Xero was the best choice back in 2015 (when no one gave multi-currency) and still is in 2021 (when there are some who do). I have now added another company to Xero and cannot imagine shifting to another platform....ever.
Pros
With most clients abroads, we find its best to bill them in their local currency. Luckily for us, Xero is there to help sort our books out and keep them in order. It integrates with many bank feeds & popular wallets/fintechs like PayPal, Payoneer & TransferWise so accounts are upto date - always.
Another feature we really use is their tracking fields. Xero allows users to setup 2 tracking fields that can be added to invoices, expenses, bills and assigned to each line. This helps us keep track of project based work and has been our way since before Xero ventured into Project based accounting (that users need to pay additional fee for)
It also integrates with online payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe, GoCardless, and a few others; thus payments are a breeze for clients.
As a non-accountant, Xero is easy to use even when you get into all the features it provides.
Cons
They have made some changes to their UI esp where invoices and expenses are concerned. Luckily for older users, expenses are still free however, for new users it isnt and each person filing expenses on it needs to pay a small fee. I think it should be free for a small number of users (atleast 2) and then charged.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
I was reluctant to pay the extra costs to move to Xero from my previous cheaper package but I am more than happy that I finally made the switch. It is a fraction of the cost of having a book-keeper to pay and I feel so much more confident that my accounts are working correctly. The option of additional plugins aid the automation for syncing with software such as woocommerce and amazon, ebay etc. It is a shame that they are additional costs but I would prefer that I had the option to integrate than not, and they are great time savers, which is the biggest help for small business owners.
Pros
Xero has a lot of automated features that make the process of accounts preparation easy and reliable. The bank feeds work smoothly and it is easy to set up rules to make the process automated on regular transactions - just a click to confirm entry. I have been able to integrate woocommerce, amazon and ebay transactions to ensure I am correctly treating VAT and International orders and purchases correctly.
Cons
As with any new accountancy software, there is a bit of technical detail to get your head around but that is probably to be expected. There are good help articles that are useful for the set up phase.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
Mostly good apart from the above which really grate with me. They don't seem to be developing the core product at all. It has barely changed in my 4 years of usage.
Pros
Easy to use for non-accountants. Inexpensive.
Cons
Invoices, purchase orders etc are not sent out from your own email address but from messaging-service @post.xero.com. This looks unprofessional and spammy, I have had customers reply by copying and pasting that email address and it's binned by Xero. You can't format email text in any way either. No bold, no italics - nothing!
The inventory (products and services) listings cannot be accessed by administration staff unless given full access to financial reports. So the accountant or business owner has to make small modifications to the inventory even though they are not familiar with product descriptions, prices etc. This is very poor.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 4/10
Solid and simple cloud accounting solution that is easy to navigate and customise. Great that our external accountants and legal support can access online as they need. Seems to be continuously evolving and its reassuring to see ongoing development of the product.
Pros
Customisable dashboard is a time saver and ability to customise templates helps with consistency for our company branding. Customisation of user permissions means the bonus of staff being able to enter their own expenses which is a further time saver. Being able to work across multiple currencies now is a plus, albeit I wish we could manually adjust exchange rates being used.
Cons
Many advanced features that are standard for longer established accounting software solutions are available, but as "bolt on" packages, so costs can escalate quickly if you need full "bells and whistles".
Customer service response can be very slow compared to other cloud software providers we use - in the beginning they were responsive for engagement but over time they're clearly pushing all customers towards getting answers from their user community and/or through the Q&A section. I appreciate that customer service probably don't want to be wasting time with queries better addressed by professional book-keepers or accountants, but in our instance, as "advanced users", our customer service queries tend to be related to technical challenges with the product. It would be great of Xero could analyse the types of queries coming from their customers and perhaps have a priority helpline on offer for "low maintenance" subscribers.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 8/10
I am happy, can be connected with my clients all the time, can prepare reports anywhere, anytime. I think the price for South Africa is a bit high
Pros
I like the product is easy to use, no need high knowledge of accounting, the person who never was doing accounting can easily manage this product
Cons
there is still missing a few things as inventory shall be a bit changed as people with two inventories in different places can not have two storages, there are few things that missing and can make it easier to work with
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
Starter: $13.5/month
Standard: $26/month
Premium: $33.5/month
Xero is an online accounting software suite that utilizes a modern cloud network to fully accommodate the complete range of accounting needs. The app allows you to coordinate and manage all financial processes within an easy to use platform, accessible from all internet-enabled devices.
The software is geared towards small to medium-sized businesses looking to increase their accounting efficiency while at the same time adding a little fun to the process. The app also serves as a remote collaboration and advisory platform for accounting professionals, eliminating the need for client visits and unnecessary paperwork.
The user-friendly dashboard transforms the resource draining and time-consuming tasks of transaction monitoring, bill paying, invoice issuing, purchase order creation and expenses management - to name a few - into enjoyable activities that support accountants in their daily tasks and free-up business owners to get more out of their limited time. Xero also provides payroll management for users, customers or businesses in the US and Australia.
Xero’s main purpose is to transform the accounting processes into a more efficient and enjoyable experience for small business owners and their accountants. The app succeeds in doing this by allowing all team members concerned in financial operations to connect to the company’s financial database via their desktop computers, laptops and mobile devices. This enables all stakeholders and the company accountant to track, collaborate on, and complete accounting tasks from home or on the go.
The benefits of using Xero to manage your accounting activity are evident in the enhanced accessibility of financial data, the collaboration opportunities, the transparent pricing and processes, and the unburdening of time and human resources.
Using Xero, small businesses who previously relied on spreadsheets, messy paperwork and dispersed files to manage their balance sheets, can rest in the knowledge that their financial data is more accurate and up-to-date than ever.
Xero’s target users are small businesses and their accountant/ bookkeeper. The online accounting app meets the needs of small businesses across multiple industries.
The software is ideal for small business owners managing their accounts independently, as well as in collaboration with their accountants from dispersed locations. The collaboration features of the software also make it suitable for business owners and their clients on financial activity.
Xero’s cloud application currently serves the accounting needs of some 370,000 companies worldwide and copious individual users . The customer feedback and reviews found on the web about Xero are positively overwhelming.
All financial transactions are automatically imported into the Xero database and linked to the corresponding accounting transactions. All the user has to do in order to confirm that the match is correct, is to press the “OK” button and the transaction will be reconciled in the system. Users who need to import feeds from more bank accounts, credit cards and PayPal accounts, will be happy to know that Xero can do this in a few minutes.
Xero also lets you reconcile more complex transactions, such as split payments, by defining your own custom rules. Furthermore, this feature includes fast cash coding, providing the ability to import and automatically reconcile pre-coded bank statements. This is the perfect tool for reconciling large numbers of transactions and for importing data from other systems.
The Xero dashboard is where business owners can get a complete picture of their key accounts, income and expense reports, upcoming bills and pending invoices. This feature provides a valuable overview that gives users a clear understand of all their company’s financial activities in a glance. Moreover, certain accounts can be watch-listed and monitored in greater detail by enabling notifications.
The layout of the dashboard makes it easy to use and navigate, while the intuitive graphs provide a visual understanding of key data that helps users compare account activity in a more tangible way. The dashboard not only displays data, it also allows you to perform tasks such as adding accounts, bills and issuing invoices by clicking on the corresponding buttons.
Xero’s invoicing system forms an important part of the accounting suite letting you generate and customize professionally branded invoices. The customization options include the addition of your company’s logo, foreign currency conversion, and the ability to save different templates to be used for separate clients.
The online invoicing system can issue invoices for payments that come from PayPal accounts, bank transfers or credit cards, with no country-related exceptions. One of the key features of Xero’s invoicing tool is the notification system that alerts you when your invoice has been opened by the recipient, eliminating any confusion over “lost invoices”.
If the payee is based in a foreign country and using a different currency, Xero will undertake the task of automatically converting the invoice into the currency used by the client. This means that you never have to worry about calculating exchange rates. Xero covers over 160 currencies and automatically updates exchange rates every hour.
There are many activities related to running a small business outside of bookkeeping and accounting, however most of these activities are interlinked in some way. Many small businesses already use a number of other systems such as CRMs, inventory management tools, time trackers, receipt scanners and so forth. Importing all this data from multiple apps to Xero can seem like a daunting task, however this is made hassle-free through the some 500 plus add-ons offered on the Xero Marketplace.
The marketplace provides easy navigation and search options that let users find what they are looking for fast. Add-ons are listed across 15 horizontal categories and 11 industry verticals. The Xero Marketplace is your one-stop source for all integration needs, with seamless integration offered between Xero and any app you sign-up for on the marketplace.
For a system that holds strictly private information in the cloud, it is of the utmost importance to remain secure and impenetrable by hackers and other malevolent attackers. Xero developers are perfectly aware of this potential security threat and for this reason provide a dedicated security team whose job it is to keep your data safe on a daily basis.
As users go about their daily business, the Xero team are busy providing constant improvements to their service, adding small adjustments and new features on a constant basis. New features are added every 3-6 weeks to ensure that the efficiency of the app and your user experience are always at the most optimal level.
Integrations is an area that Xero has covered one hundred percent. As a business owner running multiple apps, having the ability to have your apps speak to each other is fundamental. For this reason, the Xero Marketplace is a stroke of genius.
The Marketplace offers an ever growing list of more than 500 add-ons categorized by the business needs they serve. Some of the most popular of these add-ons include: Bill.com, Constant Contact, Square, Squarespace, Zen Payroll, Stitch Labs, Kabbage, and BodeTree.
Further popular add-ons include: Harvest, Batchbook CRM, Vend, Evernote, PayPal, Xpenditure, Expensify, Unleashed, WorkflowMax, Spotlight, Magento, Podio, Eventbrite, Infusionsoft, and Receipt Bank.
Xero’s pricing plans differ according to region. Prospective users should consult the official pricing page of the corresponding Xero website for their location. In general, Xero is offered through 3 different plans. The most basic is the “Starter” plan that costs $9 per month and is limited to five invoices, five bills and 20 bank transactions.
The next plan is the “Standard” package that costs $30 per month and offers an unlimited number of invoices, bills and transactions.The “Premium” plan, costing $70 per month in total, supports multi-currency transactions and is thereby aimed at businesses that have multi-national clients and collaborators. A 30-day free trial of the “Starter” pack is available.
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