Accounting
2017 Review of Xero – Accounts Receivable Functions
Xero is well suited for small business owners, and offers the flexibility of three different versions; Starter, Standard, and Premium. Xero offers complete accounting functionality with all versions of the application, which is deployed exclusively ...
Mar. 21, 2017
Xero: www.xero.com
From the 2017 Reviews of Accounts Receivable Systems.
Xero is well suited for small business owners, and offers the flexibility of three different versions; Starter, Standard, and Premium. Xero offers complete accounting functionality with all versions of the application, which is deployed exclusively online.
Xero offers solid accounts receivable capability, with all AR activity completed under the Sales option. Users can set up customers quickly under contacts, adding a business and personal contact name, as well as general contact information. Financial details such as a default account and default sales region can be added, and users can also add any sales tax information, and relevant discount and the type of default currency that should be utilized with each contact. Bill due dates and invoice due dates can also be assigned in contacts.
Users can easily access all related sales information from the Sales screen, which includes a list of all invoices as well as a list of current customers who owe the most money. Clicking on a particular customer will display transaction details which include a list of all invoices and related payments, including amounts. Users can click on each invoice to access details about each order.
In order to process payments received on an invoices, users will have to access the account, and the invoice that the payment is for. Users can add an optional payment service to all of their invoices in order to be paid online, or can simply click the Add Payment option at the bottom of the screen and enter any payment information. Overpayments can be processed in much the same way, with users adding the amount of the payment received. Once this happens, a notification will alert system users that an overpayment has occurred. Users can simply add a description of the overpayment and it will display on the future customer statements, however the overpayment transaction alone cannot be emailed or printed to send to customers. Xero has multi-currency capability, so users can process invoices and accept payment in multiple currencies.
Users will have to access each invoice separately in order to enter any payment information received. Customer statements can be printed directly from the payment entry screen, with users able to choose if they wish to print the statement as a PDF and mail, or simply email the statement to their customers
Xero offers a company dashboard that provides users with a quick look on the total amount of invoices that are awaiting payment. There is also an accounts receivable report that offers a detailed overview of all outstanding invoices, which includes current amounts, as well as any past due. Users can also access a summary report as well. All Xero reports can be viewed on screen, printed, saved as a PDF, or exported to Excel or Google Sheets.
Xero contains complete accounting functionality, with all system functions fully integrated. The product is well designed for mobile access, and also integrates with numerous third-party apps as well.
Robust, yet easy to use, Xero is an excellent accounting solution for the small business owner that needs remote or mobile access to their system, but doesn’t want to sacrifice convenience for performance. The Starter edition of Xero is $27.50 per month, with Standard running $55.00 and Premium $70.00. All editions of Xero include unlimited user capability as well as free product support and free product upgrades.