Accounting Software for Small Business Xero

Do you want to learn accounting software for small business xero? Or maybe interested in learning about best accounting software for small business? You’ve come to the right place. Keep reading on to discover what is the best accounting software for your small business.

You’re reading this because you want to know more about Xero, aren’t you? I mean, who wouldn’t? Whether you are here to learn about B2B or accounting software for small business, the chances are high that this is exactly what you’re looking for. You need the most comprehensive resource online to help you with everything you need, and that’s why you are here

Xero is an accounting system designed for small and growing businesses. Xero connects small businesses with their trusted advisors and provides business owners with instant visibility of their financial position. As a web-based solution, Xero can be accessed from any device with an active internet connection. With Xero’s robust accounting features, small businesses can view their cash flows, transactions and account details from any location. Bank transactions are all automatically imported and coded. Online bill pay helps keep track of spending and stay on top of bills due, improving relationships with the vendors that provide critical business materials. With Xero, personal expenses can also be managed with mobile review and approval of each receipt. Xero offers unlimited user support and integration with a variety of systems, including ADP, Bill.com and Vend. The solution comes with a 30-day free trial period for product testing and feature evaluation.

Xero Apps

What makes Xero the leading accounting software for small businesses is the apps that they provide. These apps further enhance your online accounting and streamline your day-to-day accounting tasks.

The Xero app complements your Xero account making things a lot easier when you can just work and manage your accounting tasks from your phone.

Xero Pricing

We’re not going into pricing details in this Xero accounting software tutorial as they may vary depending on the country you are in.

Choose a plan that works best for your small business:

  • Starter: $27.50 per month (all in NZD)
  • Standard: $60 per month
  • Premium: $75 per month

Xero Tutorial for Beginners

Looking for a more visual guide. This video tutorial will help you to get started with Xero and leverage Xero to manage your day-to-day accounting and financial tasks in your business. You can also get a 30-day free trial!

Not suitable for larger businesses

Generally Xero is time consuming (except reconciliations), poor UI for quick glance info and some basic reporting, missing basic features that are part of nearly ALL other desktop and online competitors. Just read feature requests to get an idea of it’s lacking features in more specific detail.

We have recently converted from QB to Xero… frustrated and disappointed. It’s really not suitable for larger or complex businesses. So many small but crucial features are not there, are not suitable, time costly or faulty. We’ve invested to much in the change over and feel it would be too hard to now go back. I really hope Xero picks up the ball and makes changes quickly. The recent update was appalling with very little real progress. I see a big future for Xero, but only if they can fill in these holes

The benefits

So what do businesses get out using this service? The main plus point is based around efficiency. One of the key barriers to growth for small businesses is inefficiency. And doing the accounts is one of the key areas in which businesses waste time.

Xero allows you and your staff to keep up to date with accounts and services from anywhere. There is no need to drive back to the office to upload or download information. It’s all accessed on the move. You can look up the necessary financial information wherever you are, using any computer, smart phone or tablet.

Most of the time-consuming manual processes are also redundant. So put your calculator and ledger in a draw and forget about them. Xero pulls information from bank feeds, generates invoices and automates the whole process. This streamlining of the accounting process can help small and medium businesses to save time and money.

Collaboration

Building effective working relationships takes energy, time and understanding. Coming to terms with how your colleagues operate can be a testing period. But if everyone is on board with the same platform, then it’s not such a big deal. Using Xero, you can collaborate in real time on financial data, helping to create a more efficient group dynamic.

There’s no sending round long email chains and having to locate necessary figures on spreadsheets. It’s updated in real time and everyone has access, no matter where they are. Multiple people can work on any account at the same time which helps to speed up the decision-making process and reduce bottlenecks.

Security

Of course, the safety and security of your financial information is paramount. Xero takes your private information very seriously indeed. That’s why they lock it all away behind a wall of up to the minute technology. It prevents all unauthorised entry to sensitive information and guards against systems failures.

If you’re a small business and don’t have an IT department or adequate IT security, then your financial information is always at risk. Xero offers the benefit of an increasingly secure online presence, with dedicated professionals looking after your online security. Your accounts will be guarded with passwords, firewalls and third party inspections.

The cloud

You’ve probably heard a fair bit about the cloud in recent years, unless you’ve been living with your head in them that is, and for good reason. This technology is really unlocking a lot of potential for small and medium businesses. It’s levelling the playing field and makes doing business that bit easier for companies with limited funds.

By deploying the potential of the crowd, using services like Xero, small business are working smarter. Taking the information stored in Xero, it is possible for businesses to get a clearer picture of what they are strong at and the areas they need to improve. It helps them to think about their next phase of growth and gives them access to sophisticated technology that was once the preserve of large multinationals.

Xero gives businesses a real time view of how they are doing. There is no waiting until the end of the month or year to do the accounts and see where you stand. It is a constantly evolving and updated process and one that is accessible from anywhere on the planet. Making better informed decisions is now a real possibility for small and medium businesses.

SlickPie

The free accounting software SlickPie is also worth looking into for your small business finances. The free version of this accounting software allows for unlimited automated receipt entries, 10 different companies on one account, and email support. It also allows you to create quotes and estimates that can easily become professional invoices. SlickPie also allows you to connect your PayPal and Stripe accounts for free. That means customers will be able to fulfill their invoices with card or PayPal payments online—and you’ll simply have to pay the standard transaction fees that PayPal and Stripe charge.

One feature that this free accounting software seems to be lacking is reports—the SlickPie website doesn’t highlight any built-in reporting capabilities. If you’re hoping to extract valuable, high-level insights from your accounting software, then you might want to consider options other than SlickPie.

Brightbook

Brightbook is a free online accounting system, designed to help time-strapped and cash-strapped small businesses with no accounting experience run their business easier. Businesses can send professional-looking invoices in any currency, track bills and find out who owes them money in an instant with the easy-to-use Brightbook system.

CloudBooks

While CloudBooks’ basic features are free, it doesn’t offer as much as the competition.

CloudBooks pros

CloudBooks is an online accounting software program that allows you to manage your online invoices, expenses, and projects. You can also view financial reports from any mobile device with their free app. Their platform allows for unlimited staff users, which means you can share access to your books as needed.

CloudBooks cons

CloudBooks is generally geared towards freelancers with few clients. Unless you are willing to shell out $10-$20 a month, you are limited to only five unbranded invoices per month. There is also no phone support or Paypal integration for the free version.

NCH Software (Express Accounts)

Starting at $0.00/mo.

With 20 easy-to-generate financial statements, Express Accounts is a perfect fit for business owners who want to focus on keeping their books in order.

Express Accounts, owned and operated by NCH software, has a pretty dated website. While multiple users can log on to your account, the software requires an initial desktop download, which makes it a little less flexible than the cloud-based providers on our list. But if you don’t mind the dated look, Express Accounts can simplify your basic bookkeeping in a big way.

For starters, it offers 20 financial reports (much better than ZipBooks’ two) that help you get a clear picture of your fiscal health. Express Accounts also easily tracks accounts payable and accounts receivable. You can even print checks using the software to streamline bill payments.

Express Accounts’ customer service is much less robust than our other top five picks. You can reach out to technical support over email if you have an issue with your download, but that’s the extent of your support. On the other hand, most customers use Express Accounts solely to track their business’s figures—so you shouldn’t need the kind of support you would with more complex accounting or payroll software.

Conclusion:

You’re probably feeling a little bit lost right now. You want to learn accounting software for small business and yet you’re worried you won’t get the solution that fits your business requirements. It seems like it could be a bit heavy on your budget, too. But there is a solution — the one that these famous companies are using (Facebook, Uber, and Snapchat).

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