Xero Accounting supports several accounting use cases quite effectively. We highly recommend Xero for small business needs as part of our Business Web Tools recommendations. Below is a high-level overview of some of the benefits you can look forward so as a user of the platform.
Accurate Numbers
Maintaining up-to-date financials is non-negotiable for any accountant or accounting department. This means being able to adequately categorize and reconcile transactions at will. With a well-designed integration, your bank data can securely flow into Xero. From there, you can use automated reconciliation types or go for manual execution if desired. Daily bank reconciliation makes it that much easier to stay on top of your numbers, and you can even code transactions in bulk if desired. The best part is that if your bank does not support the direct connection to Xero Accounting, you can do a manual importation of your bank statements instead.
Forecasting and Tracking
The accounting discipline goes beyond what has already gone. Budgeting and preparation are also crucial and require the ability to look ahead. Xero Accounting provides built-in cash flow projections, as well as financial health and tracking metrics. This means not only can you take proactive action with an informed forecast, but you can also see how invoices and bills affect your business, while being able to easily identify which invoices are the most urgent. Finally, the convenient interface also allows you to quickly get a top-level view of your financial performance, providing you with the same information as your advisor on the fly.
Device Independence
Flexibility is synonymous with Xero Accounting Software. For this reason, you don’t need to be confined to a PC to confidently handle your accounting affairs. Instead, Xero has a mobile app that allows you to complete your transaction reconciliation, manage invoices, view tracking metrics, and more on the go!
Easy Payroll Processing
Taking care of your employees is just as important as managing other business affairs, so you’ll be glad to know that Xero Accounting makes pay runs and payroll record management incredibly simple to handle. You can enter employee hours, rates, taxes, and deductions, with the option of recording leave too! With that done, you can then pay a few employees, while maintaining secure records. Of course, your workers likely need their pay slips, so Xero Accounting allows you to either print them or send them via e-mail. If you want to make things even more comprehensive, you can connect a Xero Accounting Software-supported third-party payroll app.
Automation
Why manually handle repetitive elements of the accounting process when Xero Accounting provides comprehensive automation options to take care of them? For example, offload remembering and logging everyday business activities, automate reconciliation activities, set up bank rules for seamless transaction coding, implement automatic invoice reminders and repeating invoices for workload lightening, and speed up your bill entry with e-invoicing.
Project Profitability Analysis
With expense requirements, revenue expectations, inputs, and more, your business can evaluate how profitable a project will be before it gets too far into execution. This also means that as activities progress, you can monitor the extent to which the financial side of things is moving according to your projections, allowing you to make changes on the fly to secure more favorable results.
Hit the Ground Running
Implementing new systems can often be a chore, but Xero Accounting does not fall under that umbrella. With its “Xero 101” video series, a surprisingly gentle introduction is provided, which is simple enough to get just about anyone up and running with the software.
Support
You can get Xero Accounting Software support in several ways, across learning courses and materials, as well as extensive support articles in Xero Central. Provided you don’t find the information you need, all subscribers are offered 24/7 unlimited online support. Based on your issue, you are directed to the most qualified team to handle your concern.
Security
Financial data security is non-negotiable. Xero is ISO 27001 and PCI DSS v3.2, SAQ compliant. So, apart from payment gateway security, your data is encrypted both in transition and at rest. You can also take advantage of multi-factor authentication to prevent unwanted parties from logging in even if they have your password. Beyond this, there are SOC 2 security assurance audits and the ability for you to request security assurance reports at will.
Who Is Xero for?
The program comes highly recommended for small businesses in the construction, hospitality, manufacturing, real estate, retail, and farming industries, alongside others. Startups, non-profits, and self-employed persons can all benefit tremendously from the platform.
Bottom Line
Xero Accounting makes the financial side of small businesses more manageable, as it takes advantage of well-designed technological innovations. You may sign up for a 30-day free trial with no commitment to get a preview of the benefits highlighted above before any purchase.
