Xero

Introduction

Accounting and financial document management used to be a time-consuming task but has been made simpler through the use of technology. Thanks to technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), businesses can not only leverage cloud-based accounting software to access their business’s finances at any time and place but can also eliminate repetitive tasks like data entry and the calculating of tax, revenue and cash flow forecasts, among others.

What is Accounting Software?

Accounting software is a digital tool that helps people and businesses record, track, and manage their money. It automates everyday tasks like sending bills, paying costs, and checking bank records. This system makes financial data neat and easy to view.

For SMEs, the critical part comes in choosing the right accounting software for the business. The right platform will be easy-to-use, align with global and local compliance standards, and have comprehensive accessibility. One such platform is Xero.

What is Xero?

Xero is a cloud-based online accounting platform designed to help small businesses, sole traders, and accountants manage their day-to-day finances.

What does Xero Offer SMEs?

Xero’s accounting software is designed to help SMEs manage core financial tasks, including automated bank feeds, professional invoicing, expense tracking, and real-time cash flow reporting from any internet-connected device.

Main Features

Accounting Software: Through Xero you can manage all your accounting needs in one centralised platform.

Send Invoice: Xero enables you to simplify and streamline your billing process, making sending invoices easier.

Online Payments: You can get paid faster by accepting online payments through Xero.

Pay Bills: Xero enables you to pay all your bills from one centralised platform.

Purchase Orders: You can easily create and send digital purchase orders within minutes by leveraging Xero.

Expenses: Xero makes it easy for you to track your expenses and get an overview of your financial data.

Bank Reconciliation: With Xero you can integrate and track your bank accounts easily. Also, the platform’s AI can automatically reconcile all your Xero transactions.

JAX AI: JAX (short for Just Ask Xero) is an AI financial agent built into the Xero to help you with tasks like bookkeeping, drafting invoices, chasing overdue payments, reading source documents, and query financial metrics.

Pricing

Xero has three plans available for you to choose from. Each plan has a discount offering for the first three months.

Starter Plan – R90 per month for the first three months, then R450 per month. The Starter plan includes:

  • Send quotes and 20 invoices
  • Accept online invoice payments
  • Enter 5 bills
  • Reconcile bank transactions
  • Smart Document Capture
  • View real-time reports
  • 30-day cashflow forecast
  • Visualise performance with graphs

Standard Plan – R159 per month for the first three months, then R795 per month. The Standard plan features everything in the starter plan, plus:

  • Send invoices and quotes
  • Automate bill entry and track bills
  • Auto-reconcile bank transactions
  • Bulk reconcile transactions
  • Tailored financial health scorecards
  • 60-day cashflow forecast
  • Customise performance dashboards
  • Budget with smart suggestions

Premium Plan – R219 per month for the first three months, then R1095 per month. The Premium plan features everything in the standard plan, plus:

  • Use multiple currencies
  • Analyse KPIs and ratios
  • 180-day cashflow forecast
  • Benchmark against the industry
Pros and Cons

Pros

Supports unlimited users at no extra cost
Highly intuitive dashboard with automated bank reconciliation
Strong collaboration tools for business owners and accountants
Connects with over 1000 external smart business apps

Cons

The Starter plan limits invoices and bills
Lacks inbound phone support; relies on email and callbacks
FAQs

Yes. Xero protects your data with industry-standard encryption, mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA), and highly secure, enterprise-grade cloud servers.

Xero seamlessly connects with third-party apps, offering over 1,000 plug-and-play integrations for payment gateways, CRMs, inventory managers, and payroll systems.

Absolutely. Unlike many competitors, Xero allows unlimited users at no extra cost on all of its base plans, complete with customizable, role-based access.

Xero’s Premium plan supports over 160 currencies. It automatically updates exchange rates hourly and instantly calculates foreign currency gains and losses.

Because Xero is 100% cloud-based, your data is automatically backed up in real-time across multiple secure servers, eliminating the risk of local hardware failures.

Get Offer
You’ll be redirected to Xero’s partner page to claim your exclusive offer

Already a Member? Click here to access your unique redemption code

OR

Join the SME Hub Community in 30 seconds to qualify