Since launching in the UK just over a decade, Xero has rapidly displaced Sage as the most commonly used accounting software in the land.

The cornerstone of their proposition, was making the process of bank reconciliation simple and, even at times, fun. This is the crucial step that ties the company’s cash position to its accounting records, and was often a real pain to do.

However, Xero pioneered direct banking feeds into their software, and paired this with clever algorithmic matching, so after only a little bit of training, it can accurately match bank items with invoices and receipts, with very little manual intervention at all.

And with a really nice mobile app, this can be done when you are on the move just as easily as if you are in the office.

This solved the most painful part of the bookkeeping process and has meant that small business owners can keep on top of their own financial information in real time, and often without having to hire a qualified accountant to do it for them.

Xero goes further still and comes with easily customisable invoice templates, which build in easy ways for your customers to pay their bills, by adding a “Pay Now” button to your PDF invoices. To get this up and running, you need an account with Stripe or GoCardless, but once this is sorted means that Xero knows exactly who has paid what against the invoices you have sent out, making the process of bank reconciliation even easier.

More features have been added over time, and Xero can also help automate receipt processing, payment processing and payroll. And for anyone wanting to do even more exciting integrations, Xero is capable of linking up with a number of other software provides to allow sophisticated financial analysis and reporting.

Getting set up with Xero is quite straightforward, but migrating from another provider of accounting software can be quite tricky. We offer a bespoke migration package, and can help clients move years of data to Xero seamlessly. And if your team needs bringing up to speed quickly, we can also provide training as needed.