations, a video conference is much more effective than a phone call. The question is though, is video conferencing right for you?

19 October 2016

BI and Buzzwords – Finding the Value Behind the Jargon

Do you know what Business Intelligence is? You are probably already using it in your day-to-day work and don’t even know it. Take a read of our short article and find out.

10 October 2016

Evolution to SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)

While SaaS is now a major end-user platform, that hasn’t always been the case. SaaS, or Software-as-a-Service, has gone through a number of stages since it began. Follow us to learn how your accounting system of today came about.

06 October 2016

7 tips to staying safe on the Internet

There are dangers lurking all over the place on the Internet, but we all know that that is not going to stop us from using it. Here are some tips to help keep you safe online.

05 October 2016

Become a spreadsheet pro with these Excel tips

Just like many other Microsoft applications, Excel has some very handy tricks up its sleeve that’ll make your day a bit easier. If you are looking to get more out of Excel, try these tips.

19 September 2016

Finding where your sales aren’t, Survivorship bias and data visualisation

Statistics gives us many useful concepts, and proper use of our sales data can help us identify areas of growth and problems on the horizon.  But we need to be aware of the pitfalls in our data analysis.

13 September 2016

Stay organised with these Outlook tips

When it comes to work overload, Microsoft Outlook sometimes feels like part of the problem, but with these helpful tips and tricks, it will once again be part of the solution.

05 September 2016

Search blog posts

Focus Technology Group provides support for our EXO system which we use for general ledger, stocks and payments. This has required significant customisation and refinement, in particular to accommodate payments to suppliers. We appreciate the services of Alex Ball who has always risen to the challenge of developing changes to the basic EXO package and has proven himself to be timely, accurate and very capable over a long period.

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Ross M Chambers, General Manager, Provelco

Thank you Focus Technology Group for great customer service and helping our business understand technology better, your team always has the answers. Big thanks to Garry, we enjoy having you in our building and the team love your input.

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Awarua Synergy

Focus have been superb, the attentiveness to meet our exact needs and flexibility have been second to none. The team is collaborative and extremely helpful and respond very quickly. I would have no hesitation recommending Focus.

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Easy Pools

I have enjoyed attending the EXO User Community Workshops and find them very helpful. The group is a valuable resource that provides a great opportunity to discuss issues and solutions with other users. It is also great to learn about new products and features available, and promotes continual improvements which make our use of EXO easier and more efficient.

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Graeme Laughton-Mutu, Award Plastics

For high quality IT Services, Software Development, Accounting Business Software services I would highly recommend Focus Technology Group and their team who have always gone over and above to deliver me outstanding results.

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Mark Lovell, Real Journeys

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