I have a client with 2 small micro Ltd companies and he want to use Xero to "take control of his business" etc.
Someone has sold him on how 'brilliant' Xero is.
The client has no accounting/double entry skills whatsoever.
I currently do everything for him on VT.
Can anyone give me advantages / disadvantages of using Xero in this kind of situation.
Many thanks for your time to respond.
Replies (10)
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Xero is pretty good but not as good as they like to tell you it is so be careful when reviewing it.
best to review 2-3
I use Clear Books, FreeAgent & Xero for my clients and have to say, whilst it is solid basic bookkeeping, I would only get clients involved in the latter if they have accounting experience.
When I started using Cloud Accounting, the first clients I moved over were simple micros, who I wanted to move away from spreadsheets, and FreeAgent was a godsend, it is designed for inexperienced users, not accountants and whilst it lacks quiet a few of the features accountants would like to see, and is cumbersome for large numbers of transactions, the learning curve is shallow and it took hardly any time to get clients up & running.
Clear Books (who I am consultant accountant for) is equivalent to Xero but with more features built into it, however where it really wins out for my clients is that you can turn on/off about 50 features enabling you to tailor it to each business and also turn on/off 70 features per user making training far easier, ie you can turn on just the bits you want them to start with then switch on others as they become familiar.
If this is your first move into Cloud accounting then be aware there are over two dozen systems out there and you may need to think about the system(s) that will suit your other clients as well. It is tricky keeping up to date with Cloud systems as they can change month by month so you want to avoid having a tiny number of clients out on a limb with one system that is unlikely to suit the majority of your clients.
VT is the answer
I have one or two clients who I've trained up on VT, but who I would never dream of mentioning Xero or Clearbooks to. I don't trust them not to make an awful mess of things.
I suggest you train him to use VT (selling point - much cheaper) and then get him to send you a backup so you can check quarterly and do his VAT returns and then send it back amended so he can restore and carry on.
For bookkeepers upwards
We used Xero in our business as we were across 4 different countries and liked the user-friendly nature of it. BUT I would say it's not quite simple enough for people who have little idea about accounts. I frequently found wrong transactions from the accounts assistants in the other countries. The functionality was ok but a little restrictive sometimes. And I thought it was expensive for what it was.
Restrictive!
I have experience in Xero, and personally don't recommend. The plus side is that you can import the bank statements to save posting the transactions, but I personally find it difficult if you want to post payments on account (although there are ways). I personally find Sage a much better system, more transparent and versatile. I use Xero for many clients, but I don't get to like it ant more the more I use it I'm afraid. The usability of it is limited as you can't open multiple windows, so the process takes much longer, as if you are looking at a report then have to look at the transaction, the report closes and you have to start again and reload the report once you've gone through the process of looking at the transaction, I find it annoying and time consuming.
Marketing
Online bookkeeping can help a client a lot because they should know what the transactions are for and are easy to get into the system and explain them.
Marketing can give the impression that everything will run smoothly without any effort but that is never the case.
Multiple windows open at same time
I find the ability to have multiple windows open at the same time a very useful feature in Xero.
Easy to achieve using ... right click ... "open in new tab" (or new window).
I recommend Freeagent to clients with very simple businesses. It's far easier for the uninitiated to use. The only time I tend to recommend Xero is where there is stock involved as Freeagent can't handle stock. I'd rather have my tongue beaten wafer thin with a steak tenderiser than use Sage.
It is v useful but you must give your client restrictions on what they should be doing on it (e.g. sales invoices, matching straightforward items in bank rec...) - it will definitely need your input too!