Smith Heather - Xero for dummies

Xero For Dummies

Published by

Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

42 McDougall Street

Milton, Qld 4064

www.dummies.com

Copyright 2013 Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

National Library of Australia

Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Author:Smith, Heather Nicolette

Title:Xero For Dummies / Heather Smith

ISBN:9781118572559 (pbk.)

Notes:Includes index.

Series:For Dummies.

Subjects:Xero (Computer program)

Accounting Computer Programs

Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Dewey Number:657.02855369

All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design and icons, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Services section of John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd, Level 2, 155 Cremorne Street, Richmond, Vic 3151, or email auspermissions@wiley.com .

Cover images: Courtesy of Xero.

Typeset by diacriTech, Chennai, India

Printed in Singapore by C.O.S. Printers Pte Ltd

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Trademarks : Wiley, the Wiley logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Making Everything Easier, dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Xero is a registered trademark of Xero Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Foreword

Small business is the largest contributor to a countrys economy in all countries worldwide. We created Xero to help small businesses to be more productive. We figured that helping small business increase in scale is purposeful and worthwhile.

From our own experience, business can be fun. For most small business owners, its certainly all-consuming. While in our previous roles we liked building businesses, we didnt like the drudgery of administrative jobs and working late into the night to meet a looming tax return deadline. As we talked to other business owners it became clear that we werent alone for most, doing the books was the number one pain of running a small business.

Desktop-based small business accounting software hadnt changed much in years and still operated in a similar way as when it was first designed, in a time well before we all had email! Yet the internet had delivered some amazing things such as internet banking, eBay, Facebook and LinkedIn. The time was right to rethink accounting software and design it for the web, where everything can be connected.

By thinking hard about design, and about what small business owners actually do, we came up with a new model. A system where bank transactions can be loaded for you automagically first thing in the morning. Where your accountant or bookkeeper can log in to your files and help you, without you needing to send data around. Where invoices are living documents that show up-to-date outstanding balances. And where you can send invoices directly from the job with your mobile phone.

After six years working hard on developing Xero, were thrilled that business owners are now enjoying doing their books and that we have a community of bookkeepers and accountants connected with their customers, improving their businesses daily.

We think were achieving our goal of making doing the books fun, but really its just the beginning.

Were thrilled to be involved with Xero For Dummies . The book is a great way for you to learn to work in the cloud, and were sure that as you go through it, or dip into it to take what you need, youll see that doing your accounts can be easy and rewarding. And hopefully your work will become just a bit more fun.

We love our community of customers and partners. And we love to hear what we can do better. Thank you for learning more about Xero and what were doing, and feel free to send me or the team a note on Twitter anytime. You can contact us via @roddrury or @xero.

Rod Drury
CEO, Xero

Introduction

Profit is like oxygen; essential for the survival of a business but not the reason for the existence of a business. I aim to help people generate a profit from their passion and build businesses that they want to build so, in turn, they can lead the life they want to lead.

Writing and sharing my knowledge about the Xero accounting solution has enabled me to do this. Xero For Dummies covers all you need to know to sign up and use this cloud-based accounting software solution from the basic set-up to implementing daily routines and end of period procedures, and generating useful reporting information. Understanding what you can do with Xero how you can use its many features can enhance the productivity of your business and give you a clearer idea of exactly what is going on within it.

About This Book

Xero For Dummies provides a comprehensive outline of how to use the Xero accounting cloud solution. The main focus throughout the book is how you can use Xeros cloud and integrated business management solutions to turbo boost the way your business runs.

The book steps you through everything you need to know about Xero, taking you through the whole process. Youre never left hanging, wondering what youre supposed to do next. Im with you every step of the way. But the book sticks to the practicalities I know you dont need to be slowed down with unnecessary background information and theories.

Note : One of the great features of Xero being a cloud-based accounting solution is that Xero can make upgrades or updates to its pages or processes at any time and the next time you access your file, the upgrades have been implemented. No more waiting for the next software release! But this may mean a page or process youre looking at online isnt exactly the same as that shown in this book. Dont worry the process should still be similar enough that you can use this book to guide you through.