Hearing the words ‘digital accounting software’ doesn’t automatically make you think about game changing business transformation. 

What you may not know (yet!) is that going digital with your accounting doesn’t just mean filing a tax return easily online. Though it’s certainly one of the perks, it’s one of many ways that a cloud software will change the way you run your business. 

What’s really in it for you?

• There are hundreds of apps designed to make your life easy – Stop making running your business hard on yourself! Much like the app marketplace on your phone, Xero has its own marketplace where you can do everything from creating quotes on the go and taking faster payments, to managing projects and predicting your cash flow.

• You get to be the business owner – When you adopt Xero and the app marketplace you can automate and streamline processes, saving you a tonne of time. Eventually, instead of working in the business day to day, you’ll be able to take yourself out of it and spend more time on your strategy for growth.

• You can fill the gaps where you don’t have staff yet – Need a better process for booking staff holidays? Feel like you’re always running behind on processing payroll every month? Fed up of wasting your own time chasing clients for money? Xero and it’s wide range of apps can help you put automated processes in place where you’re short of a pair of hands. 

Five key processes you can start with

There are some transactions every business has to deal with. Whether you’re using spreadsheets and hoarding invoices or you’ve upgraded to a smart software like Xero, these things have to be done. So why not reduce the admin time and the potential for errors? 

Your bank feeds, without the manual work

Xero automatically imports transactions from your bank so that you always have an up to date view of your cash position without having to manually input the numbers. Historically, so much time has been wasted on manual imports. Now you can set up feeds from multiple banks and automatically match your income and expenses to payments for invoices, meaning that come tax time, you can kick your feet up and have a cuppa, because a good portion of the work will be done.

Send supplier bills straight to Xero

When you get a bill from your supplier, instead of putting them in a folder or in dropbox and taking up unnecessary space – you can email the bill straight into a files inbox in Xero. This means no paper record keeping, and allows you to access your bills at all times without taking the storage hassle. It also means you can easily assign any costs you can recover to the supplier at the click of a button when the bill comes in. You won’t need to send your accountant any more dropbox links – instead they’ll be able to see your expenses in real time when they’re collaborating with you in Xero. 

Stop creating invoices in excel

If you’re still doing it – stop! It’s as simple as that. We still meet new clients who are fed up of having to formulate their invoices in excel, when they really don’t need to be. In Xero, it’s really easy to:

• Create an invoice, complete with payment terms
• Brand it up beautifully 
• Save it as a template
• Use preset inventory items
• Set up repeating invoices
• Send bulk invoices at the same time

Plus you can do it all on your mobile and allow your customers to pay you instantly online. It’s a no brainer. Try it, and then tell us you’re okay using excel…

Process payroll in the same software

Xero payroll has been rolled out in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, so now as well as improving the efficiency of your sales process, you’re also able to manage pay runs, timesheets and workplace pensions in Xero. You can process weekly, bi-weekly or monthly pay easily without all the manual data entry. For those countries still waiting for Xero payroll, you’re covered too! There are plenty of different app integration options for payroll and HR, helping you manage staff pay, track employee time and assign time to clients or projects. 

Snap receipts as you get them, and track expenses from anywhere

Gone are the days of keeping plastic folders of receipts for ten years. Nowadays you can manage your expenses from anywhere, at any time, using any device. Just by using the camera on your phone, you can capture receipts and invoices and upload them straight to Xero to be stored in the cloud. Everyone on your team can be tracking their expenses as they go, and you approve them via the app whenever suits you. Read more about how Xero will transform your expenses in our dedicated blog here.

Start now, be more efficient for the new year

Aside from the human touch, there’s not a lot in your business that can’t be made digital. These are just five ways you can begin to save yourself (and your team) some valuable time and focus on improving skills, developing your offering and simply doing what you started a business to do. 

Going fully digital is a journey, and it may take some time to walk before you can run, but there’s no better time to start, since we’re about to enter a new year. Prepare for 2020 with a growth mindset and start making small changes now to see more efficiency and profitability in your business. 

Get set up on Xero first