Because it supports unlimited users, it facilitates employee collaboration and allows them to quickly submit expenses and send invoices. Xero also grows with your company, integrating with your email, customer relationship management (CRM), or point-of-sale platforms to help streamline operations even further. Not every accounting software we reviewed offers a mobile app, so we appreciate Xero’s full-featured mobile app capabilities.
- Xero combines flexibility and ease of use in its accounting software application.
- We appreciated that Xero includes time tracking in all of its plans (see the screenshot below from our demo).
- This means that QuickBooks is a good choice for businesses who only need one person to use the software but need to send a high volume of invoices and bills per month.
- You can get started with this powerhouse accounting software for $16 per month, but keep an eye out for discounts and campaigns – at times, you can save up to 50%.
- This is down to their great setup support and initiative user interfaces.
At the same time, Xero has evolved into a pretty meaty package, and as a result has many different areas that you’ll need to acquaint yourself with. If you decide to charge late fees or interest on an unpaid invoice, it’s crucial that your original contract clearly outlines that these charges may be assessed. xero accounting review If you can’t find the answer to a question from any of the above resources, you can contact Xero via the support page to request additional help. You can also import a budget from another application, or export the created budget to a program such as Microsoft Excel for further customizing.
This means that QuickBooks is a good choice for businesses who only need one person to use the software but need to send a high volume of invoices and bills per month. The Growing plan costs $42 per month and includes unlimited numbers of invoices and bills. In addition to the features on the Early plan, the Growing plan also includes bulk transaction reconciliation to speed things up. Since Zoho Books also offers cloud accounting, you can easily check the state of your business on the go. With a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices, expense tracking couldn’t be easier. In the end, Xero is a good solution for mid-to-large-sized businesses in need of strong accounting features and multiple users.
The Ascent is a Motley Fool service that rates and reviews essential products for your everyday money matters. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst https://personal-accounting.org/ team. Another great feature in Xero is the 1099 report, so you’ll be able to send year-end 1099s to contractors if necessary. Xero also includes a main dashboard as well as the comprehensive business performance dashboard that displays a variety of business metrics of your choice. If a customer is not already in Xero, they can be quickly added by clicking on the New option in the customer field.
Dashboard
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With a focus on automating and streamlining financial processes, the software remains a top competitor in terms of accounting technology and keeps up with new advancements. Below are some of the most helpful features for companies that use Xero for bill paying. Xero offers professional double-entry bookkeeping functionality, so your transactions will be entered as a debit as well as a credit. That will keep you on track without needing to take extra steps, as well as enable you to schedule upcoming payments and batch-pay suppliers in advance. You might be disappointed to hear that Xero won’t let you set up and manage multiple companies in a single account.
Additionally, Xero helps you save time with features like recurring invoices, automatic invoice reminders, bulk invoicing, and replication of previous invoices. There’s a feature called Xero to Xero that lets you receive and send invoices to other Xero users. Xero offers several support channels, including a robust online help center, tutorials, and 24/7 customer support via email. However, the absence of direct phone support can be a point of frustration for users seeking immediate assistance for complex issues.
Review of Xero support
You can create bills directly in-app or import bills from your device. The platform lets you set up recurring bills and attach relevant documents to bills. You’ll be able to view all your bills in one place in the Purchases overview section. The Purchase orders feature lets you create and send purchase orders online.
Financial reporting
All and all, it’s an excellent option for sole proprietors and growing companies requiring an inexpensive way to manage finances and basic inventory. In the A/R management portion, we evaluated major aspects like invoice creation, inventory adjustments, and customer payments. For invoice creation, we found that Xero doesn’t give users the ability to customize the invoice in terms of invoice color, layout, and font. Although it lets you customize invoice elements, such as invoice line items, we wanted to see some personalization in creating invoices. Those who left a Xero review gave a lot of positive feedback and excellent ratings on third-party user review websites.
Options include a 1099 report, a balance sheet report, aged receivables report, aged payables report, inventory report and more. These reports help small business owners identify areas for improvement and make evidence-based decisions in real time. Each platform is used by thousands of individuals, companies, and other organisations. Traditionally, software installed on a computer has been the primary method to manage accounts. However, the UK is now much more in favour of so-called ‘cloud’ web-based software.
Once you connect your bank or credit card account with Xero, you’ll be able to categorize your expenses, split transactions, and more. Xero smart categorization remembers the past transaction categories you used and automatically categorizes new transactions for you. The Growing monthly plan stands at $34 per month and includes everything from the Early plan, plus unlimited invoices and bills and reconciling bank transactions in bulk. We’ll put the software under the microscope and try to analyze its best features, pricing plans, and pros and cons.
You can manage any of the accounts you have connected to Xero in the bank accounts screen seen above. You can also add an additional bank account or transfer money between accounts from this screen. You can manage your bank account information in the Accounting module, and it’s also where reports are run. You can edit your chart of accounts or enter manual journal entries in this area as well. The tool makes it easy to view financial data, create forecasts and use reports for strategic planning.
Each plan still offers unlimited users and live bank feeds, so businesses can download, categorize, and reconcile their transactions as usual. Xero is a great QuickBooks alternative for budget-conscious small businesses. With its relatively affordable price points, you get features that you’ll only see in higher-priced plans of other accounting software. However, we found that Xero isn’t great for mobile accounting or businesses that need multicompany accounting features.
It would be good if payroll was a standard feature but the fact it’s even an option is a plus. The software cannot be faulted once you skip the bottom tier plan, which is quite restrictive and only really beneficial for individuals. It’s one of the most cost-effective solutions for medium to large businesses.
Everything is done in the cloud, meaning you can edit invoices without the hassle of resending them to customers. You can email invoices directly from the software; Xero integrates with PayPal, Stripe, Square and other payment processors, so you can accept payments online. One cool feature is that Xero lets you schedule recurring invoices (or “repeating invoices”) by setting the send date, frequency and end date.
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