Changing to Xero for your cloud accounting can be one of the best business decisions you make. There are a few questions we’re 0ften asked when people are looking at starting to use Xero.
We’ve been using Xero on a daily basis for over 5 years and have set up over 150 businesses. We are also one of the first firms to be awarded the Xero Migration Certification. This certification can only be achieved by a firm demonstrating they have the depth of knowledge to really help small business get set up for cloud accounting.
We know that in a small business, there’s no time to waste on re-doing something that could have been done right the first time.
If your Xero question isn’t covered then please don’t hesitate to ask us.
When is the best time to change?
+The perfect time is at the end of your financial year. But, if you’ve passed your year end and you’ve not had lots transactions then it can be easy enough to start mid year and redo the early part of the year on Xero.
If you need to change before your year end then pick a quarter that ties into your VAT quarter.
And finally, if your year end doesn’t tie into your VAT quarter then we’d suggest you change your VAT quarter.
I’m using Sage. Should I use a conversion service?
+There are some great companies out there that will turn a Sage backup file into a Xero company. Before doing so you’d want to make sure your Sage accounts are clean and tidy or you’ll be moving rubbish over from one system to another.
However, quite a few people like to see Xero as a fresh start and just import data like customer names and addresses rather than transactions.
Should I pay for a bank feed?
+You have a few options. Firstly you could download data from your bank and import it to Xero. This is cheap but it can be a pain. There’s also the chance you might miss some transactions or duplicate them giving yourself a real problem.
You can use a Yodlee feed with some banks. These are free but can be a bit flakey. There is also a security question mark over passing your bank login details over to a third party.
Finally, with many banks you can set up a direct feed for a small monthly fee. Our advice is to pay the bit extra. Once it’s set up you can relax and know that all your transactions will simply appear each morning.
Should I import comparative figures?
+The more detailed comparative data you want to import the more time you’ll have to spend on getting Xero set up. Ask yourself the question “Is it essential or would it just be nice?”
What version will I need?
+Xero offer three versions Starter, Standard and Premium. For most businesses the Standard version will be perfect. Premium adds multi currency and Starter limits the number of transactions you can post making it only suitable for very small businesses with few transactions.
As a Xero Accountant we can also offer some other versions at competitive prices. Ask us for details.
Why Xero?
+We’ve done the research for you! We’ve used all the cloud accounting alternative – Quickbooks, KashFlow, Freeagent and Sage – and Xero stands head and shoulders above the others.
Some firms offer their clients the whole range of cloud accounting products. We don’t. We’ve made the decision that we would rather be experts in Xero than know a little about them all.
