Payment Integration Development with AWS uplift for the MYOB Shuri Billing Team

Background

MYOB has been an integral part of business management in Australia and New Zealand for over 30 years. Initially known for accounting software, MYOB has grown into a comprehensive cloud-based business management platform that serves businesses of all sizes. With over 15 strategic acquisitions and partnerships, MYOB provides a wide range of tools that streamline key business workflows, from finance and supply chain management to customer and project management.

One of MYOB’s most critical workflows is its billing process, which handles invoicing for various subscription services offered to customers ranging from sole traders to large enterprises. As part of its ongoing strategy to improve efficiency and scalability, MYOB made the decision to shift away from bespoke billing systems and adopt a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) billing solution.

To achieve this, MYOB partnered with a leading provider of payment processing software and APIs, to integrate a robust billing solution that would better serve MYOB’s diverse customer base.

The Challenge

The bespoke billing systems that MYOB had relied on were becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, particularly as MYOB’s service offerings expanded. Custom solutions lacked the flexibility needed to scale with MYOB’s growth and added complexity to payment processing workflows, leading to inefficiencies in invoicing, payment tracking, and overall financial management.

Additionally, MYOB needed a solution that could handle the varying needs of its customer base—from simple invoicing for sole traders to complex subscription management for large enterprise clients. They required a solution that was reliable, scalable, and easily integrated into MYOB’s cloud-based platform without disrupting existing workflows.

Moreover, MYOB’s billing system had to comply with local regulations in Australia and New Zealand, while supporting a seamless experience for businesses of all sizes.

Complicating matters, prior to the start of the payments integration project, MYOB’s development team responsible for the integration (team Shuri), faced the unexpected departure of two permanent developers. This presented a challenge for maintaining momentum and ensuring the success of this critical initiative.

The Implementation

To address the immediate need for expertise, MYOB engaged two Midnyte City consultants to work with the Shuri team on a backlog of work in AWS, Kotlin and Scala. Key aspects of the implementation included:

• Migration to new payment solution: The team collaboratively planned and implemented a solution using the payment providers API for handling customer data, subscriptions, and payment method details
  

• Event-driven Architecture: The team delivered event-driven architecture using AWS services like SNS and EventBridge. Deep AWS knowledge enabled the team to create a real-time system for processing billing notifications, payment failures, and invoice events
  

• CI/CD Automation and Mentoring: In addition to integrating the payment solution, the team improved the CI/CD pipeline, setting up automated deployment processes. This involved adopting AWS best practices and cloud-native development, further enhancing the overall team’s capability.
  

• Technical Mentoring: The Midnyte City consultants paired frequently with the MYOB team members, sharing their AWS knowledge while also developing in Kotlin and Scala. This collaborative approach ensured the Shuri team were well-prepared to maintain and evolve the integration after the initial implementation.
  

Results and Benefits

The integration of this payment provider as MYOB’s billing solution, driven by the cross-functional skill and experience of the MYOB/Midnyte City Shuri team delivered major benefits:

• Uplift in Team Capability: Led by the remarkable Oksana Bilous, the Shuri team were briefed well on the Midnyte City consultants’ arrival. The group gelled quickly and readily leveraged each other's strengths, creating a collaborative learning environment that boosted the overall skill set right across the team. This adaptability and rapid upskilling enabled everyone to contribute meaningfully to the project while learning and growing
  

• Scalability and Flexibility: The SaaS-based solution enabled MYOB to scale its billing processes easily as its customer base grew. The flexibility of the APIs allowed MYOB to support complex subscription models, tiered pricing, and advanced invoicing workflows
  

• Improved Efficiency: Automating payment notifications and integrating real-time event handling through AWS significantly reduced manual intervention in billing processes. This led to faster payment cycles and better financial visibility for MYOB and its customers
  

• Enhanced Security and Compliance: By leveraging built-in compliance tools and AWS’s security features, MYOB ensured that its billing processes adhered to local regulations while protecting sensitive customer data
  

• Faster Time to Market: The rapid transition through forming, storming, norming and performing allowed the team to implement the payment integration faster than anticipated, enabling MYOB to reduce the time required for future billing-related feature development
  

• Customer Experience: MYOB’s customers benefited from a more seamless invoicing experience, with timely notifications and automated payment retries for failed payments. This helped reduce churn and improve overall customer satisfaction