WORKFLOW WITH XERO

Why use XERO?

We know from our earlier article, that Xero files is a great tool for attaching any kind of file or document to almost any transaction – meaning that you have all of your documentary audit trail in Xero and all of your files close to hand should you need them.

But it’s more that that – Xero files is also really good for simple workflow management.

What’s first with XERO?

Don’t forget to set your Xero Files email address up as a contact in your email contacts list. If you have multiple company accounts in Xero, each one will different Xero Files email address.

    First name Last name  Email address
    Fantastic Co Xero Files [email protected]
    Other Co Xero Files [email protected]
      Dropbox

      Workflow Management with XERO

      We have covered Using Xero Files to Manage Your Documents in an earlier article. The purpose of this article is to show you how to use Xero Files to manage your business accounts workflow.  Send documents that you receive NOW to XeroFiles to work on LATER

      Very simply you send documents that you receive, process or touch NOW to XeroFiles to work on LATER. Don’t ignore, skip-over,  forget and come back to them later – send them to Xero Files as soon as they come across your desk or into your inbox so you don’t have to go looking for them later or touch them again.

        Do It, Defer it, Delegate it or Ditch it

        When we are trying to get stuff done, we need to apply a simple Do It, Defer It, Delegate It or Ditch It approach to our accounts – in this case, we are delegating it to our Xero Files Inbox and deferring it to work on later.

        If you have a bookkeeper running your accounts – sending the documents to Xero files rather than your bookkeepers inbox, will keep it out of their email clutter and avoid it being lost in all the other inbox ‘noise’.

        Workflow It!

        Do Send Purchase Invoices and Receipts to Xero Files

        • If you are not a Receipt Bank user, send your invoices into Xero Files so you or your bookkeeper can process them later
        • If you Do use Receipt Bank to submit your invoices and receipts to Xero, then you probably won’t have much call to use Xero Files. Receipt Bank does take between 30 minutes and 24 hours to push documents into Xero to create a draft invoice. If you are in a hurry – then use Xero files to upload your document and process immediately.
        • Use Xero files if you’ve forgotten your Receipt Bank logon or if you need to replace a document that Receipt bank has already processed – 9 times out of 10, Receipt Bank will reject duplicate documents so Xero Files provides the fastest way to get your document into Xero.
        • Create a new bill or add to an existing transaction – work quickly to Xero Files Inbox Zero – i.e. nothing left to work through.

        Do Send Expense Claims Produced Outside of Xero to Xero Files

        • Many people do prefer to keep a paper expense claim form and submit these along with their receipts
        • Send Expense Claim forms directly to Xero files so that they don’t get lost in the post, missed in the clutter of a busy email inbox or simply forgotten about.
        • Create a new staff bill and process ready for payment or offset against the directors loan account

        Do Send Sales Invoices Produced Outside of Xero to Xero Files

        • Sometimes it is necessary to produce sales invoices or quote outside of Xero, if that is the case send a copy to Xero Files when you send it to your customer. You can add the transaction in Xero later.
        • Create a new sales invoice or attach a quote to a customer record.

        Do Send Your Credit Card Statements to Xero Files

        • Even if you have set up a credit card feed in Xero, you may also get a paper copy of the statement. Scan it and send it to Xero Files so you or your bookkeeper can reconcile it later.
        • Reconcile your credit card statement every month. Interest charges, fees and payments made to reduce your credit card balance are not always picked up by the credit card feed. These charges are allowable business expenses and can reduce your corporation tax – so make sure you are not missing them.
        • Credit card charges are high so measure and monitor them in your accounts to track how much these are costing your business. Where possible pay cards down quickly and switch to low interest or interest-free cards.
        • The liability or amount owed in your balance sheet should be reconciled to the balance owed on the statement.
        • Create a new folder in Xero files to store reconciled credit card statements.

        Do Send Supplier Statements to Xero Files

        • Reconcile supplier statements as often as you get them to ensure you have accounted for all purchases in your accounts.
        • Create a new folder in Xero files to store reconciled supplier statements or save to the supplier contact record

        Do Send Mortgage or Loan Statements to Xero Files

        • Reconcile mortgage and loan statements as often as you get them
        • Request at least annually to ensure you have accounted for all loan repayments in your annual accounts
        • Monthly loan repayments will be a combination of interest charges that should be charged to the P&L and capital repayments that will reduce the liability in your balance sheet
        • It is common to estimate interest charges during the year (so you feel te impact of the interest charge in your profit and loss account) and confirm/adjust the final fees once you receive the statement
        • Create a new folder in Xero files to store reconciled mortgage statements

        Do Send Copy Bank Statements to Xero Files

        • Reconcile bank accounts often
        • Xero feeds and direct feeds do occasionally go wrong
        • Check monthly, quarterly and at the very least annually – that the bank account statement balance in Xero matches the balance on your statement.
        • Save a copy of the pdf bank statement or a snapshot of the screen to Xero files as evidence of a balance match. Your accountant will ask for a copy of your end of year account balances so be prepared!
        • Create a new folder in Xero files to store reconciled bank statements

        Do Send Customer Credit Applications/Credit Checks to Xero Files

        • If you allow customers to apply for credit when they engage your services, what better place to store their credit application than with their customer account in Xero.
        • If you run a credit report on that customer, this too can be uploaded to Xero Files for future referenc

        Do Send Contracts to Xero Files

        • If you enter into a contract with a supplier or a customer, you could hold a copy on their Xero contact record.
        • These can easily be referenced any retrieved anywhere you are , any time you want so long as you have an internet connection.
        • Create a new folder in Xero files to store contracts or save to the supplier/customer contact record

        Do Save Low Value or Safe Login or Passwords to Xero Files

        • It’s very frustrating when you go to file your VAT return and you can’t remember your government gateway
        • If you don’t use an online password vault, you can save user names and partial passwords to Xero Files (these are probably safer than the notebooks held in desk drawers and shared amongst teams!! Access is limited to those you share your online accounts with.)
        • Your Xero account is super safe and secure – keep low-value logon details in Xero files – and by Low Value, I mean those that cannot cause harm if deciphered
        • Add the user login and enough of a password hint so you can understand it but not so much that it could be guessed
        • Create a new folder in Xero files to store password hints

        gateway-password

        xero-silver

        Doing more with XERO?

        What other documents pass through your hands that require action later?

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