You've likely heard of Xero accounting software if you've been doing your taxes. But if you have yet to use the software, you may wonder about the hype. After all, it's just an accounting platform that can help make your finances easier to manage, right? Well, not exactly.
Xero Cloud Accounting stands out from other financial management tools because of its unique features and integrations that other platforms don't have.
In this post, we'll go over seven features of Xero Cloud Accounting that should convince any small business owner to start using this accounting software today.
#1. Dashboard
The dashboard is the first thing you'll see when you log into Xero Cloud Accounting. This is where you'll find your finances, cash flow, and more in one place.
You can customize the dashboard to show what matters most to you by adding or hiding widgets (or "gadgets") based on categories like income statements, expenses, and bank accounts.
#2. Team Capabilities
You can also share financial information with other users. This is a multi-faceted feature that includes the following:
- Team members can see their own financial information.
- Team members can see some or all of the financial information of other team members.
- Team members can see some or all of the financial information of customers and suppliers associated with their own accounts.
- Team members can see the financial information for other teams if you have access to those accounts for reporting purposes. This will come in handy for running financial statements or creating invoices on behalf of your company's clients or suppliers who don't use Xero Cloud Accounting
#3. Contact Management
Create Contacts
Xero's contact management feature allows you to add contacts, and it also allows you to make a note of important details about each contact. When you're creating a new contact, be sure to add all the relevant information like their name, email address, phone number, and so on—but also use this section as an opportunity to make notes that will help jog your memory later on when you're looking for something in particular.
Add Notes
If there are specific things that need attention with an invoice or bill, like a payment due date or any other special instructions for payment processing (e.g., "Please include any discounts applied"), then adding those details in the Notes field will ensure that they'll always be available when needed. You can do this by clicking on the Notes tab at the bottom of an invoice or bill page before entering any payment information.
#4. Financial Reporting
Financial reporting is creating, tracking, and analyzing financial data to provide information on a company's or individual's financial position. Financial reports can be created for internal use (for example, budgets and cash flow statements) or external use (like tax returns).
Financial reports are essential tools for business owners and managers because they allow them to make important business decisions. Here are some examples:
- Managers can use financial reports to set budgets and track how closely they adhere to those budgets.
- Investors can use financial reports as part of their investment strategy. For example, an investor may invest in only companies whose annual revenue has increased over time by more than 10% annually. This approach requires tracking several years of revenue growth, with each annual report being analyzed on its own merits before making any judgment calls about investing further or pulling back from that particular company.
The accounting software, Xero, can do all of these for you. The most recent reports will be available when you need them. Additionally, it is simple to run reports to aid with decision-making.
#5. Bank Transactions
In the Bank Transactions tab, you can do all of the following:
- Manage your bank account transactions. You can view a list of all your transactions, search for specific ones, or filter by date range or type of transaction.
- View bank statements. If you've imported a bank statement from Xero Cloud (or another accounting platform), it'll be displayed here so that it's easy to reconcile against the information in Xero Cloud.
- Export a bank statement for future reference, or send one off to your accountant!
#6. Sales Tax Support
Xero can help you customize, keep track of, and automate sales tax.
A lot of information goes into sales tax compliance: rates, exemptions, rules, and regulations. It can be overwhelming to track how these different factors impact your business.
With Xero, businesses won’t need to spend much time researching the ins and outs of sales tax compliance.
#7. Inventory Management with Stock Control
If you're a small business owner, inventory management is essential, especially if you sell multichannel. However, the cost of keeping track of your stock can be a big burden for cash flow, especially if the quantity of your inventory is too high.
Xero Cloud Accounting allows you to import and update CSV files directly from marketplaces like Amazon and eBay so that you can keep track of your inventory right away. You'll also be able to see how much cash flow has been earned through sales or returns on these platforms, and even receive notifications when new purchases are made.
As a bonus: Xero's built-in search feature makes it easier to find items from across all areas of your business, including customers, suppliers, and contacts.
Xero Accounting Makes Finances Easier
Xero Cloud Accounting is a great way to manage your business finances. It can help you save time and money, get a better handle on your finances, and make it easier for you to spot errors in your accounts.
We hope this article has given you some ideas on using Xero Cloud Accounting’s features to their full potential! And if you still have questions, you can check out Unloop's blogs to learn more about Xero's online accounting software.
You can also book a discovery call with us to find out which kind of help you need for your small business, so reach out today!