Preparing an Instance: Activation and Licensing

To start implementation, you need to activate the instance by enabling the default set of features. Then you apply the license and enable any purchased features that are not in the default set.

In this topic, you will read about the first sign-in to a new blank instance, feature enabling, and the limitations of trial and license modes.

License Obtainment

You obtain a license by creating a support case through the Partner Portal. You submit the following information:

Installation ID: The installation ID is available in the About dialog box of the MYOB Advanced application instance. To open this dialog box, on any MYOB Advanced form, select Tools > About.
Contract ID: You can find this ID on your MYOB Advanced sales invoice.

After your license request is processed, you will receive a license key. MYOB uses a licensing server to validate licenses. If the server where you installed the MYOB Advanced instance has no access to the Internet, because of the MYOB security policy, you may request a license file instead of the key.

You apply the key to your instance by clicking Enter License Key on the form toolbar of the Activate License (SM201510) form, enter the license key in the Activate New License dialog box, and click OK. The system contacts the licensing server and validates the license online.

Attention: To validate your license, the licensing server requires that port 443 is open on the computer that is running the MYOB Advanced instance where you enter the key. You may have to open port 443 if the computer has a firewall enabled.

To apply the license file, you click Upload License File on the form toolbar, and then select and upload the license file by using the Upload New License File dialog box.

First Sign-In to MYOB Advanced

Preparing an instance is performed under the only active user account (admin) that comes with every MYOB Advanced instance. This user has sufficient access rights to perform the instance preparation.

The initial credentials for the default user account are admin for the username and setup for the password. When you try to sign in for the first time, the system requires you to change the password.

When you sign in to a new MYOB Advanced instance and attempt to navigate to any form, the system brings up the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form (the only form you can access), which you use to enable the default set of features. After the default set of features is enabled, you are able to access the Activate License (SM201510) form, where you can activate your license key if you want to remove the trial mode restrictions. If you want to proceed with the trial mode, you can enable any other features available.

Product Features

MYOB Advanced provides a scalable core system functionality and offers a range of add-on features. On the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, you can view and modify the list of enabled features according to your license limitations.

Only after you enable a feature do all feature-related forms and individual elements appear in MYOB Advanced. Some features may add only additional elements to the available forms, and others may enable a workspace or a set of workspaces with multiple forms. For example, the Projects menu item appears on the main menu only if the Project Accounting feature is enabled. If you enable the Tax Entry From GL Module feature, it only adds additional elements to the Journal Transactions (GL301000) form, which is available with the default set of features.

The Enable/Disable Features form also displays (at the top of the form) the state of the currently selected feature set—that is, the set of functionality available in your instance of MYOB Advanced. The following states are possible:

Pending Activation: The system displays this status when you access the form for the first time to enable the standard set of features. Also, the system displays the status after you click Modify on the form toolbar to change the selection of features. This status indicates that the current settings on the form do not reflect the actual set of functionality available in MYOB Advanced.
Validated: The system displays this status when you have enabled the features selected on the form by clicking Enable on the form toolbar. With this status, the settings on the form reflect the actual set of functionality available in your instance of MYOB Advanced.

Before you start implementing MYOB Advanced, you may find it helpful to become familiar with the functionality to be implemented and the add-on features your organization has included in the license. For details, see Preparing an Instance: MYOB Advanced Features.

Attention: You can also use the Enable/Disable Features form to disable individual features in MYOB Advanced. We recommend that you not disable any feature after it has been enabled and used in the live system; this may cause unexpected results, including data loss.

Trial and License Modes

By default, MYOB Advanced is installed in trial mode. Although in this mode all features are available, the mode has the following restrictions:

You can create no more than 10 tenants per instance.
All tenants that you create have the Test Tenant status.
The watermark is added to all printed forms and reports.
Only two conventional users can concurrently use the system. Each time a third conventional user signs in to MYOB Advanced, one of the current users is forcibly signed out. The following message is displayed at the bottom of each form, followed by the Activate link you can click to activate a license: Your product is in trial mode. Only two concurrent users are allowed.
Only two API users can concurrently use the system. A third API user cannot sign in to MYOB Advanced and receives an error during the signing in.

In trial mode, you can enable and use any feature. For a production site, you should activate the full-product license, thus running the system in license mode. After the license activation, the system hides the features that are not included in your license on the Enable/Disable Features form, and you will not be able to enable these features.

When you obtain the license for using MYOB Advanced and apply this license to an instance, the trial mode restrictions are removed. The license defines the license tier (that is, the level of resources that you can utilize by using the license) and the set of features you can enable for the instance. For details on license tiers, see Typical Hardware and Virtual Machine Configurations for PCS and PCP Licenses.

Attention: During licensing and activation, the application instance is restarted. When you apply a license on a non-testing environment, make sure that all users of your website are warned about the restart of the site so that they can save all work in progress.

If you use MYOB Advanced Customer Portal, you have to obtain a license for the Customer Portal instance, activate the license, and then activate the required Customer Portal features. For details, see Configuring the Customer Portal.