How to work smarter using Xero

Flying home from Wellington a few months back I was sitting beside a woman who was heading to Christchurch to present at a conference. She was telling me that she loves Xero and has been using it since 2009. She had even invested in Xero shares back in the day when you could pick them up for under $3 – she was an avid Xero fan for more reasons than most! But she also went on to tell me that she still didn’t really know how to use it properly and was still sending out invoices in Word.

Now some of you will be surprised by this revelation and many of you will be nodding and admitting that you are probably in the same situation – you find it easy to use, but know that there is more to it than what you currently know. Some of you will have even gone back to your accountant for assistance and left not being any the wiser -or have been too sacred to ask for help knowing that it will cost you dearly. Many of you will have searched the help feature in Xero with little success and a few of you will have watched a few of the videos hoping you will learn a thing or two. And then I think there will be a large number who are just left wondering. (It’s OK – I promise you are not alone)

Like any system you have – whether cloud based or on your desktop – how much you use it and know about its functionality will determine how efficient and productive you can become. The trouble is that you pay for the full functionality whether you use it or not. No one really cares how you use it as long as the monthly subscription keeps rolling along.

Often with Xero, users get shown how to do the basics, reconciling, adding payables and receivables but all the features that actually save you time and improve productivity are overlooked.

We all have different learning styles but many of us like to be shown rather than watching webinars and videos. We still like that opportunity to have a face to face meeting and to be given the opportunity to learn by doing with someone sitting beside us showing us the way.

These days we all seem to be time poor – anything that can save time is money in the bank as far as I am concerned. So learning how to use all the features is one sure way of saving time. Not to mention the opportunity to stop creating pieces of paper that require filing. I hate filing with a passion so to be able to not have all these pieces of paper around is an added bonus of  beinga Xero subscriber.

So hence Ordo – after years of helping people with their Xero I realised I had a job right under my nose. It would enable me to help small business owners thrive and be more successful. I want small business owners to feel more confident when it comes to managing their finances and to feel more in control of their businesses.

I am passionate about small business. Small business in New Zealand is the largest employer and makes up 97% of New Zealand businesses. In my humble opinion – small business over the decades has been largely unloved by traditional accounting firms, banks, government departments and larger businesses. My own experience with my husband’s business had left me feeling frustrated by interactions with Accountants and banks over the years. The annual visit to the Accountant was all about how much tax was needed to pay with no insights on how to grow and improve the business or address the business issues. And what’s more – we were charged for that meeting that added no value.

Most people go into business for lifestyle purposes – they want more control over their lives and believe that they will be better off working for themselves– only to discover that owning your own business is a great deal of hard work and responsibility.

What I am wanting for Ordo clients is to show them the features in Xero that are going to help them the most in their business, introduce them to the right add ons, keep them up to date with new Xero features most of all – build their business confidence.

So – if you are that very cool business woman on the plane who has Xero but knows there is much more you could be using ­­then now is the time to engage with Ordo. We will turn you into a Xero hero, save you time, help you be more productive and maybe even have a laugh or two.