If you’ve spent any time shortlisting desktop accounting software in Hong Kong, you’ve almost certainly run into two names: ABSS (formerly MYOB Asia) and Giga Accounting. Both have been serving HK SMEs for years; both run locally on Windows; both promise full double-entry accounting without the monthly subscription creep of international cloud tools.
But the two products were built with different assumptions, and that shows up in day-to-day use. This article compares them directly — what each does well, where each falls short, and how to decide which is the better fit for your business.
What Is ABSS (Formerly MYOB)?
ABSS is the rebrand of MYOB’s Asia business. After MYOB exited the region in the late 2010s, the Asia-Pacific product continued under the ABSS name, sold through a network of local resellers. It kept much of the original MYOB codebase and user experience, which will feel familiar to anyone who used MYOB a decade ago.
In Hong Kong, ABSS is typically sold in three tiers (Basic, Plus, Premier), with Premier adding multi-currency and multi-user support. Licensing is usually a one-time purchase per version, with optional annual upgrade cover.
ABSS Strengths for HK Businesses
ABSS has genuine strengths, particularly for businesses that fit its historical profile:
- Mature core bookkeeping. General ledger, AR, AP, bank reconciliation, and basic inventory are well-tested after decades in the market.
- Familiar interface. For anyone trained on MYOB or older ABSS versions, the learning curve is essentially zero.
- One-time pricing. No forced monthly subscription — important for businesses that want predictable costs.
- Local reseller network. On-site setup and training is available through a number of HK consulting firms.
If your operations are relatively simple, your team already knows MYOB/ABSS, and you prefer not to pay a recurring fee, ABSS can be a reasonable choice.
ABSS Limitations to Know
ABSS also carries limitations that come up in practice:
- Traditional Chinese support is partial. Reports, data entry screens, and printed documents do not always render Chinese characters cleanly, especially for older modules.
- HK-specific reports require customisation. Out of the box, report formats lean toward Australian/regional conventions rather than HKFRS presentation.
- Version upgrades can be disruptive. Moving between major versions sometimes requires reseller assistance and careful data conversion.
- Cloud options are limited. ABSS is fundamentally a desktop product. Remote access typically relies on shared hosting or VPN setups rather than native cloud.
- Support depends on the reseller. Quality varies significantly between local partners.
How Giga Accounting Compares Feature-by-Feature
Giga Accounting was designed from the ground up for Hong Kong SMEs. It shares the desktop-first philosophy with ABSS, but differs on several specifics:
- Language and localisation. Full Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and English interfaces throughout — including input forms, screens, and printed reports. No character rendering issues.
- HKFRS-ready reports. Balance sheet, P&L, general ledger, and statutory schedules are formatted to what HK auditors expect, with no manual reformatting at year-end.
- Multi-company on one licence. You can manage several Hong Kong entities (including holding companies, BVIs, or subsidiary trading arms) without paying per company.
- Native cloud and desktop options. Giga Accounting offers both a Windows desktop edition and a true cloud edition — the same accounting engine, delivered two ways, depending on whether you want local data control or remote access.
- Direct vendor support. Support goes to the developer team, not to a reseller in the middle, which means clearer escalation and faster fixes.
- Transparent one-time or flat pricing. No per-user escalators and no per-company add-ons.
For businesses where Chinese-language records, HKFRS-formatted reporting, and multi-entity structures matter — which covers most locally owned HK SMEs — these differences add up.
Pricing and Total Cost of Ownership
Both ABSS and Giga Accounting use one-time or flat-fee pricing rather than recurring per-user subscriptions. On a three-year horizon, the total cost tends to look like this:
- ABSS: one-time licence per tier, plus optional annual upgrade cover, plus reseller fees for setup, training, and support. Multi-company typically means additional licences or workarounds.
- Giga Accounting: one-time or flat fee covering the platform, multi-company usage, and direct vendor support. Optional add-ons for specific modules if needed.
The sticker price can look similar. The real difference tends to show up in the hidden costs — reseller charges, report reformatting time, additional licences for second entities — which typically tilt the three-year number in favour of Giga Accounting for HK-based operations.
Which Is the Better Fit — and for Whom?
There is no universally correct answer, but the decision usually breaks down like this:
- Stick with ABSS if your team is already deeply trained on it, your reporting is primarily internal, and your business is small and simple enough that the limitations don’t bite.
- Move to Giga Accounting if you need Chinese-language records, HKFRS reporting that your auditor will accept without edits, multi-entity support, or a cloud option — and if you’d rather deal directly with the developer than through a reseller.
A free trial costs nothing except the time to run it. The fastest way to decide is to install both against the same sample data from your own books and see which one actually matches how your team works.
Try Giga Accounting Before You Commit
If you’re weighing ABSS against Giga Accounting, the sensible next step is to try them side by side on your real data. Giga Accounting by 凌峰會計 offers a free trial of both the Windows desktop edition and the cloud edition, with no time pressure and no credit card required.
Want help comparing specific modules against your current ABSS setup? Get in touch with our team for a walkthrough, review our transparent pricing, or read the broader 2026 accounting software guide for HK SMEs to see how both products sit against the wider market.
