Why we love Xero

Posted 11/03/2016
Why we love Xero

Xero gives you the flexibility to run your business from your Mac, PC, tablet or phone. Manage your invoicing, bank reconciliations, payroll, stock, quotes, expense claims, payments to suppliers and reporting all from the comfort of your office, home or on the move. Get a real-time view of your cashflow, reduce manual data entry, get paid faster and improve your cashflow – what could be better?!

Thousands of people are moving across to Xero, and in September 2015, they passed the 100,000-user mark, a milestone described as “significant” by the managing director, Gary Turner. A further pleasing development is also in the wings, as Xero confirmed a partnership with Google, which sees its platforms integrate Google’s Gmail and Google Apps for Work. This will enable businesses to export content from Xero to Google’s spreadsheet software Sheets, to collaborate with customers, suppliers and financial advisers. With the way that Accountancy is moving forward, and the way in which people are now doing business, we think it’s the perfect solution.

Xero user experience

The user experience that you get from Xero is second to none. It’s aesthetically pleasing and very simple to use. For us, as Accountants, it is the perfect platform to help us to take your business forward as we can work with your real-time information enabling us to give you the best advice. Because it’s cloud based, you can connect to bank feeds which significantly reduces the manual input into most accounting solutions. Bank rules can be set up for recurring payments, which in-turn reduces your on-going bookkeeping time.

Xero really does give you everything you need to run your business as efficiently as possible. It has a very sophisticated stock system, which not only helps you to know what you’ve got at any time, but also helps to speed up he invoicing process whilst tracking sales and purchases. Xero supports over 160 currencies and the rates are updated hourly., which is great news if you have overseas customers or suppliers.

Managing Xero payment

You can manage your spending and make payments in bulk, create and email custom purchase orders, create expense claims anytime, and review and approve receipts. You can also manage your contacts, suppliers and customers, as well as seeing the business activities you’ve done together and the emails you’ve exchanged. From the data you hold, you can also create targeted customer lists.

Security has been an issue that we have come up against several times since promoting Xero. Clients have been wary about using bank feeds, and understandably so. However, Xero have invested heavily in industry-leading infrastructure to ensure that your data is safe, secure and protected – yet always available for you when you need it. Xero uses a two-step authentication process, which provides more than adequate protection against phishing or malware attacks. As well as using your Xero password to log in you also need to enter a code generated by an authenticator app installed on your smart phone.

Support for Xero is totally free and is available around the clock, wherever you are in the world, which is pretty impressive. Their online help centre gives in-depth information and tips on everything Xero.

There are other courses you can do and free webinars to build on your knowledge, and of course, we are always at hand to provide you with any support you might need. Our in-house Xero guru’s will run through the software with you to ensure that you are as proficient as you need to be, to leave us to do the rest.

Finally, Xero offers a multitude of modular add-ons which make your system better, from CRM systems to detailed sales order processes, plus website add-ons which pull information from your own website.

Speak to a Kirkwood Wilson Accountants adviser today about your Payroll or Auto-enrolment needs by calling 01704 546000 or email enquiries@kirkwoodwilson.co.uk.


Posted 11/03/2016