What is Xero Accounting Software?
Xero accounting software, first and foremost, is a cloud-based system for keeping track of your day-to-day financial activity. Recommended by accountants across the world, this New Zealand based company was founded in 2006 and has been developing and improving ever since. Within this one
powerful software are a host of excellent features which enable you to do business better and keep your financials in plain view for you. This method of accounting, as opposed to paper-based accounting, also lowers your accountant costs considerably as it organizes and presents all of your
paperwork neatly and in a very accessible way.
How does Xero Accounting work?
With Xero, you have all your financials in one place. You can import your bank transactions to easily reconcile payments with your invoices. Invoicing can be done directly on Xero and you can import bills and other expenses to ensure everything is included and shown in one place. This means no more juggling various software or worse, having huge paper stacks which you need to sift through and file to try get an overall picture of your business’ financial progress. Xero can generate regular reports on demand to give you an up-to-the-minute picture of your finances in real time.
What’s more, your accountant has direct access to your Xero information and thus ensures more timely reports and updates from them. As mentioned, this also ensures better value from your accountant costs as their time is not spent handling paperwork and badly managed paper filing.
What are the features of Xero Accounting Software for Businesses in Ireland?
The following are the main features of Xero accounting for Irish users:
Pay bills
– Keep on top of bills
– Schedule payments
– Store bills in one place
Simple and easy to use, Xero enables you to track and pay bills on time. This helps you get a clear overview of accounts payable and cash flow.
Claim expenses
– Take a photo of receipts
– Reimburse expenses promptly
– Monitor employee spending
– Do expenses on the go
Rather than rely on word of mouth or scraps of paper, you can simplify employee expense claims, capture costs, submit, approve and reimburse expense claims, and view overall spending quickly and easily to limit the chances of overspending.
Import bank transactions*
– Import bank transactions
– Stay on top of business
– Keep your data secure
Import transaction data from your bank and other financial institutions so you can easily monitor your finances. See note below for more details on the current use of this feature.
Accept payments
– Use online invoice payment
– Get paid from the invoice
– Better online protection.
Accept payments online and get paid up to twice as fast by connecting to Stripe, GoCardless and others. Your invoice can include a “Pay Now” button to encourage early payment through a safe and secure system.
Track projects
– Estimate and quote on jobs
– Track time and costs
– Send customised invoices
– View profitability
Quote, invoice and get paid for jobs, plus keep track of time, costs and project profitability within Xero. For any project type business, this is a key feature which simplifies your whole process and enables clear analysis of each project.
Payroll
– Simple payroll sorted
– Auto-create a payment file
– Generate electronic payslips
Pay your employees and keep secure basic payroll records, all within your accounting software.
Payslips can be printed or emailed to employees.
Bank reconciliation
– Reconcile with one click
– Use suggested matches
– Bulk reconcile transactions
Keep your financials in Xero up to date. Categorise your bank transactions each day using our
suggested matches. A simpler and more efficient way to reconcile transactions.
Contacts and smartlists
– See transaction history
– Create lists and groups
– Connect your email
Look up a customer or supplier to see a full history of sales, emails, invoices and payments as well as contact details to keep all info together in one place and reduce the chances of miscommunication and misunderstandings.
Capture data
– Capture bills and receipts
– Extract data automatically
– Match bank transactions
– Store documents online
Get copies of original documents and key data into Xero automatically without manual data entry using Hubdoc, saving you time and/or money as well as being far more accurate.
Cloud based filing system
– Store files in Xero
– See docs alongside data
– Share files in real time
Use Xero as your online filing system. Manage and share documents, contracts, bills and receipts safely from anywhere to ensure swift and easy access.
Reporting
– Get reports anytime
– Customise your reports
– Compare and calculate
– Keep track of business
Track your finances with accurate accounting reports and collaborate with your accountant online in real time.
Inventory
– Track items in stock
– See what’s selling and what’s not
– Add items to invoices
An important feature especially for fast moving and low inventory small businesses – keep track of
what’s in stock with inventory software. Populate invoices and orders with items you buy and sell to ensure correct invoicing.
Send invoices
– Customise your online invoices
– Accept payments instantly
– Set automatic reminders
– Send invoices from your phone
Work smarter with intuitive invoicing software. Send invoices from your phone or desktop, as soon as the job is done increasing the likelihood of early payment and showing your professionalism to your
clients. Auto reminders ensure less time spent chasing payments.
Multi-currency accounting
– Instant conversions
– View rate change updates
– Report in any currency
Pay and get paid in over 160 currencies, with up-to-date exchange rates and instant currency conversions.
Purchase orders
– Customise purchase orders
– Create online orders
– Convert orders into bills
Create and send purchase orders online with purchase order software. Keep track of orders and deliveries at every step. Along with the inventory feature, this can ensure excellent inventory management and lowers the risk of items being out of stock.
Quotes
– Create online quotes
– Clients easily click to accept a quote
– Convert quotes to invoices
Create online or PDF quotes that make a great impression. No more rough verbal quotes or paper that gets lost. You and your client will have access to the full detail of every quote. Send them
instantly from your phone or from the office and allow easy acceptance and approval for your clients.
Sales tax
– Customise VAT rates
– Automate calculations
– Prepare VAT returns
Automatically calculate VAT on transactions, and use reports to prepare VAT returns.
*Importing bank transactions
As a global business, there are some differences in how the software is set up in different countries.
Thankfully, in Ireland, we have access to the full range of Xero features with one exception. This is that transactions cannot be directly imported from your bank account if you bank with one of the Irish banks listed below. This is a change which is due to Brexit and Xero are currently seeking a
solution. In the meantime, the only difference is that you will need to download transactions from your Irish bank and then upload them to Xero. This is a simple process and doesn’t really cause a major change but is important to mention as it may be different to guides you see online. As mentioned, Xero is working on a solution for this and will likely find one in the not-so-distant future.
Your accountant can show you how to do this or this is the explanation from Xero themselves:
Irish bank feeds affected
– AIB (Republic of Ireland)
– Bank of Ireland (Republic of Ireland)
– Ulster Bank (Republic of Ireland)
If you bank with the UK branch of these banks, your bank feeds are unaffected.
Manually importing transactions into Xero
You can manually import transactions from your bank statement into Xero in either OFX, QIF or CSV format. Export bank statements from your online banking or create your own CSV file, then import into Xero.
How can Xero Accounting help your business?
The effects of Xero on your business are a number of very key elements in today’s business world.
Control over your income and expenditure
With your Xero Dashboard you can see your current financial situation at a glance. In addition, you can see what has and hasn’t been paid in your invoices and bills. Knowing your financial situation enables you to make informed decisions and focus on what is important both in the short and longer
term.
Speed in many areas
Speed in business can be the difference between success and failure. If you can send that quote for the job immediately, you increase your conversion chances. If you make quick decisions based on your financial situation, inventory and contact data, you can optimize your work flow and provide a better service for clients while not taking risks.
Accuracy
When your data is up to date, your decisions can be safer and more effective. Having data you can rely on is a key benefit of Xero and is not limited to financials. With your customer emails and communications all within Xero and organized, you can ensure you are providing exactly what they need, when they need it.
Data
We hear a lot about data these days and often it is negative. However, with secure data
management and the possibility to have all the data you need anywhere you happen to be, it
provides a better customer experience and more informed communication from you.
Mobility
Wherever you are – the office, on site, with a client, on holiday or away sourcing products – you can be assured that your financials are always at hand. With work from home and work from anywhere becoming more and more important, this feature of your accounting and data being in your pocket will prove invaluable.
Confidence
When you can be confident in your situation, you reassure customers and staff alike. With a couple of taps you can see your situation, understand your client needs and access relevant files and information. This allows you to deliver quotes, invoices, approvals and decisions within minutes and reduces the need for “I’ll get back to you” statements which can delay things hugely.
Professionalism
With all of the above, your clients and suppliers will be impressed and assured of your professionalism. This then leads to greater trust and, for clients, results in more business; for
suppliers it can help in business and credit term negotiations.
Working with a Xero Accounting Partner Accountant
At Bradan Accountants, we try to keep things as simple as possible for you and as a Xero Partner
Accountant in Ireland , we use this and other great technology to make life easier. Not only that, we are friendly and answer your queries promptly whether about Xero or something else.
– We love technology and cloud-based apps that can save time or give more insight than you
had before.
– We help you use Xero to maximum effect in a way that suits your specific business
– We are an accounting firm that changes the game for our clients.
– We show you the goalposts to aim for rather than just tell you the score.
– We put in place simple systems that make your business run efficiently while ensuring you
capture the information you need to thrive and achieve your goals.
– We make it as simple as possible while ensuring the right information is captured and
available for decision making.
For more information on how we can help you use Xero Accounting software, see our page Xero Accounting Partner