Xero accounting software – (Plans and features)

Xero is an accounting software developed by a New Zealand based Company. The products of Xero are based on SAAS – (Software as a service). It means customers are charged by a way of subscription on a period-to-period basis. The Xero accounting software is safe, secure, instant, flexible, and comes with 24/7 online support.

Subscription plans

There are three plans of subscription for the Xero that include Starter (Recommended for start-ups, freelancers, and sole traders), Standard (Recommended for running a small business), and Premium packages (Recommended for established business).

Starter package provides all the essential features including quotation and invoice generation (restricted to 20 activities/month), bill entry for expenses (restricted to 5 bills per month), reconciliation of the bank statement with cash book, and ability to capture receipts and bills with data capturing software called Hubdoc.

The standard package provides the ability to perform the same functions as in the Starter package. The only difference is there are no restrictions on the number of transactions that can be posted within a system. 

The premium plan provides the same working capacity as the standard with an additional feature to use multiple currencies in the accounting system. It means the accounting system can be managed with foreign currencies if the business has exposure to it. 

Features

 Xero is committed to ease the process of accounting and bookkeeping. To achieve this task, user activities have been divided into different modules that include bank connections, inventory management, financial reporting, receipt module, a payment module, files, sales tax, and smartlists & contacts.  

The module of bank connections is designed to be connected with the bank feeds and transactions flow securely into Xeo on each business day. The auto sink greatly helps in tracking in/outflow of the cash to/from the business. It alarms an accountant/user if there is some difference between transactions in the bank statement and transactions in the accounting system.

The inventory management module helps in tracking the item’s quantity and valuation. It got the ability to generate reports on selling trends and the selling ability to use pre-set details in invoices and orders. The reporting module is actually the reason for the success of the Xero. It generates updated reports in just a few clicks with a customized summary and format. Hence, it helps in tracking the performance of the business and identification of any fluctuations in profitability.

The receipt modules and payment modules are connected with the chart of accounts affecting cash balances for each transaction. The sales tax module provides automated calculations for the GST on sales and purchases, it’s also capable to generate sales tax returns in a period of choice. In addition to this, the Xero folder provides easy storage for files, emails, and other important documents.

Data security and back up

The accounting data of the Companies are stored in servers located in safe and secure places. Multiple layers of encryption and firewall with continuous monitoring of the data help to secure the data of the clients from all over the world. 

Why Xero

Xero is a cloud-based software and provides instant access to accounting data from anywhere in the world. It provides tools that bring impressive efficiency in the performance of business activities. For instance, invoices, reports, and other business documents can be generated in just a few seconds. The most important aspect of using Xero is an easy collaboration with an advisor as users and accountants both can access and work on a single set of data.

Recently XERO has bought taxcycle, the Canadian tax preparation software, which now gives you ability to transfer your data from XERO to your tax preparation software.