Xero For Dummies. Heather Smith
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to the micro or start-up business, with limited transactions. This package allows you to send and receive 20 invoices per month and 5 approved bills each calendar month. You can have an unlimited number of draft or historical invoices, bills and credit notes. You can also reconcile 20 bank statement lines per calendar month. (Note: This applies to the date of the transaction. So if you have reconciled 20 transactions dated in April, you won’t be able to reconcile any more transactions that are dated in April, even if you try to reconcile them after the month has ended.) Bills and receipts can be captured in the document collection and management software Hubdoc. This solution is powered by Xero. A variety of customisable reports are available, including short-term cash flow and business snapshot dashboards, along with payroll for one person.
Standard: The standard package is suited to the typical small business. Using this package, you can send and receive hundreds of invoices per month, and reconcile hundreds of bank statement lines per week. You can also record payroll for two people.
Premium: This package size grows in relation to the number of employees to be processed through the system. As well as being able to send and receive hundreds of invoices per month and reconcile hundreds of bank statement lines per week, using the premium package means you also have multi-currency capabilities, payroll direct deposit (in the US version) and auto-superannuation (in the Australian version).
All editions also include the following features:
Automatic online backups
Demo company files so you can explore options
A free trial version before you sign up (only available if you sign up to Xero directly, rather than through an accountant or bookkeeper)
No set-up fees, upgrade requirements or contracts
Unlimited customer support
Depending on the regional option you select, you may have access to additional features in Xero. For example:
The Australian version includes a robust in-built payroll and Activity statements (see Chapters 6 and 10), and the premium version allows for automated superannuation payments.
The US version includes 1099 and GAAP compliance, as well as integration with the Track1099 e-filing and preparation tools (Chapter 10), and the ability to produce checks (Chapter 7).
The New Zealand version includes GST Return and e-filing functionality, connecting you directly to Inland Revenue.
The UK version includes VAT Returns, VAT Audit Returns and online filing facilities with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) (Chapter 10).
Additional functionality can be attained by subscribing to region-specific add-ons. For example:
Claim Expenses is a claim-tracking tool for managing employees’ expenses. The tool is available as an add-on in all regions except the US, where it’s included in the Established package.CHECKING THE COMPANY HISTORY PAGESNew Zealand is not only famous for rugby, spectacular scenery and hobbits scurrying around Middle-earth. Somewhere along the way, it has also become the incubator and launch pad for many digital enterprises, including Xero. Founders Hamish Edwards and Rod Drury first met in 2003, when Hamish was virtual CFO of Rod’s software company. In April 2006 co-founder Craig Walker joined the team. (His offer from Drury went something along the lines of ‘I'm doing my next big thing — you in? You start on Monday’.) Frustrated by clunky desktop-based accounting packages, technology evangelist Drury wanted more. On 1 May 2006, Walker started writing code on what would become the first version of the yet to be named Xero. The fourth co-founder, Philip Fierlinger, joined in July 2006. By this time, accounting expertise plus technological ingenuity plus business acumen equalled Xero, revolutionising and simplifying how business owners run a business.Discarding existing models, Edwards, Drury, Walker and Fierlinger started clean and built a single ledger online accounting system that enabled integration with bank feeds. Co-founder Gary Turner joined in 2009 as the Managing Director of their UK operations.Due to the online nature of the software, no longer do users need to wait for annual updates. Online updates are implemented by head office in the wee hours of the morning. Businesses don’t need to waste time installing updates and upgrading files — they simply start their day accessing new features.Xero is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. It is available globally and has local teams in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Asia, South Africa and Europe.
Track Projects is a job-tracking tool. It’s available as an add-on in all regions except the US, where it’s included in the Established package.
Analytics Plus is a collection of Advisory Tools including a short-term cash flow projection and business snapshot. This tool is available as an add-on in all regions except the US and Canada, where it is included in the Established or Premium package.
The UK version includes the option of Submit CIS returns for the Construction Industry Scheme and Pay with Wise, a bills payment solution.
Homepage: Checking Out the Dashboard
Once you have set up your Xero account (see Chapters 2 and 3), you just have to log into your account, using your password, to access the My Xero homepage — what Xero calls the Dashboard. Across the top of the dashboard is the menu bar for quick access to all areas of Xero.
Here’s a quick overview of the different parts of Xero’s main dashboard’s menu bar:
Dashboard: Provides an overview of bank, credit card and online payment gateway accounts; an Account Watchlist; and a summary of invoices owed to you, bills you need to pay, expense claims, and total cash in and out.
Business: Here you can access bank account details, sales (Chapter 6), purchases (Chapter 7), pay run (Australian, New Zealand, United Kingdom and US users can access advanced payroll features), Products and Services (inventory — Chapter 13), and Expense Claims or New Expenses (depending on when you started your subscription — Chapter 7).
Accounting: Here you can access reports and the Budget Manager features (Chapter 12) and more advanced settings such as conversion balances, and the Adviser area. (Note: The Accounting area can only be seen by users with Adviser access; see Chapter 4 for more on setting access for users). You can also access fixed assets from here (Chapter 14).
Payroll: For editions