On 15 April 2026, MYOB Australia emailed users the following:

"We're getting in touch to let you know about an upcoming change to MYOB AccountRight and what it means for your practice and your clients.

From 17 June 2026, offline mode will no longer be available for MYOB AccountRight desktop (PC edition). Future releases will only work with company files that are stored online.

AccountRight desktop isn't going anywhere. The only change is that your clients' company file/s will need to be online in order to receive product and security updates, support and online services.

If you have clients currently using MYOB AccountRight desktop (PC edition) in offline mode, we want to ensure you have all the information needed to help your clients manage their business without disruption.

What's changing

• MYOB AccountRight desktop will only work with company files stored online. Offline mode is ending.


• From MYOB AccountRight version 2026.5 (PC edition), your clients will no longer be able to open, edit or save files stored locally (in My Library or Network Library).


• To continue to use MYOB AccountRight with support and updates, your clients will need an active MYOB AccountRight subscription with an online company file."

See also announcement here


What this means
There were rumours about this some 12 months ago - and this is really going to annoy many users. In the longer term, MYOB will drop the Desktop application altogether - and have browser based access only. This has always been their plan.

Without seeing the detail, the immediate solution would be to NOT upgrade beyond AR2026.4 - we can disable updates for PC users so they can keep using AR2026.4 (or earlier) with your file offline.

This will work until new tax tables come out. We will need to see if offline access with tax tables is available down the track.

You can now see why MYOB offered 'free upgrades' from v19 to AR2026. The new terms and conditions 'cancel' your v19 licence rights, and now they cancel offline access, which means users must have a subscription.

Update - MYOB have since clarified that offline use will continue to be available by installing and using the Server Edition, though added that this is a short term solution. We recommend continuing to use the PC Edition by blocking updates (see below), this provides a better outcome than using AR 2026.5 Server Edition.


Who this affects
The offline mode announcement by MYOB does not affect all 'offline' versions. To see if you are affected, open your MYOB file and then look under Help > About AccountRight. If your version or Build number starts with a year, and about screen looks similar to this:



then you are affected if that year is 2022 or later.

If you want to keep using your AR2026 file offline, the best solution, at this point, is to block monthly version Updates, allowing you to continue to use your current version with an offline file indefinitely.

Installing Server Edition (as recommended by MYOB - a little too keenly) will update your files to AR2026.5, and this will limit your options.

If you access both online and offline files, or you want to retain access to your existing offline backups, the best approach is to create 2 desktop icons, one that runs an installation of MYOB for online files (which updates) and one that runs an installation of MYOB for offline files (that does not update).

If you would like us to stop MYOB 'updates' on your PC, or create 2 desktop icons, visit our Remote Assistance page to book an appointment.

Update: If you have already been caught out by this change, note that it can be undone, without loss of data. We can change your online or offline file back to AR2026.4 and install AR2026.4, allowing you to continue to use your MYOB file offline if you prefer.

Offline Backup: We can also provide an offline backup - fee applies to cover our time.


If your version or Release number starts with a one or two digit number such as 19, and about screen looks similar to this:



then you are not affected by this announcement. However you will be affected by this earlier announcement about the end of Confirmation.

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