Experiencing slowness on workstations using MYOB AE or AO software

This support note applies to:

AO Document Manager (AU)
AO Classic Document Manager (AU)
AO Classic Document Manager (NZ)
AO Document Manager (NZ)
AO Assets Live (AU)
AE Assets Live (AU)
AO Tax (NZ)
AE Statutory Reporter (NZ)
Workpapers (NZ)
AO Practice Manager (NZ)
AO Practice Manager (AU)
AO Workpapers (AU)
AO Statutory Reporter (AU)
AO Tax (AU)
AE Workpapers (AU)
AE Statutory Reporter (AU)
AE Document Manager (NZ)
AE Practice Manager (NZ)
AE Practice Manager (AU)
Timecost (AU)
AE System Release (NZ)
AE System Release (AU)
AE Reporter (NZ)
AE Reporter (AU)
Profiles (AU)
PMA (NZ)
PMA (AU)
PDF Manager (AU)
AE Document Manager (AU)
AE MAS (NZ)
AE MAS (AU)
AE Investments (AU)
FBT (AU)
AE Tax (NZ)
AE Central Database (NZ)
AE Assets (AU)
AO Classic Tax (AU)
AO Classic Practice Management (AU)
AO Classic General Ledger (AU)
AO Corporate Compliance (AU)
AE Assets (NZ)
AE Tax Series 6 & 8 (AU)
AE Tax (AU)
AE Corporate Compliance (AU)
AE Accounts (AU)
PDF Manager (NZ)
AO Classic (NZ)

Article ID: 36838

When using MYOB Accountants Enterprise (AE) or Accountants Office (AO) you may find that the performance on the workstations or computers is not adequate.

There are several reasons as to why this can occur, but the first thing to confirm is if performance is also slow on the server. If you find this is the case, especially if only certain functions are slow (i.e opening tax returns), it may indicate that there are issues with the database. You can contact MYOB Support to confirm this.

In addition, you should check in the Performance tab of the Task Manager on the server to see how the system is coping with the load and whether the CPU and or RAM usage is high or spikes when performing functions in the software. If this is the case, the server does not meet the specifications for all the functions that it needs to use (this includes all other functions not just MYOB software). If this is occuring, you will need to contact your I.T. Consultant about increasing the server's specifications or load balancing.

However, if performance is fine on the server but the workstations are slow, below are a few suggestions:

To check Workstation specifications

Please review the MYOB System requirements page to ensure your workstations meet our recommended requirements.

If the specifications are met, you should check the Performance tab of the Task Manager to ensure the machine is not under too much load. You can diagnose this on the Processes tab to see which software is using the most resources.

MYOB AE and AO use the following processes on workstations:

AO.exe
AOTax.exe
ClientFramework.exe
Contacts.exe
Crunw32.exe
sr.exe
sr64.exe
taxform.exe

If any of these processes are using an unusually high amount of RAM or CPU usage, please contact MYOB Support. For any other processes using excessive resources, you will need to contact your I.T. provider.

To check Anti-Virus/Firewall configuration

If you are running any type of Anti-Virus software, MYOB recommends checking the configuration.

For further information on tuning your Anti-Virus software, refer to Resolving the slowness of MYOB applications or unexpected shutdown on a workstation. For more information, contact your I.T. provider.

To check your network

MYOB recommends that all workstations are running gigabit connections.

This means that all the network equipment connecting the workstations to the server must be gigabit to receive the full speed. This includes ensuring the following on all server's and workstations':

Network Interface Cards (NIC's) are gigabit enabled;
All Ethernet cables are Cat5e or Cat6 and
All routers are gigabit enabled.

To confirm you are receiving full gigabit speeds, on a workstation, navigate to Start > Control Panel > Network and Sharing Centre and on the left, click Change adapter settings. Right click on the active adapter and choose Status.

If the speed does not read 1.0 Gbps then you are not getting gigabit speeds. In this instance, you will need to contact your I.T. provider.

Additionally, it is not uncommon for users on wireless connections to encounter performance issues or even data loss on some networks. To confirm if this is the issue, try plugging an Ethernet cable in and seeing if the speeds increase. To troubleshoot this, please contact your I.T. provider for more details.

If you use Hyper-V to virtualise your servers and are having performance issues with physical workstations (not Hyper-V terminal servers), get your IT to check if it is caused by Receive Segment Colaescing (RSC) or the Virtual Machine Queue (VMQ).