Xero Review: Ratings, Features and Details
Xero
Summary
Xero is a tech firm from New Zealand that offers online accounting software for SMB’s since 2006. More than just accounting software, it also provides automatic bank feeds, invoicing, accounts payable, purchase orders and more. The following is our review of Xero.
Advantages
- Reasonably priced plans
- Unlimited number of users and clients
- Integrates with more than 700 third-party applications
- Free trial for 30 days
Disadvantages
- No phone or chat help
Xero
Xero
Summary
Xero is a tech firm from New Zealand that offers online accounting software for SMB’s since 2006. More than just accounting software, it also provides automatic bank feeds, invoicing, accounts payable, purchase orders and more. The following is our review of Xero.
Advantages
- Reasonably priced plans
- Unlimited number of users and clients
- Integrates with more than 700 third-party applications
- Free trial for 30 days
Disadvantages
- No phone or chat help
Summary of our opinion
Don’t have time to read it all? Here is a summary of our opinion on Xero, to help you understand whether Xero is a good choice for you or not.
For those who don’t have time to read our entire Xero review, here’s a summary of our test:
- Xero has three pricing plans for sole proprietors and very small businesses, growing businesses and established businesses.
- They provide a reliable accounting system that comes with advanced accounting capabilities, a large number of reports, more than 800 integrations, and limitless users.
- Easy to use and has manual journal options for more detailed accounting
In summary, Xero makes it quick and easy to process bills and business payments through the use of their online accounting tools and applications. Direct deposit files and bank reconciliations are easy to accomplish making Xero popular among small business owners and the accounting industry. For a full in-depth review, the following is our opinion of Xero in detail.
Xero pricing
Xero offers three pricing plans that commence after a 30-day free trial. When you start out, you can subscribe to the Early plan at first and upgrade to one of the other plans later if you wish, as your business grows.
Plan | Early | Growing | Established |
---|---|---|---|
Monthly price | $12 | $34 | $65 |
Number of users | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Accounting access | Included | Included | Included |
Invoices, Quotes & Bills | 20 invoices and quotes, 5 bills | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Sales & sales tax | Included | Included | Included |
Receipt capture | Automated bill and receipt capture with Hubdoc | Automated bill and receipt capture with Hubdoc | Automated bill and receipt capture with Hubdoc |
Reporting | Included | Included | Advanced analytics tools for predicting future cash flow, up to 90 days ahead |
Bank sync | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Third-party integrations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Multiple currencies | No | No | Yes |
Track projects | No | No | Yes |
Bulk reconcile transactions | No | Yes | Yes |
Inventory | Basic | Basic | Basic |
Phone support | No. 24/7 online support provided | No. 24/7 online support provided | No. 24/7 online support provided |
Xero Early ($12 per month) has monthly limits of 20 invoices and quotes, five bills, and unlimited reconciliation of bank transactions. Xero Growing ($34 per month) adds unlimited billing and invoicing, quotes, and bills.
Xero Established ($65 per month) is the only version to offer multiple currency support. It also supports projects and Xero Expenses.
How to access Xero
Xero is a 100% online solution so you won’t have to download and install anything on your computer.
In addition to the web version, Xero offers a mobile app, on iOS and Android. These applications are highly rated by users (4.6/5 for iOS and 4.1/5 for Android).
Required configuration
In order to access Xero, all you need to do is use your internet browser. Users just need to ensure they have an up-to-date browser and a decent connection and Xero should work just fine.
Make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled in your browser. If cookies aren’t enabled in your browser, you’ll need to accept them when you log in. You’ll only have to do this once for this browser. Xero supports these web browsers:
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Edge
- Mozilla Firefox
- Safari
Who is Xero for?
Thanks to its features, Xero is an ideal solution for self-employed persons, solopreneurs, small businesses and indeed accountants and every Xero plan comes with the expense tracking features listed above.
If you are a small business, the Early plan may be sufficient. If however you have a requirement for in-depth reporting, multiple currencies, advanced analytics and bulk reconciling of transactions, the Established plan will be more suitable for you.
Xero’s Established plan costs $65/month and includes all within the Growing plan and expense claims, project management and of course the multi currency support. Established plan users also get access to additional expense features, such as expense claims, automatic receipt scanning, extra expense analytics, and the Xero Expenses app.
Xero is suitable for all types of entrepreneurs, sole proprietors and small businesses and the beauty of the product is it allows for direct collaboration with your accountant, which will make your accounting all the more easier.
Easy to use
Xero offers an appealing and up-to-date user interface, and while the program is well-organized, there is a significant learning curve associated with its use (not as significant as QuickBooks however).
Once you have familiarized yourself with the program and have explored all of the options that it has to provide, Xero is pretty simple to use. However, this exploration process may take quite some time.
When you open a new page in Xero, a video or support article will appear at the top of that page. This is Xero’s way of trying to be as helpful as possible.
A support center is available to you via Xero in the event that you need further assistance in locating features or comprehending the program.
Features
For a 100% online solution, Xero offers a very wide range of features. This topic covers the main features, of which we will review the main elements.
Dashboard
The Xero home screen is a dashboard that summarizes your various activities. You will find a summary of your activity including graphs on your invoices, expense tracking, bank accounts, bank statements and more.
In order to make the process of accounting easier to understand and manage, Xero provides a user interface that is both basic and elegant in design, as well as cloud technology. The aesthetically pleasing user interface of the fully configurable dashboard includes graphs with labels that include Invoices Owed To You, Bills To Pay, Bank Accounts and Total Cash Flow.
You are free to rearrange the sequence of these charts in any way you see fit. Along the top right, you will find a brand new navigation menu that shows Dashboard, Accounting, Business and Contacts.
You also have access to a button that allows you to quickly create new content, a button that allows you to search for content, a button that displays recent notifications, and a button that displays information about how to use the software.
In addition to this, Xero has included a Sales Overview element that can be accessed from the main menu and has charts and graphs that break down your estimates and invoices.
Integrations
Over 800 different connectors are available via Xero, and the company also interacts with Zapier, which allows users to link the program to hundreds of other add-ons.
Before you make any updates or purchases, you should check to see whether or not the Xero integrations you want to use are compatible with your country. In addition, Xero provides an API that developers may use.
Invoicing
Xero only provides one template for invoices to choose from. You are able to make your own custom templates and make substantial changes to them; nevertheless, there may be more variations of template designs to pick from.
Recurring invoices, automated invoicing alerts, preferred payment arrangements, bulk invoices, and replication of prior invoices are just some of the time-saving features that are offered by Xero.
Additionally, there is a tool that is called Xero to Xero, and it makes it simple to send invoices to other Xero users as well as collect invoices from other Xero customers. Directly from the tab that displays invoices to customers, you may quickly generate credit notes and issue customer statements.
Quotes
It is simple for companies to generate quotations, which may then be converted into invoices, sales order, or bills.
You have the ability to copy previously used quotations and also add comments to those quotes. Quotes generated by Xero make use of the same invoice templates.
Client Portal
Recent developments at Xero have resulted in the addition of a user-friendly client site that enables users to see, print, and make payments on invoices online. Potential clients may see, accept, refuse, or remark on quotations.
Contact Management
Customers will be able to see basic contact information, as well as discounts and tax rates, that are provided by businesses. The business extends the capabilities of this feature by providing contact groupings and smart lists to its customers.
You may also utilize smart lists as marketing tools, which enables you to target certain groups of contacts. This is a pretty helpful function, and Xero also enables you to manage your vendors and other providers.
Users
When using Xero, you have the option, regardless of the subscription plan you choose, to add limitless numbers of individuals to your account.
Accounting software is noteworthy for having this capability; typically, lower-tier plans permit a smaller number of users, whereas only higher-tier plans provide an infinite number of users. You also have the option of setting different authorizations for each user.
Custom reporting
At every subscription level, Xero assists you in transforming the data you submit into information that can be acted upon. A dashboard presents an overview of the financial health of your company, including total money in and out, pending invoices, and delinquent payments, among other information.
On a separate page that is only devoted to short-term cash flow, you will find a chart that illustrates how upcoming bills and invoices might impact the amount of money in your bank account over the following seven days.
The layout of the reports may be altered, and you have the option of including your own formulae and groups in the reports. Reports can also be personalized.
For example, you may select many spending categories and then drag them into a single grouping using the mouse. You can rearrange the panels on the dashboard and conceal the ones that aren’t relevant to your work if you don’t like the way it appears.
Inventory management
Xero offers basic inventory tracking in all plans. Businesses that need to keep count of items can do it within Xero, instead of integrating with (and paying for) a third-party inventory tracking app.
Fixed Asset Management
Within Xero, small and medium-sized businesses have the ability to handle fixed assets and execute depreciation plans.
You have the option of selecting from a variety of different depreciation plans, including fixed-rate, decreasing balance, a falling balance of 150%, and others. In addition, you have the ability to enter details, such as the asset’s serial number and the date the warranty will expire.
Accounts Payable
Creating and managing invoices in Xero is a simple process. You have the option to activate recurring billing in Xero, where you can also attach pertinent papers or photographs of the invoices themselves.
You now have access to a wonderful new screen called Purchases Overview, which provides you with specifics on your invoices and purchase orders.
Mobile app
There are mobile applications available both for iOS and Android smartphones that enable you to create and approve invoices, manage spending and add receipts, as well as add payments and track payments.
Inventory
Xero allows companies to add goods or services to their accounts, as well as record fundamental data, generate internal comments, and attach files to transactions. You also have the ability to monitor inventory and make modifications to inventory.
Xero’s inventory tracking feature monitors your company’s stock levels, as well as your average buy prices and the amount of products that have been committed to quotations.
There aren’t any email notifications for limited inventory, and Xero doesn’t let your monitored goods’ quantities to slip into the negative.
Projects
The Projects and Basic Job Costing features that are included in the Established plan are an excellent addition that Xero lacked in the past.
Users are able to establish projects, assign expenditures and time to those projects, manage budgets, and simply issue invoices for project work. In addition to that, you may utilize the Xero Projects app and make advantage of progress payments.
Purchase Orders
You won’t have any trouble putting together purchase orders or transforming them into invoices. In addition to the fundamentals, you are able to supplement purchase orders with internal remarks, delivery instructions, and anticipated delivery dates.
You can keep records of how much merchandise you’ve already received by recording a “part supply,” even if your supplier sends your order in pieces. This is because you may record a “part supply.”
Templates for emails
Xero provides users with eight pre-designed email templates, but users may also upload an unlimited number of bespoke designs.
Sales Taxes
Companies have the ability to customize the sales taxes that are applied to their purchases, sales, and consumers. There is support for both compound and mixed tax systems.
There is also a sales tax search option available in Xero, which will automatically compute sales tax depending on the address of your contact.
Multiple Currencies
As long as you subscribe to the Established plan, Xero can handle more than 160 different currencies.
XE provides hourly currency updates, and users have the ability to tailor reports and see results in a variety of units of currency.
Customer Support
Xero offers various resources to help you use its accounting solution. There isn’t any phone support however:
- Email: If you have any questions, feel free to email Xero.
- Live Chat: This tool can be found on the Xero website, and while it is intended primarily for sales enquiries, customer service professionals were often helpful when I asked them about the software’s functions.
- When you access a function in Xero, you’ll see a webinar or an article that explains precisely what that function is and how to utilize it. This kind of help is referred to as “in-software help.”
- Help Center: Xero provides a thorough help center that is called Xero Central. This help center contains information on how to do things and frequent difficulties that need to be fixed. Because the Xero community is a part of Xero Central as well, you will be able to examine the comments and queries that were posted by other users and also make suggestions for new features.
- Xero has a large number of business guidelines, which cover a wide range of topics, including depreciation, invoicing, and bank reconciliation. Additionally, its blog contains articles that give guidance.
- Xero TV: This provides users with access to hundreds of films that demonstrate how to make use of the program. It is one of the greatest support tools that Xero has to offer, and it is of tremendous assistance to users who are just starting out.
- The firm provides its employees with training via a program called Xero U. This program consists of several online classes, such as one called “Getting to Know Xero.”
Xero doesn’t provide a phone number on its customer support page which may be a drawback if you want to be able to pick up the phone and talk through an issue or are new to accounting software and have lots of questions. Xero instead provides 24/7 online support and will call customers if it’s necessary.
Security
The cloud security offered by Xero is widely considered to be among the most robust currently available. Data encryption, two-step identification, and round-the-clock monitoring at several sites are some of the security measures that have been implemented.
Data is stored on a daily basis across a number of servers, and security assessments are carried out on a regular basis. In addition to its stellar reputation, Xero has an uptime record of 99.97%.
Xero: Overall verdict
Xero offers a wide range of features and is an easy to use cloud-base interface with desktop or mobile access. It can be rightly featured as one of the best accounting software options for small businesses.
It’s also a fantastic choice if you wish to connect Gusto Payroll with your accounting software. The limit on the number of invoices, quotes and bills in the Early plan, in addition, not be ideal for all freelancers and consultants, who might need to upgrade to a Growing plan or alternative product.
It is however less expensive than its competitors and doesn’t charge extra for additional users and all plans include basic inventory management making Xero an affordable option for growing businesses.