IMPORTANT INFO - Multi Factor Authentication for Reckon Accounts Hosted 🔒

Rav · February 14

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20643556#Comment_20643556

The revoke option is to remove the current MFA source. Say for example, you want to change the current phone number which your MFA codes are being delivered to then you can revoke it from your account. The next time you login to Hosted, you'll be prompted to designate a new MFA source eg. a new phone number or authenticator app

MFA on Hosted is voluntary at the moment however will become mandatory from May 2024 so you will need to have an active MFA source on your Hosted account when it kicks in.

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20643557#Comment_20643557

Hi @Paul Mason

Yes, you can either setup MFA via SMS or an authenticator app on your mobile so provided you have that with you when you login so have access to the MFA code then you'll be able to login and access Hosted on any PC as normal.

Jenny_9381306 · February 14

Thank you @Rav . I'm trying to find on your website whether there is any discount for 2 or 3 licences - can you let me know please...last year we paid $710 for 1 licence in NZ.

Rav · February 14

Hi @Jenny_9381306

If you give our Customer Service team a call on 0800 447 292 (NZ) they're more than happy to look at options for you and have a chat to get things organised 🙂

Barbara Allen-Guthrie · February 15

Thank you everyone for all the comments,

It sounds to me like Reckon need to have a cheaper monthly/annual option for the 2nd user, they are just charging too much for a person(s) to access the same information. ie like a husband and wife. I could not find the other user price but from memory it is not cheap and when you are a small business just making wages this is not warranted :-(😥

Rav · February 15

Hi @Barbara Allen-Guthrie I don't want to steer away from the topic of this post which is the upcoming MFA on Hosted however I'll quickly just say that we're always happy to have a chat around managing multiple users and your options when it comes to licences etc.

The vast majority of Hosted users operate their own licence per individual user so won't notice too much of a difference once mandatory MFA comes into effect. For those customers that are sharing a single login across multiple users then our customer service team (1800 732 566) is happy to have a conversation around getting the licencing side of things organised & setup.

Barbara Allen-Guthrie · February 15

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20643568#Comment_20643568

Thanks Rav, I just have me, but good to know that others can discuss the options of add ons.

I am changing Email addresses so do I revoke the old one and then add the new one onto my mobile, is that the best way to go, that actually was what I was searching for LOL

Rav · February 15

Hey @Barbara Allen-Guthrie

We might need to have a little bit more of a detailed convo about this in a separate thread but just to clarify, MFA via email is not an option so changing the email address for your account won't have a bearing on that.

MFA is available via SMS or via an authenticator app only.

If I'm misunderstanding the query or what you're looking to do then lets have a chat in a separate thread, create one HERE 🙂

Lupton · February 16

@Rav

Owners of a licence currently can change the password & other details incl email address of the other users on the licence via the Control panel/Manage users.

Please advise whether this can be used to 'reset' the user's login in future after MFA has been setup for each user

Barbara Allen-Guthrie · February 16

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20643585#Comment_20643585

Thanks Rav I have created a new chat called "MFA Thread Email"

Alexander McKeown · February 21

Dear @Lupton ,

You will still be able to modify the username and password as the Owner user in Reckon Accounts Hosted after the MFA update.

Kind regards,

Alexander McKeown

Reckon Senior Technical Support

Annette_8328831 · March 14

We have just added a multi-user second licence to our Reckon Hosted file and now both users can log-in to GovConnect via the Reckon Portal without MFA. My MFA is still showing with correct details and mobile number but it lets us both log in via our respective accounts without receiving a code.

@Rav is this a glitch?

Painters · March 14

@Annette_8328831 Can you please tell me how much you has to pay for the second licence please?

Annette_8328831 · March 14

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20644085#Comment_20644085

@Painters It was $915.00.

Painters · March 14

@Annette_8328831 OMG. Can you not just change the phone number for while you are away? Thats what I was thinking of doing

Annette_8328831 · March 14

@Painters I'm not sure how that would work. I need it to be problem free.

Robyn Kelly (Partner) · March 14

@Annette_8328831 you SHOULD be able to change from an annual subscription to a monthly subscription instead.

Regards

Robyn Kelly

Accredited Partner

Rav · March 14

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20644084#Comment_20644084

Hi @Annette_8328831

Good to hear you've got your additional setup 🙂.

From May 2024, Multi-Factor Authentication on Reckon Accounts Hosted will become mandatory and you'll be MFA challenged once in a 24 hour period on each device/browser you attempt to login to Reckon Accounts Hosted.

Those changes are coming in May as outlined in the opening post however currently, MFA appears once in a 30 day period per device/browser you login on to Hosted.

Hope that helps but let me know if you have any questions.

Rav · April 2

ℹ️ Reminder - Mandatory MFA for Reckon Accounts Hosted is taking effect in May

If you need help with setting up MFA for your Reckon Accounts Hosted account, check out an overview on getting setup here 👇

How do I setup MFA for Reckon Accounts Hosted? 🔒

We also have a help article which provides detailed instructions and information here - MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) in Reckon Accounts Hosted

Paul Mason · April 2

Hey Rav, I did set this up when we were 1st asked too and I have no Idea where I saved the recovery pin, makes me nervous now to activate it ?

Rav · April 2

Hey @Paul Mason

Glad to hear you've got a head start on MFA for your Hosted account.

Don't worry, if you didn't take note of your Recovery PIN when you setup MFA you can find this by logging into the Reckon Portal ➡️ Click on the Profile button in the top right corner ➡️ Scroll to MFA section at the bottom of the page and select the option to View your Recovery PIN (successful MFA will be required to view).

Screenshot example below

CENTCOAST · April 12

I have two separate external logins, and a third my accountant at their office, to Reckon Hosted for my accounts .how will this work with 3 very separate people accessing this account from different computers.

I have read the thread and it seems that my Google Authenticaor app on my phone will receive the 6 digits and I will have to send to the other external login, how will this work for my accountant in their office, I am often away, if overseas thisa suggests I would have to know I have received and text the number through to either person, very messy, and I suggest almost unworkable. It seems Reckon will need to make more contact numbersw available in their system for the MFA number.

Rav · April 12

Hi @CENTCOAST

MFA is specific to the login so if each of those 3 separate people are logging in using their own individual login credentials ie. their own specific licence then they'll have their own MFA which they can use to authenticate.

CENTCOAST · April 12

2 of us share the one login, as far as my accountant goes , I thought they use my login but , as they have probably a hundred or so clients on Reckon in the same manner as I am, they must have a master login of some sort.

I expect with the two of us then it will be difficult as I will have to send the MFA code to this person.again an ability to have more that one phone number as a code receipent would be more than useful.

One of the big user benefit points for Reckon was the ability of several people to be able to access the accounts from various locations, this MFA seem to destroy that ability, "back to the future" .Having to get a second license at the price mentioned is usurious. Maybe a discounted second access licence would be an answer. WE are small businesses,

GerryWinter · April 12

It is the way the world is going, ring Reckon and see what deal they can do for you.

Sonya Herbert · April 15

only issue i have with this is - another worker comes in 2 times a month to work while I have days off; So if i set it up to have my mobile as the secondary device, she won't be able to log in on the days i'm not in the office. We use the same reckon log in details.

Barbara Allen-Guthrie · April 15

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20644808#Comment_20644808

Sonya I have been reading all these and it does seem a real problem that Reckon are not addressing, they just want everyone to pay for another licence which is not fair, it makes a small business not really viable.

And yes I hear Gerry it is the way of the world, ATO, banks etc they are all making life hard because of scammers.

Maybe it is easier to just got back to the old ways a paper journal was not hacked to my knowledge.

I am struggling with this also, and don't wish to pay $900 for my daughter to do my work for 3-4 weeks while I travel, it is cheaper for me to buy data overseas and do it myself.😥

Painters · April 15

I understand that we need MFA but paying full price for another license is outrageous

Barbara Allen-Guthrie · April 15

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20644810#Comment_20644810

Or even half the full price is outrageous

Wendy_7689800 · April 15

I agree with all the issues listed here. What's going to happen if the designated person is away unexpectedly and can't be reached as the phone being used is their personal phone?

Is it easy to change the mobile number ? If so, if I'm going to be away (and it's not unexpected), can I reset the mobile number to my replacement person?

Barbara Allen-Guthrie · April 15

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20644812#Comment_20644812

That would be the best solution to be able to change the mobile number for the designated time, fingers crossed

Rav · April 15

Hi folks,

We're certainly hearing your feedback around MFA and I fully appreciate that its going to be an adjustment in the initial stages.

Something I do want to be clear about is we're not trying to make things difficult for our Hosted users, its obviously not in our interest to do so.

MFA is a mandated compliance requirement and is in line with regulations set by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). It must be set at the user level so that access is only granted to the authorised person.

I see there's been some questions around 'what if I'm away, I'm going on holiday' etc etc and I think something that has been overlooked here is the account owner has the ability to revoke the existing MFA on the account so it can be setup on a new MFA source. To be fully clear, this does not complement the existing MFA source ie. you cannot have MFA codes be delivered to 2 mobile numbers or apps but rather the next time you login to Hosted you will be able to setup MFA again to a new source of your choosing eg. a different phone number or authenticator app.

As I've said previously, we're always happy to have a chat around managing multiple users and your options when it comes to licences etc. The vast majority of Hosted users operate their own licence per individual user so won't notice a difference once mandatory MFA for Hosted comes into effect next month however if you're sharing a login across multiple users then our customer service team (1800 732 566) is happy to have a conversation around getting the licencing side of things organised & setup.

Wendy_7689800 · April 15

Will Reckon be running training on the "authenticator app" ? I don't have a work mobile phone, I'm the only person using Reckon, I'm hoping that the app will be a better way to go, although the layers of logins is not enticing.

(My sense at the moment is that somehow Cloud Computing isn't living up to its original promise of device-independence. )

Rav · April 15

Hi @Wendy_7689800

We've got a step by step guide on setting up MFA via both authenticator app and SMS here - How do I setup MFA for Reckon Accounts Hosted? 🔒

Its also in the main help guide on MFA with Reckon Accounts Hosted which is linked in the opening post. Either way if you have any questions around setting up or using MFA with Hosted we're than happy to help.

CENTCOAST · April 16

Rav,

is the Google authenticator the appropriate authenticator.

Rav · April 16

@CENTCOAST Yes, the Google Authenticator app is certainly a good option, its an easy one to setup and use and one I personally use myself. You also have the option to use MFA via SMS to your mobile number instead of an authenticator app if you prefer.

Eric Murphy · April 16

@Rav I've already posted about my thoughts around MFA in this thread but as a bit of feedback to you.. you're being far too gracious here with your position around this when it comes to licences.

My clients and I have been doing the right thing since day dot with separate licences for each user. Why should this be any different for anyone else? While I understand no one wants to pay more, particularly in the current economic climate, I'd suggest you be more stringent with enforcing this so you're doing right by your customers who HAVE BEEN doing the right thing.

CENTCOAST · April 16

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20644879#Comment_20644879

Thats your clients and you, completely appropiate, most of us here are talking about several users within thge one organisation, ie holidays , no personal movile phone, multiplre users from the one business at various sites, this was one of the big benefits of Reckon. Multiple entities, eg rental properties, business divisions etc, owned ny either an individual or entity related to individual. My external accountant certainly has their own licences as they have multiple businsses using Reckon, some very old versions I might add. So , Eric a little different to your situation. respectfully.

Carmel Howard · April 17

@Rav, why can't Reckon link the MFA to the User rather than the Licence? Would solve most of the above problems. Due to the impracticality of sharing codes amongst Users, not to mention it defeats the whole purpose of MFA, the only sensible option for our scenario is to switch software. All the other accounting softwares I use as a BAS Agent allow unlimited Users and all the MFA is linked to the individual user rather than the file. I don't understand why Reckon have done it this way.

😒

Barbara Allen-Guthrie · April 17

https://community.reckon.com/discussion/comment/20644895#Comment_20644895

Totally Carmel, as Bookkeepers/Accountants we need to use many software packages beside Reckon, ie Xero, MYOB and they don't have this problem 😱

Rav · April 17

Hi @Carmel Howard, @Barbara Allen-Guthrie

I'm not across the finer details but from what I understand there are stringent ATO requirements when it comes to the implementation of MFA which we need to follow. There isn't great deal of public info around this in all honesty but there's tiny bit of detail here on some of the requirements for MFA although this info is more aimed at software developers rather than users of software/business owners. As you'll note there is a specific requirement of shared logins to be blocked by the service provider for MFA compliance.

Regardless though I just want to be abundantly clear this is a mandated compliance requirement for the enhanced security of your data. I think that's being overlooked to a certain degree in this post although I fully understand some of the use cases and circumstances that have been raised. As I've said previously, we're not trying to make things difficult for our own users but just please be mindful that sharing login credentials isn't best practice and compromises the security to your account.

IMPORTANT INFO - Multi Factor Authentication for Reckon Accounts Hosted 🔒

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ℹ️ Reminder - Mandatory MFA for Reckon Accounts Hosted is taking effect in May

How do I setup MFA for Reckon Accounts Hosted? 🔒

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