Hi everyone,

Due to a high number of comments (and MYOB replies) about Secure invoicing, I am posting a summary of the change, frequent questions/complaints and the answers from MYOB to make it easier for everyone to find this important information. I will also be archiving the previous discussions on the forum so that this new post becomes easier for customers to find.

It is a long update, but in the interest of transparency, fairness and to avoid any concerns around censorship, I am doing my best to make sure everything is covered.

The Secure Invoicing upgrade began with a small test group of customers in October 2024, and we have continued to roll this out to more customers in small batches since then. We are some time away from this being released to all customers, so don’t worry if you have not heard of it or seen any communication from us.

What is the Secure invoicing upgrade?

Secure invoicing is an important upgrade being rolled out this year to customers who send invoices on MYOB subscription plans. From MYOB Business Lite, through to AccountRight Premier.
The upgrade adds multiple layers of security for your business, plus automation features designed to help you save time and accelerate cashflow.

The Secure Invoicing ecosystem is a combination of the secure distribution of invoices using MYOBs trusted software (Email, SMS, CopyLink) and the ability to accept secure payments.

Secure invoicing includes:

\n
• Always-on fraud monitoring for transactions and payment activity
\n
• Secure payment methods
\n
• MYOB verified badge
\n
• End-to-end secure invoice distribution
\n

Additional questions/objections to this:

\n
• Why is online payments combined with secure invoicing?
  + Online payments should be separate / I don’t want online payments
  + I’m happy to have additional security with invoicing but I don’t want to have payments.\n
  \n
  • The distribution of invoices using MYOB software, fraud monitoring and secure payment of invoices is combined into a single MYOB Secure invoicing ecosystem to provide the best possible protection for businesses and consumers. Although these features are combined, you have the flexibility to adjust settings to suit your preferences around the secure payment methods.
  \n
  • Learn more about changing your settings here 
  \n
  \n
\n

\n
• Is this the same as e-Invoicing?\n
  \n
  • No – e-Invoicing is an ATO initiative, similar to this but it is only for the digital exchange of invoice information directly between a supplier’s and buyer’s accounting systems, regardless of the software they use.
  \n
  • You can learn about e-invoicing here.
  \n
  • MYOB Secure invoicing is for all business using MYOBs software, and applies regardless of whether the invoice is being sent to a business or a consumer.
  \n
  \n
\n

Why is MYOB making this change?

Cyber security is a constantly evolving landscape with new threats emerging daily.
MYOB continuously develops and invests in solutions to meet these challenges, but security is a shared responsibility and requires vigilance from everyone.
Financial losses from online fraud and cyber scams cost Australians over $2 billion in 2023. Scam reports from businesses rose by 28%, resulting in $29.5 million in losses. Small businesses, with fewer resources for risk mitigation, were hit hardest, reporting nearly $12 million in losses from false billing—the most common scam.
MYOB understands that falling victim to a cyber scam can have very real consequences. That’s why we have developed and will continue to invest in secure invoicing, in addition to other essential security measures like Multifactor Authentication (MFA) and inactivity login timers.

Additional questions/objections to this:

\n
• Is there a legislative/legal mandate that MYOB is adhering to for this change?\n
  \n
  • No, the Secure Invoicing upgrade is a decision MYOB has made to protect business and consumers across Australia. There has been reference to MYOB complying with legislation as part of the verification process and this is still also true when it comes to the Secure payments component.
  \n
  • To comply with anti-money laundering legislation, we must verify certain documents in line with KYC regulations. Read more here.
  \n
  \n
\n

What do I have to do?

Customers are required to verify their business as part of the upgrade process. This includes identity verification of all ultimate beneficial owners (typically any individual with 25% or more ownership or voting rights for a company) 
Find out more about verification here

Additional questions related to this:

\n
• I don’t want to give sensitive information to MYOB
  + How is my data being stored and treated\n
  \n
  • All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which can be accessed here: www.myob.com/au/privacy-policy.
  \n
  • For further peace of mind, our current system for verification erases documents after 30 days and does not store them indefinitely.
  \n
  \n
\n

What happens if I don’t want to verify my business and/or I don’t want to upgrade?

Customers who do not complete the business verification and upgrade to secure invoicing will be restricted from utilising the MYOB platform for distribution of invoices.
This means that distribution of invoices using the secure methods of email, copy link and SMS will be unavailable.
Customers can continue to send their invoices themselves however and will need to use a ‘Print to PDF’ option, then manually email the invoice themselves through Outlook, Gmail etc.

Additional questions related to this:

\n
• If I can no longer email invoices through my software, will I still be able to email payslips and other information?\n
  \n
  • Yes the restrictions only apply to the distribution of invoices. There is no restriction to emailing other items.
  \n
  \n
\n

What are the fees and charges for the online payments feature?

The fee for secure payments is 1.8% of the invoice value + 25c transaction fee.
This only applies if the invoice is paid by a secure payment method.
For example, if the recipient of the invoice still chooses to transfer the money to you via bank transfer, there are no fees. But if they paid via Bpay, Visa, Mastercard etc then the fees apply.

\n
• Please note that there is flexibility with the fees.\n
  \n
  • You can decide whether the fee is paid for by you or by the person paying the invoice (surcharging). *Please note, BPAY fees are unable to be surcharged to the customer.
  \n
  • You can also choose whether you want to have BPAY enabled or disabled
  \n
  • You can choose whether you want to have secure payments enabled or disabled
  \n
  \n
\n

*Please also be advised, that after completing the secure invoicing upgrade, the secure payments feature will be enabled on by default.

Find out more about the fees and charges here

Why should I use online payments?
(spoiler, this hasn’t been asked yet, but it’s important to know)

Using the online payments feature has multiple benefits to you and your business.

\n
• Get paid faster – the sooner a customer receives an invoice, the quicker they can pay you. But how much of a pain is it to copy a BSB and Account number into your banking app and make a transfer, add in the reference etc. The Pay now button in the invoice makes payment quicker and easier helping you get paid faster.
\n
• Getting paid faster helps increase cash flow to your business
\n
• Better security – online invoice payments use several layers of protection to identify fraudulent behaviour.
\n
• Peace of mind – A network of verified businesses means fewer risks and safer transactions, so clients can invoice with confidence, and customers can pay knowing they’re interacting with a trusted business. 
\n
• Save time – get automatic notifications when payment is made on an invoice. Payments are automatically recorded in your software and the invoice closed off. Less time chasing payments and debtors.
\n
• Read all about it here
\n

Additional questions/complaints related to this:

\n
• I don’t want to use the service
\n
• Why should I verify if I am going to turn payments off afterwards\n
  \n
  • MYOBs position is that Secure payments not only protects businesses and consumers from fraud but it supports businesses in getting paid faster, increase available cashflow and saving time chasing debtors or reconciling. We recommend and encourage customers to keep this feature enabled
  \n
  \n
\n

Thank you for taking the time to read and understand this change more.
If you have a question, you are still welcome to reply to this post or start a new discussion in the forum.

Kind regards, Mike/MYOB

Hi everyone,

Due to a high number of comments (and MYOB replies) about Secure invoicing, I am posting a summary of the change, frequent questions/complaints and the answers from MYOB to make it easier for everyone to find this important information. I will also be archiving the previous discussions on the forum so that this new post becomes easier for customers to find.

It is a long update, but in the interest of transparency, fairness and to avoid any concerns around censorship, I am doing my best to make sure everything is covered.

The Secure Invoicing upgrade began with a small test group of customers in October 2024, and we have continued to roll this out to more customers in small batches since then. We are some time away from this being released to all customers, so don’t worry if you have not heard of it or seen any communication from us.

What is the Secure invoicing upgrade?

Secure invoicing is an important upgrade being rolled out this year to customers who send invoices on MYOB subscription plans. From MYOB Business Lite, through to AccountRight Premier.
The upgrade adds multiple layers of security for your business, plus automation features designed to help you save time and accelerate cashflow.

The Secure Invoicing ecosystem is a combination of the secure distribution of invoices using MYOBs trusted software (Email, SMS, CopyLink) and the ability to accept secure payments.

Secure invoicing includes:

\n
• Always-on fraud monitoring for transactions and payment activity
\n
• Secure payment methods
\n
• MYOB verified badge
\n
• End-to-end secure invoice distribution
\n

Additional questions/objections to this:

\n
• Why is online payments combined with secure invoicing?
  + Online payments should be separate / I don’t want online payments
  + I’m happy to have additional security with invoicing but I don’t want to have payments.\n
  \n
  • The distribution of invoices using MYOB software, fraud monitoring and secure payment of invoices is combined into a single MYOB Secure invoicing ecosystem to provide the best possible protection for businesses and consumers. Although these features are combined, you have the flexibility to adjust settings to suit your preferences around the secure payment methods.
  \n
  • Learn more about changing your settings here 
  \n
  \n
\n

\n
• Is this the same as e-Invoicing?\n
  \n
  • No – e-Invoicing is an ATO initiative, similar to this but it is only for the digital exchange of invoice information directly between a supplier’s and buyer’s accounting systems, regardless of the software they use.
  \n
  • You can learn about e-invoicing here.
  \n
  • MYOB Secure invoicing is for all business using MYOBs software, and applies regardless of whether the invoice is being sent to a business or a consumer.
  \n
  \n
\n

Why is MYOB making this change?

Cyber security is a constantly evolving landscape with new threats emerging daily.
MYOB continuously develops and invests in solutions to meet these challenges, but security is a shared responsibility and requires vigilance from everyone.
Financial losses from online fraud and cyber scams cost Australians over $2 billion in 2023. Scam reports from businesses rose by 28%, resulting in $29.5 million in losses. Small businesses, with fewer resources for risk mitigation, were hit hardest, reporting nearly $12 million in losses from false billing—the most common scam.
MYOB understands that falling victim to a cyber scam can have very real consequences. That’s why we have developed and will continue to invest in secure invoicing, in addition to other essential security measures like Multifactor Authentication (MFA) and inactivity login timers.

Additional questions/objections to this:

\n
• Is there a legislative/legal mandate that MYOB is adhering to for this change?\n
  \n
  • No, the Secure Invoicing upgrade is a decision MYOB has made to protect business and consumers across Australia. There has been reference to MYOB complying with legislation as part of the verification process and this is still also true when it comes to the Secure payments component.
  \n
  • To comply with anti-money laundering legislation, we must verify certain documents in line with KYC regulations. Read more here.
  \n
  \n
\n

What do I have to do?

Customers are required to verify their business as part of the upgrade process. This includes identity verification of all ultimate beneficial owners (typically any individual with 25% or more ownership or voting rights for a company) 
Find out more about verification here

Additional questions related to this:

\n
• I don’t want to give sensitive information to MYOB
  + How is my data being stored and treated\n
  \n
  • All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which can be accessed here: www.myob.com/au/privacy-policy.
  \n
  • For further peace of mind, our current system for verification erases documents after 30 days and does not store them indefinitely.
  \n
  \n
\n

What happens if I don’t want to verify my business and/or I don’t want to upgrade?

Customers who do not complete the business verification and upgrade to secure invoicing will be restricted from utilising the MYOB platform for distribution of invoices.
This means that distribution of invoices using the secure methods of email, copy link and SMS will be unavailable.
Customers can continue to send their invoices themselves however and will need to use a ‘Print to PDF’ option, then manually email the invoice themselves through Outlook, Gmail etc.

Additional questions related to this:

\n
• If I can no longer email invoices through my software, will I still be able to email payslips and other information?\n
  \n
  • Yes the restrictions only apply to the distribution of invoices. There is no restriction to emailing other items.
  \n
  \n
\n

What are the fees and charges for the online payments feature?

The fee for secure payments is 1.8% of the invoice value + 25c transaction fee.
This only applies if the invoice is paid by a secure payment method.
For example, if the recipient of the invoice still chooses to transfer the money to you via bank transfer, there are no fees. But if they paid via Bpay, Visa, Mastercard etc then the fees apply.

\n
• Please note that there is flexibility with the fees.\n
  \n
  • You can decide whether the fee is paid for by you or by the person paying the invoice (surcharging). *Please note, BPAY fees are unable to be surcharged to the customer.
  \n
  • You can also choose whether you want to have BPAY enabled or disabled
  \n
  • You can choose whether you want to have secure payments enabled or disabled
  \n
  \n
\n

*Please also be advised, that after completing the secure invoicing upgrade, the secure payments feature will be enabled on by default.

Find out more about the fees and charges here

Why should I use online payments?
(spoiler, this hasn’t been asked yet, but it’s important to know)

Using the online payments feature has multiple benefits to you and your business.

\n
• Get paid faster – the sooner a customer receives an invoice, the quicker they can pay you. But how much of a pain is it to copy a BSB and Account number into your banking app and make a transfer, add in the reference etc. The Pay now button in the invoice makes payment quicker and easier helping you get paid faster.
\n
• Getting paid faster helps increase cash flow to your business
\n
• Better security – online invoice payments use several layers of protection to identify fraudulent behaviour.
\n
• Peace of mind – A network of verified businesses means fewer risks and safer transactions, so clients can invoice with confidence, and customers can pay knowing they’re interacting with a trusted business. 
\n
• Save time – get automatic notifications when payment is made on an invoice. Payments are automatically recorded in your software and the invoice closed off. Less time chasing payments and debtors.
\n
• Read all about it here
\n

Additional questions/complaints related to this:

\n
• I don’t want to use the service
\n
• Why should I verify if I am going to turn payments off afterwards\n
  \n
  • MYOBs position is that Secure payments not only protects businesses and consumers from fraud but it supports businesses in getting paid faster, increase available cashflow and saving time chasing debtors or reconciling. We recommend and encourage customers to keep this feature enabled
  \n
  \n
\n

Thank you for taking the time to read and understand this change more.
If you have a question, you are still welcome to reply to this post or start a new discussion in the forum.

Kind regards, Mike/MYOB

Hi everyone, 

I have just posted an update on our community guidelines and how to make your feedback count.
You might notice that I will be taking a much firmer stance on comments that breach out guidelines and you can read about why in my post here

I absolutely believe its important to provide a space for customers to give feedback. Tell us what's great (and what's not great). I'm proud to be able to offer such a space through this Community Forum. But feedback also needs to be constructive, and the forum needs to be a helpful space for all members.

I encourage you to share your experiences with the secure invoicing changes using this Facts-Impact-Resolution format described in my post linked above.
Your specific examples help to build a stronger case for improvement.

As a small business owner, as of yesterday, I have now been affected by the changes. No longer able to send out invoices. I started the verification process, but was feeling very uncomfortable at having to provide such sensitive information such as Drivers licence/Passport details. Just prior to submitting all my information, I read through the fine print at the end, and noted that all this sensitive information will be passed on to third party entities. Could MYOB tell me how many entities this private information would be passed on to?
I am also not happy having to pay, or pass on the costs of 1.8% per invoice.  I do not need this feature, so would be disabling it. As I, and many others, would not opt to use this feature, would it not make sense to offer it as Opt in instead of forcing it upon us? Instead, I am being coerced to provide private information so as to continue to be able to send out simple invoices. Not what I signed up for when choosing MYOB as an accounting package. 

Hi Mel_75 , as part of protecting the privacy of our customers and ensuring the correct handling of these identification documents, the uploading and verification process is managed via a 3rd party software that specialises in secure documentation handling. 

We will also treat any information in line without privacy policy you can see here

We understand that the secure payments feature may not benefit all businesses. You absolutely have the option to disable this, either per invoice or as a default.
I hear what you are saying about opt in versus opt out.
Due to the overall intiative being about security for businesses and consumers in Australia, utilising secure payment methods is the best option for an end-to-end secure invoicing workflow so it is best to enabled, but the flexibility to tailor the invoicing feature (including payments) to your business needs still exists to support you

Hi Mike,

Feedback for the developers, the functionality of being able to email out invoices directly from the software should not be dictated by whether an business opts in or out of using the offered \"Pay Now\" facilities.  None of the other software providers force this on their subscribers [ie., you can still email invoices to customers directly from Xero even if you do not connect to \"Secure Payments\"].  The other software also do not require business owners to provide personal identification information such as license, passport, etc, in order to set up the Secure Payment methods.  Why does MYOB or the Third Party need this information ?   When will we be able to email payment receipts to our customers which is a feature that has been requested for nearly 20 years?

So for those of us who aren't interested in using this 'secure invoicing service' - (which I won't be because we don't need it) will we be charged a lesser rate for MYOB AR? Why should AR users pay the same amount as a company who utilizes the secure invoicing features? There needs to be different cost structures now with AR and cheaper rates for those not wanting to use the new secure features. Also are we still able to enter invoices in the system for record keeping purposes only?  

Hi Lynzo ,

The restrictions that apply if verification is not completed, is only related to the distribution of invoices using the MYOB platform (email, SMS, copylink)
You can absolutely continue to create invoices, but you will need to manually distribute them yourself by printing to PDF and then emailing it as an attachment through your own email platform (eg gmail)

There is no intention to look at different pricing models for those who are upgraded to secure invoicing vs not. The upgrade to Secure invoicing is free and for those who may not want or need to utilise the payments feature, there is flexibility to enable or disable this.

I do not have the \"polite\" words in my vocabulary for what MYOB are insisting we do. We are the customer and if we choose no, it should be heard.  Our customers choose to pay us direct into our bank account. We do not need another form of payment (which attracts fees).  I am refusing to take part in this invasion of privacy and am willing to wear the consequences.  If the said consequences are too great, time to move elsewhere. 

Thanks Mike,

I feel for you copping all the abuse over  a decision made by faceless powers to be.

How do I send you a private message?

Thanks SueB1962 , just click on my profile name and then you should see a 'message' option on the right hand side of my profile.
I will send you a hello now to make it easier to reply though. Thanks!

Please confirm - are these comments correct?

1. The only impact of not completing the verification process is being unable to email invoices from within MYOB.
2. As long as we complete the verification process, we can still turn off the online payments feature and everything will continue as normal?
   That is, we would be able to:
   • email invoices from within MYOB
   • accept payments via our usual methods
   • neither us nor our customers would have to pay any online payments fees to MYOB.

Good morning H-TS ,
That's a spot on summary - yes to all points!

Actually I will add, there are two other distribution methods alongside email, that is SMS and copylink which would also be restricted alongside being unable to email the invoice from within MYOB.

Let me know if you have any other questions
Thanks, Mike

Can we have an update on MYOB's progress on turning off the need for Secure invoicing to send Email invoices?

I dont want a speel about how great it is and good for us.

When can we see a transcript of the feedback loop so we can get a clearer picture of MYOB's atttitude to its users regarding features we do and dont want, specifically regarding the offer of emailing invoices without secure payment enabled?

Can we get a representative of upper mangement down here so they can understand our concerns.

Assuring users that they are being listened to and actually listening are 2 entirely different things.

And then acting on it, well thats a whole new level of respect.

Come on.

Has anybody been verified and turned the payment function off successfully? We are a small business with no retail sales. Strictly business to business. We are paid by direct debit by all of our clients. We have no need for any of these additional payment methods. We do not want to pay fees, nor do we want our clients to be charged fees. We are considering becoming verified so we can continue to email invoices through MYOB, but just a bit wary of any issues with disabling this.

NickismsAs a myob user (not staff), we did the verification last year to turn on online invoicing (haven't had any notification about the secure payments bit yet so we don't know if we'll need to do it again). Pretty well straight away, we wanted to turn online invoicing off again because we thought that's what had started the invoice summaries going out with invoices. We had no trouble turning it off. Unfortunately, it turns out that wasn't the cause of the invoice summaries so we turned it back on. Once you find where it is, it's basically just a toggle setting.

Wow, I thought I was the only MYOB user not happy about the secure invoicing upgrade.

It was presented, as if we had a choice, but we didn't.

Then they wanted business verification.

And now they will want our money, the 1.8% will add up to over $10,000 for my micro business.

I thought I owned a MYOB accounting package!

But no, MYOB thinks it owns my business.

Now researching alternatives.

Our competitive edge is not charging our customers a surcharge on credit cards! Not Myob are trying to make us less competitive! OMG

Hi KCNCJ ,
Thanks for joining the conversation. 
You have flexibility around the payments feature when it comes to the fees and the feature itself.

After completing the upgrade and verification, you can choose to either have the payments service on/off by default. If you have it on, you can also then choose to have it on/off for each invoice you create.

If the feature is on, you can also choose to have the fee passed on to the person/consumer paying the invoice instead of having it charged to you as the business (similar to a lot of surcharging you see in stores when paying with credit).

And of course, multiple payment options gives flexibility to your customer paying the invoice too, the fee only applies when they select one of the secure payment methods, if you were to still receive payment by cash or bank transfer, there is no fee.

More options for your customers makes it easier for them and helps you get paid faster which increases cash flow for your business, saves you time and lets you spend more time investing in your business.

Mike

One of our companies is a building supplier, we have customers call up over the phone, order and pay with credit card, then come in and pick up the goods.  When picking up the goods, we ask to verify the credit card by the last four numbers and show their drivers licence to enable them to pick up the goods. This stops anyone paying with stolen credit cards and coming in to pickup goods.  Tell me how this is secure when paying online through MYOB WHO ARE NOW TRYING TO BE OUR BANK and extorting 1.8% fees.  This model does not stop theft and fraud. We have made our own model regarding security and your so called secure invoicing would put us back 10 years in security.  Grifter and blackmail and business's going backwards.  This model of MYOB grift does not work! you need a new slogan (ONE SIZE FITS ALL) MYOB (I'M TELLING YOU WHAT YOU NEED)

Hi,

We all are looking for alternative accounting packages!  Lets show Myob who is in charge! PERIOD! a mass exodus is needed and give your feedback on every platform you can find. Many of us are doing this! Myob is not a bank and should stop acting like one! We have our own security! and now making us convert to a pdf, attach to an email to send an invoice.  Apparently, you can still email statements and PO's! can you believe that! Myob is pathetic!

Not only has my monthly fee gone up 20% in one hit, there is now this money making scam painted as

extra security. They are so transparent and it would appear MYOB has been taken over by greedy narcissists. I do not want secure payments and now I'm being punished and I can't email my customers invoices anymore. Myob does not value their customers...