Keep up to date with our newsletter
All the latest software & technology news & tips
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
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 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
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
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
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 Business 2017.1 was released Wednesday 5th July 2017, and we have summarised MYOB’s release notes.
11 July 2017
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
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
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
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
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
Read this tip for a step-by-step guide to set up Exo on a new PC.
04 May 2017
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
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
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
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
Registering MYOB OnTheGo users and connecting their iPads for the first time.
22 March 2017
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 has just released a long-awaited functionality: download movies, TV shows or documentaries and then watch them offline, any time.
12 December 2016
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Most expert computer users know the basic keyboard shortcuts, like pressing Ctrl + P on a PC to print a document. But did you know there are plenty of other useful key combinations out there? These shortcuts will put the Internet and more at your fingertips—because every second counts.
22 August 2016
If you’re having printing problems recently, especially where only the first page or pages of a document are coming out of your printer, then we recommend getting your IT Support Team to look into your Windows Updates.
19 August 2016
What is Knowledge? It is a collection of data, acquired through experience or education and grouped into a meaningful content. Many organisations start out with a small team of people, often specialists who are very good at their jobs and as individuals know all the ins and outs of their jobs.
27 July 2016
We are pleased to announce that we now have a branch in Wanaka. As of December 2015, we acquired Central IT from Jon Andrews, and have set up shop on Ardmore Street in the heart of Wanaka’s township.
21 July 2016
There is a lot to think about when it comes to protecting your business these days. With so many different tactics being employed by cyber-attackers, we need more than just anti-virus defending us from their varied and targeted attacks.
12 July 2016
As a user of EXO Business, I am often looking for new reports, and ask the question. Is there a standard report that can do this? Read this article to find out how to locate new reports.
30 June 2016
Find out what Business Intelligence (BI) really is, what it can do for your business and how to take the first steps to implement it in your business.
28 June 2016
We have created a snapshot of what the latest release includes, what’s been resolved, and what the known issues are.
24 June 2016
Suddenly it’s real: Internet-delivered TV is here. TV series which were once strictly bound to the confines of certain TV provider subscriptions can now be accessed for a small monthly fee with no contract, no equipment rentals, and no crappy customer service.
14 June 2016
Cloud. There’s so much information about cloud computing for business out there, but what about using it in your personal life? Dave Bennie talks about how he uses cloud when he’s not at work.
09 June 2016
Bruce Pollock follows on from our recent EXO User Community Workshop recapping the lessons learnt from many years working with the barcode & standards evangelists, GS1, and roles with software development organisations like Focus.
31 May 2016
Your password is your metaphorical ‘key’ to unlocking you online ‘front door’. You wouldn’t hand your home key to just anyone, would you?
31 May 2016
Do you know how to protect yourself, your family, your co-workers or your company data during a disaster?
17 May 2016
Why are so many businesses moving to the cloud? It’s because cloud computing increases efficiency, helps improve cash flow & offers many more benefits.
12 May 2016
Searching with regular sentences will only get you so far – if you need to find something a bit tricky turn to these advanced yet simple methods.
29 April 2016
Have you been depending on Excel as your business administration tool for ‘too long’? That’s the case for many businesses. Taking charge of stock control can be the difference between running a profitable business and a floundering one.
13 April 2016
We thought you might like to learn where it is headed in the future, how it will affect us in both our personal and professional lives, and what you need to know if you want to move further into the world of the Internet of Things.
04 April 2016
MYOB have just released the latest version of their Employer Services software for New Zealand, 2016.1 This release includes the yearly tax rate updates, but also includes very important changes to the way Leave is processed based on the IRD directive last year for how PAYE should be calculated on Holiday Pay.
04 April 2016
As any small to medium business owner is aware, bookkeeping is a necessary evil that can sap away at your precious time and energy, reducing the amount of time you spend on the revenue-earning aspects of the business. Cloud accounting has reduced or eliminated redundant, time-consuming work that, let’s face it, is the bane of most businesses.
21 March 2016
The next update of MYOB Advanced 2015.3 has been released. This update includes a small number of fixes to issues raised by MYOB partners and customers.
16 March 2016
When was the last time you considered your SQL Server platform? If it hasn’t had any love for years, your Exo experience may be suffering. There are several compelling reasons to review your SQL Server environment.
07 March 2016
With the recent release of Windows 10, and the constant “Would you like to upgrade?” messages Microsoft is sending out to our computers, we’ve had a few people interested in what versions of Microsoft software they can use with their MYOB EXO.
23 February 2016
Can you imagine getting the experience of Business to Consumer (B2C) shopping in the Business to Business (B2B) sector? Wouldn’t that make buying and making business decisions so much easier?
09 February 2016
There are several options which make it easy to email invoices to customers and we have written a step-by-step guide to make it even simpler.
27 January 2016
Loaded with sensors and promises to be a window to a richer physical world, this smartphone will be able to identify and understand motion, gestures, location and objects in real and virtual worlds. This will be the first consumer version of a 3D-sensing smartphone and will be available later this year.
25 January 2016
This article gives you a quick run down of what to expect in a webinar and how to use the software, GoToWebinar, so that you’ll have nothing to worry about.
18 January 2016
As we move into the warmer seasons and Christmas rapidly approaches, many of us haven’t even thought about what 2016 has in store. But before we know it, the holiday season will be over, and another busy year will begin.
17 December 2015
It’s time to break free from the restraints of your old phone system and move into the amazing world of cloud telephony. Not only is this kind of telephony simple to install and manage, but it also enables you to take your extension anywhere – you are no longer constrained to your desk. Roam freely and work anywhere that life takes you.
17 December 2015
There’s no doubt that you have been told before “don’t click on a suspicious link”, but what happens when that email appears to come from someone you know or work with?
09 December 2015
It is very easy to simply forget about the requirements of roaming and what it may cost you to take your phone with you overseas, and there are plenty of people who have been caught out with a rather large phone bill after an international trip.
02 December 2015
Has your user account become locked, which is preventing you from logging into EXO? This generally happens when either a password has been incorrectly entered too many times or, your password has expired.
30 November 2015
A tool many people forget to use is the Clarity Report Browser, this provides a full list of clarity reports in your system, and is not only a great way to see the standard reports that come with MYOB EXO, but also to review any extra reports you’ve had made for your business.
23 November 2015
There are so many acronyms out there in the world today that some of them can just merge together; but when it comes to the management of your staffs’ devices and their job satisfaction, BYOD and CYOD can be important ones to learn.
30 October 2015
At the recent community workshop session there were questions raised about audit logs. This is a summary of the Event Log and Business Alert functionality in EXO.
28 October 2015
The fundamentals of IoT are easy enough: connect a device over the Internet, which allows it to talk to us, any application, or even to each other. IoT is already all around us today, with over 2 billion devices being connected in 2014, to the prediction from Gartner that by 2020 there will be over 8 billion connected devices – that’s an estimated 100 billion+ connections.
20 October 2015
We often have a number of clients who come to us because they are having a bad experience with their phone lines and need us to resolve their issues. We have written about this topic before and why it is important to find out what needs to happen for a stable phone connection, however it is something that does continue to crop back up quite a bit. There are a number of benefits to Internet telephony but you just need to make sure all the i’s are dotted and all the t’s are crossed first.
05 October 2015
Windows 10 is being distributed to users of Windows 7 and Windows 8 via the Internet currently and it is a free download as long as it is downloaded before July 29 2016.
25 September 2015
If a user has locked themselves out of their EXO Account, the site administrator can unlock their account and reset their password using the EXO Configurator.
21 September 2015
“We do not call customers at home saying that we have detected a problem with their computer.” – Frazer Scott, Marketing and Operations Director, Microsoft NZ.
15 September 2015
‘We think you are due an upgrade’. Quite often as a client you may hear this, roll your eyes and think, ‘oh great, another bill will come my way if I give this the go ahead.’ – But believe us, it’s in your interest to keep up to date with the latest developments in your system.
06 August 2015
The new MYOB Advanced OnTheGo app developed for iOS and Android will make it even easier to use MYOB Advanced wherever you are.
23 July 2015
Learn how to set up Focus Cloud email on your Android device with these easy steps.
16 July 2015
MYOB EXO OnTheGo is a new application that has been designed specifically to meet the needs of the salesperson or account managers.
08 July 2015
The CryptoLocker Virus needs to be brought to your attention. Please read on about the dangers to your company’s data and share this with all of your employees.
01 July 2015
Learn how to access documents in Microsoft’s SharePoint natively in Windows 7 & 8, as well as accessing those documents through the SharePoint website.
28 May 2015
Our Queenstown Account Manager, Karen, went along to the Women in Business conference hosted by the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce. The event featured ‘real’ women doing ‘real’ hard work.
20 May 2015
In October 2014, MYOB invested in a leading provider of cloud business management software called Acumatica and branded as MYOB Advanced in Australasia. This product empowers small and mid-sized businesses to unlock their potential and drive growth, as well as delivering a suite of fully integrated business management applications such as Financials, Distribution, CRM and Project Accounting – all powered by a robust and flexible platform.
12 May 2015
As one of our valued clients, we encourage our clients and community to go and support Hospice Southland at their event on Thursday 14 May in Invercargill.
05 May 2015
We are keeping your business up-to-date with the latest updates from MYOB to ensure your business is efficient. This MYOB Advanced 2015.2 update includes improvements to finance and customer service operations and is due to be rolled out on the 19th of May, 2015. Your subscription includes all updates and the application of those to your system, this is all managed by MYOB. So all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the new features coming soon!
04 May 2015
We’ve all been there – accidentally deleted an email or another item from a mailbox and then emptied the deleted items folder and then thinking that an email message that has been permanently deleted is needed! Luckily there is a way to get them back.
20 April 2015
After months and months of preparation, the Focus on Business Technology Forum went off without a hitch! Our guest speaker wowed the crowd and our informative workshops taught the attendees a thing or two about something new. Keep reading to find out what happened on the day.
30 March 2015
What’s the best antivirus software to buy right now? In February 2015, Bitdefender topped the list.
27 March 2015
After a two year break, the Focus on Business Technology Forum is back in Invercargill. This year our guest speaker is Shamubeel Eaqub, the Principal Economist for NZIER. Come along to learn about the latest in technology and business solutions.
03 February 2015
Cloud Accounting Solutions for Bigger Business. The new cloud-based business management system, MYOB Advanced is set to transform the way businesses work. Specifically designed for larger Australian and New Zealand businesses, it gives you a fully customisable platform at a convenient monthly price.
15 January 2015
Tips for creating strong passwords
20 December 2017
4 ways to lose your Office 365 data
15 November 2017
Microsoft Teams: the new way to collaborate with your team
19 October 2017
Disaster Recovery for your Business
04 October 2017
Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts
06 September 2017
How to protect yourself against Cybercrime
01 August 2017
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.
Ross M Chambers, General Manager, Provelco
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.
Easy Pools
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.
Mark Lovell, Real Journeys
The Smith Brothers Group who specialise in plumbing, electrical, pipeline and all trade services in Adelaide South Australia has been dealing with Rod and Focus Technology Group since 2010. Despite the "ditch" Focus are extremely responsive in further developing Timetrak and Tasktrak Professional to suit our service solution and are always professional in their approach to providing us with value added options and better solutions.
Rebecca Penny, Smith Brothers Group
Focus ensures they’re always working smarter. Their greatest contribution is in keeping Presbyterian Support Service’s current. Focus keeps us informed and advises us on what we should be considering and how to get there.
Presbyterian Support Southland