I’m sure most business owners know a little about accounting software like Xero because they’re probably using it to some extent for producing invoices.
But did you know that accounting software can give you more than just the basic function of producing invoices?
And you don’t have to be an accountant to use and understand it!
Here at Revive we are a Xero Partner Practice and only use Xero. We decided to concentrate on one package alone, so we can deliver a higher level of expertise to our clients.
And since we have been using it for several years now, we find that it really works well for small businesses.
So what is Xero exactly?
It’s a cloud-based accounting solution which can be operated from any device…PC, tablet, mobile. This means that you can do things like check your bank balances, create invoices, see your current profit, and even upload receipts…all while you’re on the move.
But what I want to highlight are some of the features that are available within Xero which you might not be aware of…
- Repeating Invoices
There’s a feature called ‘repeating invoices’ – this means that you can set it up so that an invoice repeats every so many days/weeks/months etc. This really is a time saver if you invoice some of your customers on a regular basis.
- Connected Apps
There are over 1,000 third party apps available that can integrate with Xero; from payment to inventory to CRM to ecommerce. The choice is unbelievable.
And they can help you be so much more streamlined in your business.
For example, payment apps such as GoCardless or Stripe mean that once your customer receives an invoice, they can just click on a payment icon on it and this will allow them to pay it straightaway. And we all know that the quicker customers pay you, the better!
- Receipts and Supplier Invoices
There’s an app that comes with Xero called Hubdoc. You can take photos of your receipts/supplier invoices in the app where they’ll be processed and stored in Xero as an electronic record of the transaction. No more having to take a bag of paper receipts to your accountant – a definite time saver!
And if you have a receipt or supplier invoice in electronic format already, you can just forward it to a specific email address you are given and it gets uploaded.
- Users
You can set up multiple users with Xero and the beauty of this is that all users can be logged in at the same time.
AND your accountant can check your accounts on a regular basis so they can see what is happening. If you have any questions about something on your account, they have instant access to the software.
- Products and Services
Xero lets you set up a list of products and services you regularly buy and sell so you can quickly add them to invoices, bills and other documents. This means you don’t have to repeatedly type the same stuff each time you create an invoice – another real time saver.
- Bank Accounts
You can link all your business bank accounts to Xero so you have a live view of transactions coming in and out. These transactions can be reconciled quickly meaning that your bookkeeping is up to date!
- Departments
Tracking categories can be easily set up and this enables you to see how different areas of your business are performing.
So, if you have different sales activities within your business, for example…if you deliver several different services, you could split these out and you’d be able to see what your sales of each are.
You can also set a second tracking category, for example…if you have several offices, you could split these out.
You could then see what your sales of each service are in each location.
- Reports
Reports are one of the best features of Xero…there are lots of reports already built in, but you can also create your own custom reports.
Being able to access your Profit & Loss report at the click of a button means you can see if there are any problems you need to be aware of. You certainly don’t have to wait for your accountant to run this report off and send it to you anymore.
- Support
If you’re ever unsure about something, you can look through the vast support articles which are available at your fingertips within your account, and if you still can’t find the answer, you can submit a request for support direct to Xero.
Oh, and having an accountant specializing in Xero means that they can support you so much better!
All of these fabulous features work really well with our clients, and they help them to streamline their day to day accounts. They can literally save you lots of time because of the automation built in, and you have all your data at your fingertips. You will never have to wait until months after your year end to find out how much profit you made!
We’d love to learn more about your business so we can show you how Xero would be the best fit. So if you’re interested in talking to us about Xero and how it could help you, why not head to our contact form to get in touch with us.