All You Need to Know About Xero and How You Can Become Certified
Candlefox
What is Xero?
Xero is a piece of accounting software that can be accessed anywhere there’s an internet connection. It’s used by many business owners to send invoices and quotes, categorise credit cards, banking, PayPal transactions and as a way to pay their employees.
Since it utilises cloud accounting, data from financial institutions and other software applications are completed without any human interference. That way, you can manage your employee expense claims, bank statements, cash flow, financial reports, bookkeeping, reimbursements, bank reconciliation and payrolls, reducing administration costs and saving you time.
There is a lot more you can do with the Xero software, which you can find down below.
How to set up Xero
First, you have to start with a payment plan. There are three plans you can choose from:
Starter plan – $25 per month
Provides a payroll for one person, sends five invoices and quotes, reconciles 20 bank transactions, enter bills.
Standard plan – $50 per month
Provides payrolls for two people, reconcile bank transactions, enter bills, reconcile bank transactions.
Premium – $65 per month
Provides payrolls for up to five people (can add more people for an additional fee), enter bills, reconcile bank transactions, send invoices and quotes, handles multiple currencies and automates superannuation.
The overall sign up process is easy enough. All you have to do is subscribe to Xero and follow the instructions provided on the website.
If you’re unsure as to whether this is right for you, Xero offers a thirty-day free trial on their website.
Xero training
While it may seem simple enough, if you want to truly get the most out of the software, then consider doing some training or at least, read up on the finer details. The training itself is not as daunting as you might think.
If you’re new to accounting, then it shouldn’t take you more than a day to become familiar with this software. However, if you want to become Xero certified, there are further steps you need to take.
How to become Xero certified
There are two ways you can become Xero certified:
- Xero advisor certification: A program which teaches you the core features which the Xero accounting software offers, giving you all the tools to become a skilled advisor for all of your clients.
- Xero payroll certification: A program which solely focuses on Xero Payroll, going over the finer details as to avoid any errors and ultimately, to help your clients.
No matter which program you choose, you will have to register for the program at the Xero Central. After that, you have a few options. You can join a webinar, attend a live event or complete it entirely online.
If you decide to do the third option, by checking out the certification page on Xero Central, it will list down the courses you need to complete in order to become certified. If you’re trying to get certified as a Xero advisor certification with the third option, it roughly takes about three and a half hours.
On the other hand, the online courses for the Xero payroll certification don’t take as long, taking approximately two hours. More information can be found on the Xero Central page.
The benefits of Xero
A number of small businesses use Xero for a variety of reasons. First, your data is well protected, with several measures on the lookout for potential issues and notifying you if there are any.
It has multi-factor authentication and is certified in the Payment Card Industry, not to mention industry-standard data encryption. In other words, your information is secure with Xero.
Secondly, it offers the option to collaborate with your bookkeeper, accountant or another team member, where you can control who sees your data.
The interface also allows for ease of use, helping you keep track of financial activity, including your real-time cash position, along with your bank transactions, bank balance, bills, etc. You can even do this on the go with the mobile app, which is available on both android and iPhone and is accessible on the PC, Mac and iPad.
Overall, Xero is online accounting software for you if you need to complete a wide variety of accounting tasks. Whether you’re part of a large or small business, you should check this software out and see if it’s suitable for you.
