QuickBooks used to be the top accounting software in the industry until a new accounting solution based out of New Zealand was introduced known as Xero. While Xero has still not been able to match QuickBooks with regards to functionality, it is definitely a formidable opponent.

What is Xero?

Xero is an easy-to-use and cloud-based accounting solution designed to help entrepreneurs and small business owners to keep track of their finances, expenses, income, payroll, and much more on any device. Xero helps keep your finances at your fingertips from any part of the globe and at any given time.

Who Should Use Xero?

Xero is an excellent solution for contractors, sole proprietors, small business owners, and even freelancers looking to implement a simple-to-use accounting system. At Success Accounting Group, we have implemented Xero for most of our clients. We also use it ourselves in our business and in the management of our investments since 2012.

Top Xero Features

It would be an understatement to say that Xero has many features. It is powerful accounting software targeting small business owners primarily. Whether you would like to track and monitor business finances while on the move, from your local coffee shop, between meetings, or from the beach, Xero is your best bet. It gives you the features, flexibility, and power to do so if that is what you want.

Payments and Invoices

Xero lets you accept PayPal, credit card, and debit card payments from your clients and send them online invoices, which helps you get paid faster. You can add your logo to the invoice templates provided by Xero or customize your own invoice design. The automated payment reminders are a feature that sets Xero apart. You can customize automated emails to customers and clients to get paid faster.

Bank Account Updates

Xero lets you receive automatic bank updates and reconcile your accounts. The software imports all your credit card and bank transactions every day automatically. You can set up custom rules to your bank and credit card transactions to allow for simple and straightforward reconciliation of statements.

Paying Bills

Xero helps you manage your business cash flow and pay your bills. It helps you see the due bills and provides a visual representation of how your business funds are being spent. You can use Xero and email to send documents and bills for your records and attach files directly to your company’s bills to improve the efficiency of your record keeping. Xero also lets you set up recurring bill payments each month or in a period of your choosing. You can even assign costs directly to customers and their bills.

Tracking Inventory

Xero allows business owners to manage stock control functions and track their inventory. It also generates a report of the performance of products and how their performance is affected by the inventory. You can see details including stock levels, profit margins per item, date of stocking, average purchase cost, warehouse stock values, and various other data points that help you use the information to make important business decisions regarding the product pricing and inventory ordering of the company.

Xero Support

Xero is great at a number of things but Xero support can be hard to get, Their phone number is 1800 CALL XERO / 1800 22 55 93 and maybe the helpline you need. The online Xero support portal https://help.xero.com/ may also help you. In any case, most of our clients rely on us to manage their XERO account for them. 

Accounting Software with Payroll Features

You can add a payroll feature to your Xero software depending on the plan of choice. The payroll option allows business managers and owners to track the number of hours that employees work and even approve vacation time. The payroll feature also allows members of staff to access their payroll, hours, and even leave request details from any device using the Xero smartphone app. Staff can submit timesheets, view pay stubs, and even apply for vacation right from the app.

The payroll feature allows you to pay their employees via direct deposit or printing out a physical check. Xero’s check designer even allows you to customize the check design. You can set up quarterly. Monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly, and weekly payments for your employees. Xero calculates your federal and state payroll taxes automatically for you and it is also quite easy to file the payroll taxes from Xero directly.

Other amazing payroll features from Xero include:

– Allows your accountant to view the payroll details

– Allows you to pay employees different rates as needed

– Connecting payroll to human resources, time management, and other apps

– Reimbursement of employee’s expenses

– Creating reports for bank transactions, payroll history, etc.

 

Xero Subscription Options

Xero offers monthly subscription plans for its services. It has 3 levels of subscription available for business owners to purchase. The 3 plans are:

Xero Starter Plan

The Xero Starter plan is currently about $9 monthly before discount and includes 5 quotes or invoices, 5 bills, and 20 bank transaction reconciliations.

Xero Standard Plan

The Xero Standard plan is currently $30 monthly before discount and does not have a set limit of the number of bills, quotes, or invoices you can send to clients and customers. It also includes the payroll management feature for a maximum of 5 employees. It is the best value plan for most solopreneurs and small businesses. It is enough to cover the needs of a majority of small businesses.

Xero Premium Plan

The Xero Premium plan is at the top level and costs $70 monthly before discount and covers payroll for a maximum of 10 employees. For an additional monthly cost, you can increase the Premium plan to a maximum of 100 employees for the payroll feature. The Premium plan also allows you to receive and pay expenses in different currencies for any international business transactions.

Free Trial

Xero offers a 30-day free trial to all new clients. You can sign up and receive and receive 30 percent within your first six months.

You never have to worry about being locked into long-term contracts since Xero does not have any ongoing contracts. Monthly payments make it easier for business owners to project certain expenses. You may discover that Xero is a flexible and affordable method for managing your inventory, payroll, books, and various other accounting needs.

Tracking Your Business Everywhere

Small business owners, freelancers, sole proprietors, and contractors often find themselves struggling with the management of their business finances and accounting software is necessary for keeping up with their changing needs. This is where Xero comes in.

Xero is much more than just a cloud-based accounting software. It is everything you require to track the expenses and income in your small business all in one place. You can manage your business from your home office, while on the move, from the beach, or from any other location with the Xero app, which is available on Android or iOS.

The number of features added to Xero’s monthly plans are amazing. The software syncs with many business apps that you might be currently using in your day-to-day operations. If you would like to learn more about the other features of the software not listed here and what it can do for your business, please contact Success Accounting Group Today.

Xero is a leader when it comes to online accounting solutions specifically designed for small businesses. Whether you are a small business with 100 employees or a solopreneur, Xero is a great accounting software solution designed to help take your business a notch higher. It makes it easy for you to stay in control of your finances and allows you to seamlessly work with customers, employees, advisors, and clients.

To learn more how Xero can be part of your business life, contact Success Accounting Group today for a demonstration of how it can benefit you. We can discuss all the plans available that best meet your business needs. We can help you set up Xero and we even provide training for your accounting staff so that they learn how to use Xero properly.

5 reasons why Success Accounting Group is best to move your business across to Xero:

1. We use it ourselves in our business and managing of our investments since 2012 and we love it! It is simple and cost-effective.
2. We are a Silver Partner and have more than 50% of our business clients using Xero. We’ ll get you up to speed, smoother and quicker as we are experienced.
3. We’re entrepreneurs ourselves and we want to automate our administration as much as possible so we have more time to do the fun stuff – which is work on the business.
4. We have all our accountants trained up on  XERO, which can support your bookkeeper and you to freely learn the software and integrate into your business
5. We will show you the latest add-on features that can further get extra value for you and your business.

When we say we are entrepreneurs and not your average accounting firm, we‘re focused on sourcing the latest and best tools and technology to automate our clients business so you have more time to work on your business rather such in it.  You see, in addition to Success Accounting Group, we also have an active business in property investing, conduct regular seminars on Xero training and implementation. Hence, we use Xero, workflow max to manage all our businesses, creating more time to do so.

To learn more how Xero can be part of your business life, we invite you to attend our information session on 4th of June or contact us and we can provide you with a demonstration of how Xero will benefit your business.

As a client of Xero our self, we have never looked back before days of Xero and so will you.

Contact us and we’ll talk through all the plans we have available that will meet your needs. We can even help you set up, convert to Xero and provide training for your accounting staff so they learn how to use Xero.