Around 40% of Australian small businesses still run MYOB, and a growing number are switching to Xero every year. The migration itself takes days, not months - but a sloppy conversion can haunt your reporting for years. This guide walks through the process we use when moving clients from MYOB to Xero, including the steps most guides skip

Why businesses switch from MYOB to Xero

We're a Xero-only firm, so we'll be upfront about our bias. But the reasons clients give us for leaving MYOB are remarkably consistent. The most common one isn't features or pricing - it's that their accountant or bookkeeper asked them to

Xero's cloud-first design means your bookkeeper, your accountant, and your payroll team can all work in the same file simultaneously. MYOB has improved its online offering, but the desktop versions (AccountRight, especially) still require workarounds for multi-user access. If you're paying someone to manage your books, they'll almost certainly prefer Xero

The other big driver is the app ecosystem. Xero connects to over 1,000 third-party apps - payment platforms, inventory tools, CRMs, receipt capture, time tracking. MYOB integrates with some of these, but the breadth isn't even close. If you're running a trades business on SimPRO, or using Dext for receipt capture, or Pinch for payment collection, Xero is where those connections work best

Everything in your MYOB file converts at the time you upload the file to Jet Convert. This means that if you have updated your accounts to 30 June and you migrate on 15 August, everything in MYOB between 30 June and 15 August will also come across. You can't choose a date in the past to convert up to, and ignore the rest

What actually moves across (and what doesn't)

This is where most migration guides get vague. The reality depends on which MYOB product you're running and how the conversion is handled

If you use Jet Convert (Xero's official migration partner, and the tool we use), here's what transfers from MYOB desktop files:

  • Chart of accounts - maps across, though you'll want to review and simplify it. MYOB chart structures tend to be over-engineered compared to Xero's flatter approach
  • Contacts - customers and suppliers, including outstanding balances
  • Accounts receivable and accounts payable - open invoices and bills carry over
  • Transaction history - current year plus the previous financial year (more history available on higher packages)
  • Fixed assets and inventory items - basic data transfers, but you'll need to verify quantities and values

What doesn't move cleanly:

  • Payroll - this is the big one. Payruns in converted history come across as paid-off bills or manual journals, not payroll journals. Single Touch Payroll (STP) and autosuper settings need manual setup in Xero. Depending on the conversion date, super payments and STP finalisation will need to be managed across both MYOB and Xero
  • Closed financial years - if you've rolled your MYOB desktop file, those years are locked. Jet Convert don't extract transaction data from closed periods in their subsidised package. Monthly comparative balances can fill the gap for reporting purposes, but you won't have line-by-line detail
  • Custom reports - anything you've built in MYOB stays in MYOB. You'll rebuild reports in Xero (or use an add-on like Fathom or Syft)
  • Jobs/tracking categories - they convert, but the mapping between MYOB's job system and Xero's tracking categories isn't always one-to-one. Header jobs in MYOB convert as standalone jobs in Xero. Check this carefully if you rely on job-level P&L reporting

The migration process, step by step

Step-by-step guide 7 steps - allow 1 to 2 weeks end to end
Before you start
  • Administrator access to your MYOB file
  • A Xero subscription (Standard or Premium if you need payroll)
  • Internet banking logins for bank feed connections
  • Employee records, super fund details, and YTD payroll figures
1
Clean up your MYOB file first

Reconcile every bank account and credit card to your chosen migration date. Write off bad debts. Terminate employees not paid this financial year. Verify your GST accounting basis (cash or accruals) is set correctly - this carries into Xero. Run a verification on the file (File > Verify Company File in MYOB desktop) and fix any errors before converting.

Garbage in, garbage out - but with accounting data, the garbage tends to hide in your BAS reconciliation for months before anyone notices
2
Choose a future date to migrate

Start of a new financial year is best. Start of a new BAS quarter is the next best option. Mid-quarter conversions create extra reconciliation work because you split the period between two systems. Whatever date you pick, any work done in MYOB after that date and before the upload to Jet Convert will also come across - make sure it's clean.

3
Back up everything

Export your MYOB file and store it somewhere safe - you'll need it as a reference for at least seven years. Don't cancel your MYOB subscription until you've run at least one payroll and lodged at least one BAS period in Xero and confirmed the numbers make sense.

Ask your accountant when they'll no longer need access to MYOB before cancelling
4
Run the conversion

Jet Convert handles the technical migration. Upload your MYOB backup file (or grant access for MYOB online), select your package, and Jet Convert builds a Xero organisation with your data mapped in. The standard conversion is subsidised by Xero. Turnaround is typically 3 to 5 business days for online files, sometimes faster for desktop backups.

5
Review and rebuild the chart of accounts

This is where most DIY migrations go wrong. Jet Convert moves your MYOB chart across faithfully, but MYOB's detailed account hierarchies don't suit Xero's flatter design. Xero works better with tracking categories for dimensional reporting instead of separate accounts for every cost centre. Read our conversion balances guide before adjusting accounts.

If you're not confident restructuring the chart, this is where working with a Xero Advisor pays for itself
6
Set up payroll from scratch

Payroll doesn't migrate automatically. This is the most time-consuming step and the one where errors have the biggest consequences.

  • Add super funds and verify all employee details
  • Configure pay templates with correct ordinary earnings rate, allowances, and deductions
  • Enter employee YTD figures (gross, tax, super) accurate to the cent
  • Set up STP reporting and connect to the ATO
  • Run a test pay cycle and compare against your last MYOB pay run
Get the YTD figures wrong and your employees' income statements will be incorrect at EOFY. We've seen businesses cop penalties because STP data from Xero didn't match ATO records from the MYOB portion of the year
7
Connect bank feeds and reconcile

Connect your bank feeds so Xero pulls transactions daily. Run a trial balance in both MYOB and Xero as at your migration date and compare with the Jet Convert post-conversion report. The numbers must match. Common culprits if they don't: rounding on GST, opening balance journals that didn't import, or post-conversion changes in either system.

✓ Migration complete. Process at least one full BAS period in Xero before cancelling MYOB

Common mistakes we see

We've managed hundreds of MYOB to Xero conversions. The same problems come up repeatedly

Converting too early in a BAS period. If you switch on the 15th of a quarter, you'll lodge part of that BAS from MYOB data and part from Xero. It's doable, but it's messy. Wait for the start of a quarter if possible

Not cleaning the MYOB file first. The big one is the electronic clearing account not reconciling to nil at conversion. Accounts payable and accounts receivable balances not reconciling to bills and invoices is also a mess best sorted in MYOB first. Old unreconciled transactions, duplicate contacts, and broken account mappings all carry into Xero. Clean before you convert, not after

Trying to replicate MYOB's chart exactly. Xero isn't MYOB. Trying to force MYOB's account structure into Xero means you miss out on how Xero's tracking categories, reporting codes, and flat chart design actually work. Treat it as an opportunity to simplify, not a copy-paste exercise. Our guide on Xero setup mistakes covers the most expensive errors we see

Forgetting to update third-party connections. If you use Dext, Pinch, SimPRO, or any other app connected to MYOB, you'll need to disconnect from MYOB and reconnect to Xero. Some apps handle this automatically. Others need manual reconfiguration. Make a list of every integration before you start

Should you do it yourself or get help?

If you're a sole trader with a simple MYOB file, no employees, and a clean set of books - you can probably handle this yourself with Jet Convert. Budget a weekend

If you've got employees, inventory, multiple bank accounts, or years of history in MYOB, working with a Xero specialist is worth the investment. Not because the conversion itself is complicated (Jet Convert does the heavy lifting), but because the setup decisions you make in the first week - chart of accounts structure, tracking categories, payroll configuration, reporting setup - determine whether Xero works well for your business or becomes another source of frustration

We handle MYOB to Xero conversions as part of our Xero setup service. That includes the Jet Convert migration, chart of accounts restructure, payroll setup, bank feed connections, and a reconciliation check to make sure everything balances before you start. If you're considering the switch, get in touch - we'll give you an honest assessment of what's involved for your specific situation

Further reading

If you're researching the move to Xero, these guides cover related ground: