Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Course Topics
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................ 1
SETTINGS (PART 1) ................................................................................................................................................... 2
ORGANIZATION SETTINGS ........................................................................................................................................... 2
FINANCIAL SETTINGS .................................................................................................................................................. 3
CHART OF ACCOUNTS ................................................................................................................................................ 4
TAX RATES .............................................................................................................................................................. 5
TRACKING ............................................................................................................................................................... 6
CONVERSION BALANCES ............................................................................................................................................. 7
USERS .................................................................................................................................................................... 8
CUSTOM CONTACT LINKS ............................................................................................................................................ 8
BANK RECONCILIATIONS (PART 1) ......................................................................................................................... 10
SETTINGS (PART 2) ................................................................................................................................................. 15
INVOICE SETTINGS ................................................................................................................................................... 15
PAYMENT SERVICES ................................................................................................................................................. 16
INVENTORY ITEMS ................................................................................................................................................... 17
CURRENCIES .......................................................................................................................................................... 18
CHECK STYLES ........................................................................................................................................................ 18
EMAIL SETTINGS ..................................................................................................................................................... 18
FILES .................................................................................................................................................................... 19
XERO TO XERO ....................................................................................................................................................... 21
ADD-ONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 21
SALES AND INVOICES ............................................................................................................................................. 22
PURCHASES AND BILLS........................................................................................................................................... 29
CONTACTS .............................................................................................................................................................. 37
BANK RECONCILIATIONS (PART 2) ......................................................................................................................... 41
RECONCILIATION ISSUES ........................................................................................................................................... 41
CREATING BANK RULES ............................................................................................................................................ 44
CASH CODING ........................................................................................................................................................ 46
FIXING CODING AND RECONCILING ERRORS ................................................................................................................... 48
DELETING DUPLICATE BANK STATEMENT TRANSACTIONS.................................................................................................. 53
MARK OR UNMARK AS RECONCILED ............................................................................................................................ 55
BANK RECONCILIATION REPORTS ................................................................................................................................ 57
REPORTING OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................................... 59
CERTIFICATION TEST AND KEEPING UP-TO-DATE .................................................................................................. 63
Case Studies
Practice makes perfect! Weve written the case studies listed below to help you learn how to use Xero.
To do these case studies, you will need the USA CSV file. When doing Case Study 5, you will use this file to
import bank statement lines into Xero. The import provides the data needed to complete the remaining
case studies. If you dont have the USA CSV file, ask for a copy by sending an email to training@xero.com.
CASE STUDY 1: EDITING THE ORGANIZATION NAME S ............................................................................................................ 3
CASE STUDY 2: EDITING YOUR CHART OF ACCOUNTS S ........................................................................................................... 4
CASE STUDY 3: TRACKING AND DEPARTMENTAL REPORTING S ................................................................................................. 6
CASE STUDY 4: CONVERSION BALANCES S ........................................................................................................................... 8
CASE STUDY 5: REORDERING BANK ACCOUNTS AND IMPORTING A BANK STATEMENT D............................................................... 12
CASE STUDY 6: RECONCILE SCREEN AND REFRESH OF ESSENTIALS S ......................................................................................... 13
CASE STUDY 7: ADDING A CREDIT CARD BANK ACCOUNT O ................................................................................................... 14
CASE STUDY 8: DEFAULT PAYMENT TERMS AND LOGO O ...................................................................................................... 15
CASE STUDY 9: ADDING INVENTORY ITEMS S...................................................................................................................... 17
CASE STUDY 10: EMAIL TEMPLATES O .............................................................................................................................. 18
CASE STUDY 11: CREATING A SALES INVOICE S ................................................................................................................... 24
CASE STUDY 12: CREATING AND ALLOCATING A CREDIT NOTE S ............................................................................................. 24
CASE STUDY 13: CREATING AND VIEWING AN ONLINE INVOICE D ........................................................................................... 25
CASE STUDY 14: CREATING A REPEATING BILL S ................................................................................................................. 29
CASE STUDY 15: ENTERING A FOREIGN CURRENCY BILL O ..................................................................................................... 30
CASE STUDY 16: CREATING A DRAFT PURCHASE ORDER S ..................................................................................................... 34
CASE STUDY 17: APPROVING AND BILLING A PURCHASE ORDER S ........................................................................................... 34
CASE STUDY 18: PRINTING CHECKS D ............................................................................................................................... 35
CASE STUDY 19: MERGING CONTACTS S ........................................................................................................................... 37
CASE STUDY 20: USING THE ENABLE PAYMENTS FUNCTION S ................................................................................................ 38
CASE STUDY 21: DEALING WITH A MINOR UNDERPAYMENT D ............................................................................................... 41
CASE STUDY 22: DEALING WITH A PART PAYMENT D ........................................................................................................... 41
CASE STUDY 23: DEALING WITH A PREPAYMENT S............................................................................................................... 42
CASE STUDY 24: RECONCILING AN OVERPAYMENT AND PROCESSING A REFUND S ...................................................................... 43
CASE STUDY 25: CREATING BANK RULES D ........................................................................................................................ 44
CASE STUDY 26: CREATING BANK RULES S ........................................................................................................................ 45
CASE STUDY 27: USING CASH CODING S ........................................................................................................................... 46
CASE STUDY 28: FIXING CODING ERRORS IN RECONCILED TRANSACTIONS D .............................................................................. 50
CASE STUDY 29: FIXING CODING ERRORS IN RECONCILED TRANSACTIONS O .............................................................................. 51
CASE STUDY 30: USING UNRECONCILE TO FIX RECONCILED TRANSACTIONS O ............................................................................ 51
CASE STUDY 31: DELETING DUPLICATE BANK STATEMENT TRANSACTIONS O ............................................................................. 54
CASE STUDY 32: MANUALLY CREATING MISSING BANK TRANSACTIONS D ................................................................................ 55
CASE STUDY 33: COMMON REPORTS O ............................................................................................................................ 60
KEY
S
D
O
Introduction
Lets begin
Connect to the internet and login to Xero.
You can access the last five organizations you accessed by clicking on the organization name at the top left of
the screen. Youll also see the other applications you have access to; for example, My Xero.
To reset the demo company, click on the organization name and
then select My Xero.
In the My Xero screen, click on Reset.
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Settings (Part 1)
This is a quick overview only. We recommend you attend the Set Up and Conversion
training course for more information.
If you use a specific setting on a regular basis, consider adding it as a favorite to the
Settings menu. For example, the screenshot to the right shows the addition of two
favorites Chart of Accounts and Inventory Items. To add a favorite, click on the
icon to the left of the setting name.
Organization Settings
The information held in the Organization Settings screen shows the name to display in Xero and on reports and
sales invoices. It also records the organizations contact details and the TIN/EIN/SSN number (required for payroll).
If you want your organization promoted to the online world, turn your public profile on.
Xeros public profile is an opportunity for you to promote your work or expertise to new and existing customers
through the Xero Community.
Xero sets your profile to private by default; however, you can choose to make your Xero user profile public
or private. If you choose to make your user profile public, you can select the details you want to share, from a
simple online business card to a more extensive profile. Refer to the Help Center for more about managing
your Xero user profile.
To turn your public profile on and edit your profile details:
1. At the top right of the screen, click on the down arrow
(to the right of your name) and then click Profile.
2. At the top right of the screen, click on the Login link.
Once logged in, click on the Edit profile link.
3. If you havent already done so, turn your public profile on.
4. Edit profile details (name, location, bio, contact details, public profile settings) and then read and agree
to Xeros terms and conditions and then click Save.
5. If you want to, and if you have editing permissions, you can embed your Xero profile on an organizations
website, blog or CRM (customer relationship management) system. Embedding means inserting a snippet
of code in a web page so that information from an external site displays on it. To embed your Xero profile,
click on the down arrow (to the right of your name), click Profile, click Embed your profile on another site
and then follow the instructions in the Help Center.
NOTE: You will have the option to include your user profile provided it is a public profile and you added the
organization to your user profile.
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Financial Settings
Settings > General Settings > Organization (heading) > Financial Settings (link)
The information held in the Financial Settings screen is used when creating reports.
Financial Year End the date used for calculating year-to-date (YTD) balances and reports.
Sales Tax options available are Invoice Basis, Payments Basis, None. Default is Payments Basis.
Lock Dates set a lock date to prevent users from making changes to data. Only people with the Advisor role can
set and amend lock dates. There are two lock dates:
Period Lock Date
Locks out users other than the Advisor. Can be used before starting a
period or year-end job.
Locks out all users including the Advisor. Can be used after completing
an end of period or end of year job.
Only Advisors can change transactions prior to the Period Lock Date.
Nobody can change transactions prior to the EOY Lock Date.
If you have Advisor permissions, you can change the EOY Lock Date whenever you need to.
This means you can use the EOY Lock Date to stop yourself from accidentally making changes.
NOTE: Xero is a perpetual accounting system. The EOY Lock Date does not create any roll journals, nor does it
create any other adjustments to your accounts and reports.
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Chart of Accounts
Settings > General Settings > Organization (heading) > Chart of Accounts (link)
Chart of Accounts codes can be up to 10 characters (alphanumeric), and Account Type selection (such as
Revenue, Expenses, Current Asset, Current Liability) determines which report the Account Code is sent to.
To change account display and behavior, tick check boxes as required:
Tick the Dashboard Watchlist option to display the account on the Dashboard,
in the Account Watchlist section.
Tick the Expense Claims option to display the account in the list of accounts
that can be chosen when entering receipts into an expense claim.
Tick the Enable Payments option to enable payments to be directly made or
received against the account.
Use the links below for more about the Chart of Accounts:
Importing a Chart of Accounts CSV File
Choosing a Chart of Accounts (includes a video)
3. Change the name and description of the Sales account (400) to Storage Income.
4. Add a new Revenue code for Freight Income (430) with Tax on Sales (9.25%).
5. Change the Janitorial Expenses code to 610.
6. Add a new Expense code for Storage Fees (665) with Tax on Purchases (0%).
continued over
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7. Note the Balance column, used to import balances (optional). Positive balances are imported as debits;
negative balances as credits. Any balances saved in Xero will be replaced during import. (Dont remove the
Balance column heading as the import will fail if you do.)
8. Save the file to your desktop using the Save As command. Keep the file in CSV format. Once saved, import
the modified Chart of Accounts and review changes.
NOTE: When importing, Xero sometimes deletes or archives accounts. You are notified when this occurs.
Extra for Experts
Accounts are deleted during the import process if they have not had any transactions coded to them. System or
locked accounts cannot be deleted. Deleted accounts are completely removed from Xero. You will not be able to
view or access deleted accounts again, and they will not show up in reports.
Accounts are archived during the import process if they have a balance in them. The balance
needs to be available for any reports you run. Archived accounts are moved to the Archive tab.
If necessary, you can restore an archived account.
Tax Rates
When using Xero, every transaction line item entered needs a tax rate; for example, 0%, 4.25%.
Use the Tax Rates screen to edit, add or delete tax rates. You can also use this screen to view existing tax rates
already set up. To find out whats captured in the Sales Tax Report, refer to the Help Center.
You can have as many Tax Rates as you need. Create a new tax rate by clicking on New Tax Rate; for example,
when creating tax rates for special tax rate contacts. When setting up a new tax rate, you will need to set up
two tax rates; one for money coming in and the other for money going out.
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Tracking
Settings > General Settings > Organization (heading) > Tracking (link)
You can use tracking for Cost Center or Departmental (Divisional) reporting. The Tracking Summary report
(shown below), shows total sales reported by the Region tracking category. Transactions not assigned to a
tracking category will appear as Unassigned.
We do not recommend using tracking categories for job costing. A job has a start and finish date; tracking
categories do not. You use tracking categories for the life of the organization. (If you need Job Costing
functionality, we recommend you use an Add-on; discussed further on in these notes.)
Xero allows only two tracking categories. For example, you could track by Region and Employee. Click on
Add a Tracking Category to add new tracking categories.
You can rename or delete tracking categories and options. To rename, go to Settings > General Settings >
Tracking and then, for the name you want to change, click on the Rename link. To delete, click on the icon to
the right of the tracking category or option you want removed. Refer to the Help Center for more information
about deleting tracking options and categories.
You can also import tracking information when importing bank statement lines, using a CSV file.
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Conversion Balances
The Conversion Balances screen is used for updating Xero with the balances coming from your previous
accounting system. The information below is intended as an overview only. Learn more by attending one of our
online Set Up and Conversion courses, or go to the Xero Help Center.
Conversion Date: Settings > General Settings > Conversion Balances > Conversion Date (button)
Enter the month and year that you will begin processing transactions in Xero. When the conversion date has
been set, the next step is to enter the opening balances. Opening balance amounts are determined by the
conversion date. For example, if the conversion date is January 2014 then opening balances as of December 31,
2013 will need to be entered.
Opening Balances: Obtain a Trial Balance from the previous accounting system as of the date set by the
Conversion Date rules (see above). These amounts will be the opening balances in Xero and can be entered
directly into the Conversion Balances screen. These balances can also be imported when importing the Chart of
Accounts.
Prior Period Adjustments: Enter any prior period adjustments directly into the Conversion Balances screen. You
might be tempted to enter a journal to bring in any prior period adjustments; however, this is not the
recommended process when using Xero. This is because a journal will adjust the balance but it wont update the
conversion balance screen and, if at some future period in time you need to update the conversion balances
again, the journal will be reversed. To prevent any future problems from arising, its best to enter prior period
adjustments directly into the Conversion Balances screen.
Bank Balances: This must be the closing balance on the actual Bank Statement, not the balance as per the
previous accounting system as this may include unpresented funds such as uncleared checks.
Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable: The recommended process for entering Accounts Receivable and
Accounts Payable opening balances is shown below.
1. Enter a 0.00 amount in the Conversion Balances screen for both Accounts Receivable
and Accounts Payable. (This will be adjusted later.)
2. When setup is complete, import the sales invoices and any credit notes.
Enter any credit notes as a negative sales invoice: Accounts > Sales > Import (button)
3. Go back to the Conversion Balances screen; enter the correct opening balance. Save.
4. Repeat the above two steps for bills: Accounts > Purchases > Import (button)
Sales invoices, bills and credit notes can be imported when setting up an organization. Download Xeros
template file from Accounts > Sales or Purchases > Import (button) and then enter data, as required. Enter any
credit notes as a negative amount. You can also enter inventory item codes and descriptions and any applicable
discount into the template file. Both inventory and discount are imported at a line item level only. Foreign
currency sales invoices and bills can also be entered at this stage, using the correct currency.
If a sales invoice or bill has had a part payment applied to it before the conversion date, import the outstanding
balance only so Xero can match the incoming payment.
If you have an Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable total, you must have the sales invoices and bills to
verify the balance. If you dont have these sales invoices (or bills), enter NIL and adjust later.
Comparative Balances: You can add Comparative Balances for as many years as you like. Clicking on the Add
Comparative Balances button creates a tab for the previous fiscal year.
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Sales Tax: The Sales Tax system account must only contain the balance of the Sales Tax in the outstanding
historical transactions, being those amounts entered to support the sales invoices and bills at the time of
conversion. This is so that the Sales Tax Reconciliation Report does not include an opening balance for the life
of the organization.
Historical Adjustments: If the opening Conversion Balances (debits and credits) do not balance, the variance is
posted to a system Balance Sheet account called Historical Adjustments.
Two videos that might help you with setting your conversion date and account balances and saving your
conversion balances can be found in the Xero blog. Information on updating the Conversion Balance (video
included), and entering historical invoices and credit notes (video included) is available in the Xero Help Center.
Users
If you no longer want access to an organization, you can remove yourself, rather than asking someone else to
do it for you. This is useful if you have temporary access only and no longer wish
to see the organization listed in My Xero. For more about user roles, refer to your Essentials course notes or
the Xero Help Center.
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Review: Settings
True or False?
Only users with the Advisor role can change transactions prior to the Period Lock Date.
Any new account created will automatically show in the Account Watchlist on the Dashboard.
An account with transactions cannot be deleted; it can only be archived.
Xero allows two tracking categories and unlimited options for each tracking category.
Xeros tracking function can be used for job costing.
If Xeros tracking function is used, all amounts entered will require a tracking category.
When entering the opening Conversion Balances (debits and credits), any variances are posted to the
Historical Adjustments account, a Balance Sheet account.
If a new tax rate needs to be set up, you will need to create one for money coming in and one for money
going out.
Questions and Tasks
Your client has changed their postal address. Where would you go to update this in Xero?
Your client uses the Accruals Basis for accounting for Sales Tax. Where would you set this up?
Explain lock dates. What is the difference between end of period and end of year lock dates?
Give three reasons why a padlock could be displayed next to an account code.
What is the purpose of a system account? Provide examples of system accounts.
Xero wont allow you to post a manual journal to the bank account, the accounts receivable account or the
accounts payable account. Why not?
Explain how you would create a new account. When would you use a CSV file for this task?
When setting up a new account, what happens if the Show in Expense Claims check box is ticked?
If the conversion date is July 1, the opening balances at what date will need to be entered?
My year end is December 31. The conversion date is September 2013 and I need to make an adjustment to
a transaction in July 2013. Where would I do that?
When performing a conversion from another financial system, if the General Ledger balance for the Bank
account was $2000, but my Statement Balance was $2100, which amount would I enter in the Conversion
Balances screen? What does the difference represent?
Explain the process for entering Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable opening balances.
Your client wants last year amounts to be displayed in the reports. How will you enter these?
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FIND
Account Transactions a listing of the General Ledger transactions recorded against that
bank account within Xero. Includes Spend Money, Receive Money, Receipts, Payments and
Transfers.
Bank Statements a listing of all imported Bank Statements.
NEW
Spend Money used to enter a cash purchase. For example, a check that you wrote out for
a Supplier you dont have an account with. Used when there is no intention to enter a bill
for the amount.
Receive Money used to enter a cash receipt. For example, a customer has paid for a
Training Manual which is not usually charged for. Other examples may be interest received,
donations received. Used when there is no intention to enter a sales invoice for the
amount.
Transfer Money used to move money between Bank Accounts; for example, between the
check and savings accounts. Note that you can also create multiple transfers from the
Accounts > Bank Accounts screen.
RECONCILE
Reconcile Account main reconciliation coding screen; bank transactions on the left, Xero
(GL) transactions on the right.
Bank Rules used to automatically code transactions.
Reconciliation Report shows how the Xero (GL) bank balance reconciles to the Bank
Statement closing balance for the selected bank account and date.
Import a Statement used for importing bank statement transactions.
BANK FEEDS
The Bank Feeds column may or may not be displayed. Different options and prompts will
be displayed depending on the status of your bank feeds, and whether your feeds are from
a partner bank or by using Yodlee.
EDIT
Edit Account Details used to make changes to the bank account name or number.
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2. Bank Rules. Xero identifies bank statement lines that meet the bank rule criteria. Xero then uses the coding
information in the bank rule to suggest where to code the transaction to. You know when Xero has done
this when Apply Rule shows on the Create tab. If necessary, users have the option of not applying the rule
before reconciling; by clicking on the Dont Apply Rule link.
3. Auto Suggestion. If Xero recognizes the contact name in a bank statement line, Xero will suggest the same
account code used last time for that contact. The Create tab will show the suggested coding details, as
shown below. Change these details before reconciling, if you need to.
The Create tab is used to code transactions. Tracking information and tax rates can also be entered on this tab.
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Go to the Dashboard. From the Account Watchlist, view the YTD balance in the Unpresented Funds account
balance. How did this amount arrive here?
2.
For the Savings Account, click on Manage Accounts and then select Reconcile Account.
3.
Find the Rex Media Group $550 bank statement line. This is the unpresented funds amount entered earlier
in the Conversion Balances screen. Deal with this amount as follows:
Using the Create tab, enter Rex Media Group in the Name field.
Enter Unpresented Funds in the Account field and then click OK to reconcile.
Go to the Dashboard. View the YTD balance in the Unpresented Funds account balance.
This should now show a zero YTD balance.
4.
5.
As you are unsure of the coding for the City Stationery bank statement line, go to the Discuss tab to enter a
comment: Is this for office supplies or the new printer? Click Save.
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Settings (Part 2)
Invoice Settings
Settings > General Settings > Features (heading) > Invoice Settings (link)
The information held in the Invoice Settings screen is used to customize the appearance of
Sales Invoices, Credit Notes and Statements.
The New Branding Theme menu shows there are two kinds of branding
available: Standard theme and Custom DOCX theme.
You can have as many branding themes as you like; however,
there is a limit of 15 DOCX files uploaded per client.
Click Default Settings to view the next number that will be used when generating a Sales Invoice or a Credit Note.
To change the prefix or automatic numbering sequence, edit the appropriate field(s).
If you already send online invoices or credit notes, customers will be able to view their outstanding bills if the
Show Outstanding Bills check box is ticked. (If this function is not required, clear the check box and then save
changes.) Customers can also view online invoices on their smartphone.
NOTE: If they need to, customers can send a question or comment directly from the invoice.
Xero adds these to the history of the invoice.
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Payment Services
Customers can now pay invoices online through the payment services that Xero supports; for example, PayPal,
DPS, eWAY, GoCardless, Stripe. The ability to pay an invoice online makes it much easier to receive and process
payments too. After setting up payment services, you will receive any online payments into your nominated
bank account and Xero will automatically update the invoices as paid. All you need to do is reconcile the
payment.
To set up a payment service:
1. Create an account with a payment service that Xero supports; for example, PayPal.
2. Add a payment service and apply it to an invoice theme:
Go to Settings > General Settings > Features (heading) > Invoice Settings (link)
Click Payment Services.
Click Add Payment Service and then select a payment service from the list.
Enter a name for the payment service that will display in Xero.
Enter your payment services account settings, as required. Click Save.
Tick the check box next to the invoice theme that you want to apply the payment service to; for
example, Standard, and then click Save.
When your customer opens the online sales invoice (when using the link you sent them), they can click
Pay now (shown below) to pay you securely through your payment service.
When your customer pays you online, Xero automatically marks the sales invoice as paid.
NOTE: PayPal or a custom URL payment service doesnt automatically mark the invoice as paid.
In the Reconcile screen, Xero displays the transaction reference ID from the payment gateway in the Reference
field of the payment transaction. Your payment gateway provider is likely to charge a fee so reconcile the
payment by adding a bank fee.
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Inventory Items
Settings > General Settings > Features (heading) > Inventory Items (link)
Inventory Items allow you to manage items that you buy and sell. Once created, they can be used to populate
invoice or credit note fields.
Inventory items can be created one by one, or imported into Xero. They can also be exported.
Inventory Items can also be used if you need to keep track of how many items were purchased or sold. For
each Inventory Item that is set up, Xero records the quantity amounts purchased or sold in the Inventory Items
Summary Report; shown below. However, Xero will not record the quantity on hand. This is because Xero does
not keep a record of opening and closing stock.
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Currencies
If you are on the Business Edition premium pricing plan, you can choose to use the multi-currency option.
This option allows you to create foreign bank accounts, send or receive invoices and payments in currencies
other than your own. Xero automatically pulls exchange rates into Xero using a feed from XE.com. The feed
occurs hourly and is possible because Xero is online 24/7.
To use the multi-currency option, you will need to add the currencies you want to use. To do this, click
Add Currency. You can add as many currencies as you need. After you have added a currency, you can view
historical rates by changing the date in the Exchange Rates for field. Also, if you want to use a specific rate to
override the current rate, click on the existing rate and then define the new rate in the window that opens.
Xero uses the rate given in the Currencies screen to calculate realized or unrealized gains or losses.
Check Styles
The information held in the Check Styles screen is used to format, align and control what displays on the checks
that are printed from Xero. You can set up as many check styles as you like. You can also add or edit specific
check style components such as adding a logo to your check, changing the checks font or font size or choosing
what you want displayed on the check and voucher.
Email Settings
You can specify who Xero sends the organizations emails from in email address settings. Regardless of whom
is using Xero at the time, you can specify the name to display in your customers inbox. You can also control
where replies to your emails should go. To add and set your login email address on all outgoing emails, click
Edit alongside Email address and then click Add email address.
There are three options for outgoing email address settings: the logged in user (default), your own email
address or someone elses email address. Refer to the Help Center for more information.
Email templates are messages you can set up for use when sending emails from Xero. For example, if you email
sales invoices to your customers, a previously set up email template will populate the subject and body of your
email saving you time each time you email a sales invoice. Xero has five email template types: sales invoice,
repeating invoice, credit note, remittance, statement. You can set up to five customized templates for each
template type. Xero comes with default basic email templates for each template type. You can edit the
default template or create a new template.
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Files
Xero lets you attach files to bills, purchase orders, sales invoices and contacts. You can also upload files to
expense receipts, fixed assets, accounts in your Chart of Accounts and manual journals.
You can upload and attach files directly from the transaction screen. However, best practice would be to add
the file to the file library and then attach it to the transaction screen when entering the transaction. Over time,
you are likely to upload hundreds of files. Saving each file to a suitable folder in the file library allows you to
find them more easily later on.
To manage the folders in the file library:
1. Click on the Files icon located at the top right of the screen.
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Xero to Xero
Settings > General Settings > Connect (heading) > Xero to Xero (link)
If your suppliers or customers use Xero, Xero to Xero functionality allows you to connect with them directly.
You can do this by entering their Xero network key on your contact record.
Click Send Xero Network Invite to send your Xero network key to a supplier or customer. When they add your
Xero network key into their Xero system, they will be able to send their invoices directly to your Xero system.
Youll receive these as draft invoices. You can then code and approve the draft invoice for payment.
The Xero network key is unique to your organization. You only send it to those organizations that you want to
send it to. Once sent, these organizations can only use your key to send you their sales invoices or bills. The key
does not give them access to your organizations data.
Add-ons
Settings > General Settings > Connect (heading) > Add-ons (link)
You can use an add-on to connect Xero with third-party software providers. Add-ons allow for the exchange of
data between their software and Xero. They integrate seamlessly with Xero which means you can add
functionality such as job costing, inventory management, CRM and payroll to Xero.
Set up is easy; just click on the View the Xero Add-on directory link and then select the application category
you want from the list on the left. Once selected, Xero displays the add-ons that integrate with Xero.
Review: Settings
Xero allows you to customize the appearance of Sales Invoices, Credit Notes and Statements.
Explain how you would go about doing this? How many DOCX files can be uploaded per client?
What are the advantages of setting up inventory items? What will inventory items not do?
Explain how to create an inventory item that will track purchases and sales.
Explain how to add a foreign currency and how Xero manages any unrealized gains or losses.
How would you go about setting up a new check style?
What are the advantages of setting up an email template? Where can this be done?
In Xero, what transaction types can files be attached to? How are these uploaded?
Explain how you would email a file to the file library Inbox.
Explain what is meant by the term Xero to Xero.
True or false? Add-ons connect Xero with third-party software providers for the purpose of
exchanging data.
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Invoice Options
From the Awaiting Payment tab, click on Bayside Club to open the sales invoice. Note the Email, Print PDF and
Invoice Options buttons. Click the Invoice Options arrow to display available options.
Repeat: Use this option if you want to create a repeating sales invoice
that uses the data in the selected sales invoice.
Void, Copy or Edit: Use one of these options if you want to void, copy or
edit the selected sales invoice.
Add Credit Note: Use this option to copy the data in the selected sales
invoice to create a Credit Note.
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Awaiting Payment
Accounts > Sales > Awaiting Payment (tab)
The Awaiting Payment tab makes it easy to stay on top of the amounts your customers owe. Xero colors the
tab name blue, but if it is red, some amounts are overdue.
Used for bulk printing sales invoices. To select multiple sales invoices, tick the check box to
the left for each sales invoice you want to print. Alternatively, tick the check box for the first
sales invoice to print, hold the Shift key down and then tick the check box for the last sales
invoice to print. Click Print to begin printing the selected sales invoices.
Used for bulk emailing online invoices. Select Customers and then click Email. Enter any
missing email addresses. Choose whether to include a PDF attachment and whether to send
yourself a copy or not. Click Send. Once sent, Xero marks all selected sales invoices as sent.
Used to search for an existing sales invoice. Click Search to define search criteria. Click the
button to close the search window.
Click Show History to view an audit trail of any changes made for the selected sales invoice. Xero displays who
created it, who approved it and whether it has been sent or not. Xero also records any other changes made to
the sales invoice and who made them.
Click Add Note / Expected Payment Date to add a note or an expected payment date.
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Snappy also offered a 20% discount on the Administration Fee. With the discount included, the total tax
inclusive price is $506.
Snappy has now completed the job. Using todays date, create and approve the sales invoice.
1. Terms are seven days from job completion. The Due Date field automatically shows the default payment
terms (30 days). You can override the default when necessary.
2. Use the Freight inventory item. The North Region made the delivery using the SNAPPY1 truck.
3. It is not necessary to create an inventory item for the Administration Fee; rather, enter a description line
and then create a new Administration Fees (210) revenue account directly from the sales invoice screen.
4. Attach the thankyou.jpg file to the invoice and then click Approve.
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Online Invoices
When using Xero you can send a real-time online sales invoice, credit note or prepayment to your customer.
Xero sends the customer a link. Customers use the link to view the electronic document in their web browser.
The electronic document also gives customers up-to-date information, including their payment status, their
payment history and their outstanding bills (if youve allowed this in your invoice settings). If youve set up a
payment service, customers will also have the ability to pay their sales invoice directly from the electronic
document.
You can also attach files to online invoices. When emailing the sales invoice, optionally flag which files to attach
when viewing the invoice online.
Marking the sales invoice, credit note or prepayment as sent (when emailing it), triggers Xero to put a faded
green tick in Sent column on the Awaiting Payment screen. When the customer views the electronic document,
Xero will update the Sent column on the Awaiting Payment screen by replacing the faded green tick with a
vibrant green tick. Because Xero is online 24/7, it knows when someone views the electronic document. Xero
leaves a comment in the History & Notes section each time the customer views the electronic document.
Customers can also choose to send a question or comment directly from the sales invoice, credit note or
prepayment. Xero adds these to the History & Notes section.
Refer to the Help Center for more about viewing information that displays on an online invoice,
an online credit note or an online prepayment.
NOTE: If you closed Gavin Rutherfords sale invoice, you will still need to enter the Primary Person details.
Go to Contacts > Customers and then search for Gavin Rutherfords contact record. When found, open the
contact record and then click on
. Enter and save the Primary Person details.
You are now ready to begin the case study.
1. Go to Accounts > Sales > Awaiting Payment (tab)
2. Search for Gavin Rutherfords sales invoice and then view the Sent column.
Nothing shows in the Sent column. This means Xero has not yet emailed (sent) the invoice.
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A faded green tick means Xero has emailed (sent) the sales invoice but the recipient has not yet opened it.
Open the sales invoice to view the status change in the History & Notes section.
11. Go to your email client and check your inbox. Find and open the email from the Demo Company. Click on
the link in the email message and then view the online invoice.
continued over
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12. To explain the buttons and links showing on the online invoice:
Customers can use this link to view any unpaid bills. Before Xero can display
this link, you will need to go to Settings > General Settings > Invoice Settings
> Default Settings (button) and then tick the check box in the Show
Outstanding Bills section. For more about viewing outstanding bills online,
refer to the Help Center. This page discusses outstanding bills from a sender
and recipient view.
Customers can use this button to pay the sales invoice. You will need to link
a payment service to your invoice branding theme before the Pay now
button will appear on an online invoice. To do this, go to Settings > General
Settings> Invoice Settings. For the invoice branding theme you want to set
up a payment service for, click Options and then select Edit. In the Payment
Services field, select the payment service from the drop-down. Click Save.
Customers can click on this icon to view the attached file. Click on the
attached file to open it.
Customers can download the invoice as a PDF or CSV file. Click on the
selected format to open or save the file.
Customers can save the invoice into their Xero own organization as a draft
bill. If they dont use Xero, they can create a free login and save their online
invoices in one place.
Customers can use this link to send messages. Xero emails
any messages to the organization. Xero will also put any
messages in the History & Notes section of the invoice
and contact.
NOTE: Customers can also view online invoices on their smartphone.
13. Close the online sales invoice and then go back to the sales Awaiting Payment screen. Search for Gavin
Rutherfords invoice and then view the Sent column; it should show a vibrant green tick as shown below.
(You may need to refresh your screen before the change takes effect.)
A vibrant green tick means Xero has emailed (sent) the sales invoice and the recipient has opened it. Open
the sales invoice to view the status change in the History & Notes section.
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5. If you entered the dates correctly, Xero will have created some bills using the repeating bill template
details. Go to the Awaiting Payment tab to find them. To find these bills quickly, click on the From heading
to alphabetically sort supplier names.
When creating or adjusting a Repeating Bill (or a Repeating Sales Invoice), the screen will always show a pink
box at the top. The Repeating Bill and Repeating Sales Invoice screens both have the
and
options. You will find an additional option, the
option, in the Repeating Sales
Invoice screen. Use this option when you want to email an online invoice to a customer on the appointed date.
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Purchase Orders
Let your suppliers know what you want to buy from them by sending a purchase order. You can also record the
delivery date, price, arrival date and any delivery instructions.
In Xero, you can process purchase orders in bulk; that is, you can approve, copy, send or print multiple
purchase orders at the same time. You can also convert a purchase order into a bill, or copy the details in an
existing purchase order to create another purchase order. Further, if you want to charge out items listed in a
purchase order, you can create a sales invoice directly from the purchase order. The ability to save data entry
time by copying purchase order details is a good reason to create and use purchase orders.
NOTE: Xero does not include purchase order information in the general ledger, Sales Tax report or tracking
summary reports. Because purchase orders do not post any journals, adding an account code when creating
them is not necessary.
Xero lists any saved purchase orders on the Draft tab.
Used to bulk-approve purchase orders. Select all purchase orders for
approval and then click Submit for approval.
Xero lists unapproved purchase orders on the Awaiting Approval tab.
Used to approve purchase orders. Select all purchase orders for approval
and then click Approve.
Used to delete purchase orders. Select the purchase orders to remove
and then click Delete.
Once approved, Xero lists the purchase order on the Approved tab.
Used to mark a purchase order as billed. If you have already entered the bill in Xero, click
Billed to mark the purchase order as billed.
Used to print purchase orders. Select all purchase orders for printing
and then click Print.
Used to email purchase orders. Select all purchase orders for emailing and then
click Send after entering the email address and confirming the email text.
Used to convert, or copy, purchase orders.
You can print or email purchase orders.
Before you begin sending purchase orders, customize them by:
Changing the automatic numbering sequence of your purchase orders.
Creating a branding theme to change the way your purchase orders appear.
Setting up an email template specifically for your purchase orders.
To limit what users can and cannot do with purchase orders, edit their user role. For instance, stop a user from
approving a purchase order by giving them the Invoice Only (Draft) user role. If you want a user to be able to
approve a purchase order, give them the Invoice Only (Approve and Pay) user role. (Note the Income Only
user role also affects access to bills and sales invoices.)
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You can add an expected arrival date to an approved purchase order. Open
the approved purchase order and then click Add expected arrival.
You can also add an expected arrival date directly from the Approved tab.
Find the purchase order to add the arrival date to and then click on
Add date & notes, located in the Expected arrival column.
Select Mark this purchase order as fully billed (tick the check box) if youve received all ordered goods and
then click Create draft.
NOTE: Xero will only display the Mark this purchase order as fully billed check box if the purchase order
has the Approved status.
After completing the bill details, approve the bill. Xero moves a billed purchase order to the Billed tab.
To create a new purchase order by copying the contents of an existing one, select the purchase order to copy
and then open it. Click Options and then select Copy to. In the dialog box that opens, select the Purchase Order
option (shown below) and then click Create draft.
Once copied, complete the purchase order details and then click Save or Approve.
You can also copy the contents of an existing purchase order to create a draft sales invoice. Find the purchase
order and then select it. Click Options and then select Copy to. In the dialog box that opens, select the Invoice
option (shown below) and then click Create draft.
If the purchase order uses an inventory item, Xero uses the items sales unit price in the sales invoice.
Complete the sales invoice details and then click Approve.
Refer to the Help Center for more about:
Using multiple purchase orders to create one or more bills
Creating a new purchase order by copying the contents of multiple existing purchase orders
Copying the contents from multiple purchase order to create a draft sales invoice
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4. If you have already entered the bill this purchase order corresponds to, click OK. This action marks the
purchase order as billed without converting the purchase order details into a bill. View the billed purchase
order from the Billed tab.
5. If you have not yet entered the bill this purchase order corresponds to, select Copy purchase order to a
draft bill (tick the check box) and then click OK.
In the New Bill screen, enter the date and due date.
To convert the purchase order details into an approved bill, click Approve.
NOTE: Before Xero can create the bill, you will need to make sure you have completed the Account
and Tax Rate details.
View the billed purchase order from the Billed tab or the purchases Awaiting Payment tab.
NOTE: Xero links the bill to your purchase in the History & Notes section.
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Quantity
10
2
icon.
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Bill Payments
From the Awaiting Payments screen you can schedule payments and create batch payments from the list of bills.
If you open a bill, you can enter payment details directly into this screen. From here, you can also edit bill details
or use them to create a Repeating Bill or a Credit Note.
Check printing is available for various unreconciled payable transactions using a bank account. You can manage
all your supplier checks directly in Xero. You can style and print checks onto your voucher paper, manage check
stock for each of your bank accounts, control numbering, void and delete checks, and view a full audit history
of any changes. Your user role determines if you can access checks or not.
$242.00
$54.13
$108.60
4. Click Schedule Payments and then select the 28th of this month.
5. In the Schedule of Planned Payments located above the grid, click on the $404.73 payment schedule.
6. Select all bills and then click on Make Payment. In the dialog box that opens, click Pay by Check.
In the Pay by Check screen:
1. Edit the bank account (Checking Account) and payment date fields (28th of this month).
2. View the check numbers for each Payee. If they are not correct, you can click Check Numbering to edit.
3. If applicable, enter any memos and then choose your next action, as below.
Click Export Check CSV if you want to export the information in the checks
to a CSV file that you can import into VersaCheck for printing.
Make sure you use the same check numbers in VersaCheck.
Click Save & Print PDF if you want to print the check right now.
Make sure you load your compatible check stock into the printer first.
Click Save if you want to print the check later, or if you plan on using your own check book or other
check printing software. Clicking Save moves the checks to the Paid tab, and creates payments in the
bank account and a check in the check register for each payee.
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Contacts
The Contacts screen lists all Customers, Suppliers, Employees and Archived contacts. It also records the
outstanding amounts due for each contact; therefore, it is a useful tool for obtaining quick Accounts Receivable
and Accounts Payable reports. Note that a contact in Xero can be both a Customer and a Supplier. In other
words, a separate record does not need to be set up. One contact record holds both types of transactions.
NOTE: Employees are created and updated from within Payroll.
Do not set employees up as a Contact; add them through the Payroll module.
Data entry fields to complete
Contacts > All Contacts > Add Contact or Add Employee (button)
Contact Groups
Importing or Exporting
Contacts and Contact Groups
Search Facilities
Archiving Contacts
Select the contact (tick check box) and then click Archive.
Note that contacts are not deleted in Xero, theyre archived.
Use the links below for more detailed information on this topic:
Contacts (Customers, Suppliers and Employees)
View Customer or Supplier Contact Details
Add or Edit Customer or Supplier Contacts
Managing your Customer and Supplier Contacts
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Your client suggested the $234 amount owing be offset against the $970 amount payable. After Bayside Club
agreed to this suggestion, your client asked you to enter the offset in Xero.
1. To offset amounts against each other youll need to use the Clearing Account (a Current Liability account).
View the settings for this account: Settings > Chart of Accounts
Make sure Enable Payments to this account has been selected.
Select the Show on Dashboard Watchlist option (tick the check box) and then save changes.
2. Go to the Dashboard. View the Clearing Account in the Account Watchlist.
It should show a nil YTD balance.
3. Find the Bayside Club sales invoice and then drill into it: Accounts > Sales > Awaiting Payment
4. Scroll down and then enter the payment details as follows:
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Email Addresses
You can add up to six email addresses against a contact; the primary persons email address and five additional
email addresses. If the primary person has an email address entered, Xero displays this email address when
emailing the contacts invoices, credit notes, statements, remittance advices and purchase orders. Deleting an
email address from the email template won't affect the contact.
NOTE: If the organization does not have a primary person, you can still send invoices or statements to an
individual by using the Attention field in the Contact Details section.
To add email addresses for a contact record, go to: Contacts > All Contacts > Add Contact (button)
In the Primary Person section (shown below), enter the primary persons name and email address.
To add additional email addresses, click on the Add another person link. Enter name and email address. You
will need to enter a primary persons email address before entering additional email addresses.
You can also specify the email addresses you want to use when emailing documents from Xero. Select the
Include in emails check box each time you want an additional person to receive emails when sending this
contacts invoices, credit notes, statements, remittance advices and purchase orders.
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Review: Contacts
True or false? There is one contact list in Xero. Whether a contact record is categorised as a Customer or as
a Supplier is determined when a transaction is made against the contact.
There are two ways of creating a new contact in Xero. Explain both methods.
If another contact record is created for the same contact, explain how you would merge these?
True or false? When merging, Xero archives the contact selected last.
What are the advantages of creating a Contact Group?
Explain how a contact can be added to an existing Contact Group.
True or false? When a sales invoice is created for a Contact Group, Xero displays the resulting sales invoices
on the Drafts tab. From here they will need to be approved.
What must you do before you can offset a bill against a sales invoice (or vice versa)?
How does this function work in Xero?
Explain how you would offset a bill against a sales invoice amount owing.
True or false? Xero can hold up to five email addresses against a single contact record.
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6. Check Xero has correctly entered the part payment amount then click Split. What does this do?
7. Click Reconcile. Xero will now allocate the part payment against the sales invoice.
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4. Enter a description and then code the prepayment to the Revenue Received in Advance (835) account.
5. For this example, we will choose the Tax Exempt tax rate as we do not want to report the sales tax until the
prepayment is applied to a future invoice.
6. Save the transaction and then reconcile. View the prepayment in the Awaiting Payment screen.
Extra for Experts
Using todays date, create a sales invoice for the $5,000 freight charge. When approving the sales invoice, Xero
will automatically find the prepayment. Once found, Xero asks if you want to allocate the outstanding credit of
$2,500 against the invoice. Click Allocate and then enter the prepayment amount in the Amount to Credit
field. Click Allocate Credit. View the invoice to see how Xero applies a prepayment. You could also view the
Statement to see how Xero displays a prepayment.
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NOTE: When reconciling an amount received (or paid) to a sales invoice (or bill), Xero will automatically
calculate any difference between the amount youre reconciling and the amount held in Xero. This helps
with recording split payments during the bank reconciliation process.
5. Click on the Accounts Transactions tab. Click Search to find the multiple item payment and then drill into
the payment transaction to view it. Who is the overpayment linked to?
Snappy Freight has asked you to refund the overpayment using the Business Savings Account:
1. Go to Accounts > Sales > Awaiting Payment and then drill into the overpayment line item.
2. Complete the cash refund fields found at the bottom of the screen. Date = the 28th of this month.
3. Click Add Refund. The status of the overpayment will now change to Paid. View it from the Paid tab.
4. Go back to the Reconcile screen of the Business Savings Account. Scroll down and then use the jump to
field to jump to the last page. Reconcile the $27 refund payment.
5. View the overpayment and cash refund in Basket Cases statement. Go to Contacts > Customers, click on
Basket Case and then click Send Statement.
NOTE: You can also deal with overpayments by allocating them against a future sales invoice. To allocate, drill
into the overpayment, click Overpayment Options and then select Allocate Credit.
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This will be the name that Xero will use when creating the Contact. (The instruction stops the system from
creating more than one Contact should the name come through differently later.)
4. Allocate all purchases to the Computer Equipment (160) account. Leave the Description field blank. Why?
5. Give the rule a title and then save the rule.
6. Go to the Cash Coding tab (Savings Account). Click on the Payee column heading; Xero will sort the items
alphabetically. Find the Dick Smith lines.
Why was the rule applied to only one of the two transactions?
NOTE: If Xero did not apply the bank rule to the Dick Smith transactions, return to the bank rule and
identify why. Check you have contains and not equals for the Payee criteria. Why would equals not
work in this instance?
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Cash Coding
All users with the Advisor role have access to the Cash Coding screen. You can also give access to users with
the Standard role, if they need it.
Use the Cash Coding screen to bulk-code cash transactions. Sort the bank statement lines first then bulk-code
by Payee. Xero automatically creates Spend Money or Receive Money transactions for each bank statement
line and it does it all within a matter of seconds. When cash transaction need coding, using the Cash Coding
screen makes for efficient use of your time.
Find the Cash Coding screen: Accounts > Bank Accounts > Reconcile Items (button) > Cash Coding (tab)
You can only use the Cash Coding screen for cash transactions. If Xero holds a sales invoice or a bill for the
payment or receipt, you will need to match and reconcile the transaction from the Reconcile screen. If you use
the Cash Coding screen instead, the sales invoice or bill remains unpaid.
When cash coding, you can use shortcut keys to quickly move around or select and action multiple items. Click
on the Shortcut Keys link shown below for a list of shortcut keys and how to use them.
Increase or decrease the number of transactions in the grid by placing your cursor on the pull down bar,
located at the bottom of the grid. When your cursor is on the pull down bar, it changes to a
icon. When
this icon appears, click on the pull down bar and then drag it downwards. The number of transactions in the
grid increases. Click and drag the pull down bar upwards to decrease the number of transactions. Note that
some browsers cannot display the
icon.
Amount
Code
Bank
$105.00
Central Copiers
$81.78
City Stationery
$230.08
Split 50% Office Expenses (652) and 50% Owners Draw (310).
Use the / key for quick access to the Spend Money screen.
$104.57
Express Services
multiple
Interest Earned
multiple
multiple
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Unreconciling
If you need to, you can unreconcile a reconciled Spend Money or Receive Money transaction. To do this, open
the transaction, click Options and then select Unreconcile.
Unreconciling a Spend Money or Receive Money transaction simply removes the link between the imported
bank statement line and the account transaction in Xero. The transaction, along with the sales tax allocation,
will remain, as will the bank statement line.
After unreconciling, the transaction will appear on the Reconcile screen. It will also appear on the Cash Coding
screen. Only reconcile from the Cash Coding screen if you mean to create another Spend Money or Receive
Money transaction. Reconcile from the Reconcile screen to match an amount to a sales invoice or bill.
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NOTE: When the amount to be reconciled is the same, Xero will always assume the imported bank
statement line should be matched to the Xero recorded payment, if one exists.
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3. Xero displays a warning. Click Yes, if youre sure you want to continue.
4. View the removed bank statement line from the Bank Statements tab. You will need to open the bank
statement with the duplicate bank statement transaction first.
If you need to, you can restore a deleted bank statement line.
To restore a deleted bank statement line:
1. Click on the Bank Statements tab and then open the Bank Statement that holds the deleted bank
statement line.
2. Find the deleted bank statement line. Look for the
3. Select the deleted bank statement line (tick the check box) and then click Restore.
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The duplication came about when creating the CSV file. As you used the CSV file to import the bank statement
lines, you could fix the problem by deleting the imported Bank Statement. However, you have since reconciled
those bank statement lines and you do not want to do the job again. It makes better sense to delete the
duplicate bank statement line. You will need to delete the corresponding Spend Money transaction as well.
1. Open the Reconcile screen for the Savings Account and then record the Statement Balance amount and
the Balance in Xero amount.
2. Click on the Bank Statements tab. Open the Bank Statement that holds the duplicate Shell Botany bank
statement line.
3. Find the two Shell Botany bank statement lines and then select one (tick the check box).
4. Click Delete. What happened? What does the
5. When initially coding the deleted bank statement line, Xero would have created a Spend Money
transaction. As you have deleted one of the Shell Botany bank statement lines, you will also need to delete
one of the Shell Botany Spend Money transactions. Do this as follows:
Open the Account Transactions screen for the Savings Account.
View the Statement Balance and Balance in Xero amounts. Which one changed?
Search for the two Shell Botany transactions. What does the status icon mean?
Xero unreconciled the Spend Money transaction when you deleted the duplicate bank statement line.
Select the unreconciled Shell Botany transaction and then click Remove & Redo.
6. View the Statement Balance and Balance in Xero amounts. Which one changed this time?
Extra for Experts
It is worth noting the Delete Entire Statement button at this point.
You can find this button at the bottom of the View Statement screen.
You cannot undo the consequences of using the Delete Entire Statement button. Once you have deleted an
entire Bank Statement, it is gone. In contrast, you can undo the consequences of using the Delete button when
deleting duplicate bank statement lines. Just select the transaction with the status and then click on
Restore. You will need to reconcile any restored transactions.
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Interest earned
As noted in step 1 above
Reversal of interest amount incorrectly deposited to bank account
1
32.23
Interest Income (470)
4. After creating the Spend Money transaction, view it in the Account Transactions screen.
What is its status?
5. Now mark the Spend Money transaction as reconciled:
From the Help menu, select Enable Mark as Reconciled.
This action puts a More button above the grid header. 1
Find and select the unreconciled interest earned
Spend Money transaction.
Click More and then select Mark as Reconciled. This
step is necessary because the bank statement line
wasnt imported.
continued over
Once a user has enabled Mark as Reconciled, it will remain enabled for that organization for that user. To disable, select
Disable Mark as Reconciled from the Help menu.
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6. Check the Account Transactions screen for your Spend Money transaction. What changed?
Xero marks manually reconciled transactions with the status icon.
Transactions with the icon also appear in the Statement Exceptions report.
7. Now click on the Bank Statements tab. Can you see the Spend Money transaction?
HINT: Look for the icon. Xero creates a dummy bank statement for transactions marked as reconciled.
8. Run the Reconciliation Report: Manage Account > Reconcile (heading) > Reconciliation Report
Click on the Statement Exceptions tab. View the manually reconciled interest earned transaction. (You
may need to adjust the date range to be able to do this.)
Click on the Bank Statement tab. View the dummy bank statement line for interest earned, located at
the bottom of the report.
NOTE: Use the method above when there are several transactions to mark as reconciled. If there is only one
transaction to mark as reconciled, theres a quicker method. Open the transaction, click Options and then
select Mark as Reconciled.
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Outstanding
Payments
Outstanding
Receipts
+/
Unreconciled
Bank Statement
Lines
Closing Bank
Statement
Balance
Recommended best practice is to check the balance with your bank each month to verify these closing
amounts match. The message on the Bank Reconciliation report reminds you to do this. The two balances
should match each other for the same date. If your two balances don't match, this means either your starting
point in Xero is wrong or you have an error in your bank statement lines.
For help with identifying errors and how to fix them, refer to the Help Center.
Bank Statement shows all imported bank statement lines and balances for the selected Bank Account and
given selected date range. Also shows if the transaction was: (1) manually imported or brought in from bank
feeds, (2) whether the transaction has been reconciled or not. The end result should be a reconciled bank
statement.
Statement Exceptions shows all exceptions such as duplicated, deleted and/or manually created bank
statement lines for the selected Bank Account and given date range. This is the first place to look if the actual
paper bank statement balance differs to that shown in Xero. For example, if using auto bank feeds, this reports
shows manually imported bank statements as they are not considered the norm.
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DESCRIPTION
This report shows items not matching the normal reconciliation process;
for example, items that are manually reconciled, items that are imported
and then deleted, items that are duplicates.
Bank Statement
This report shows a list of all bank statement lines, whether reconciled
or not. Also shows where each bank statement line came from.
Statement Exceptions
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Reporting Overview
The Reports menu allows access to All Reports, Budget Manager and to the most commonly used reports
(favorites). You can add another favorite report to the list by clicking on the
icon next to the report you
want to add (from the All Reports screen).
Xero reports can be exported to Excel, PDF or Google Docs. When you save reports to PDF or Excel, Xero will
include the organizations name in the filename. This way, if youre saving reports across multiple clients, into
the same folder, youll be able to distinguish between them.
By default, users with the Standard user role have Standard + All Reports rights. If you need to, you can restrict
Standard users to Standard + No Reports permissions. Go to Settings > General Settings > Organization > Users
and then select the Standard user you want to restrict. In the View reports column, select No Reports and
then save changes. Users with Standard + No Reports permissions will still be able to access the: (1) Bank
Reconciliation Summary (without the ability to publish), (2) contact reports in Contacts, and (3) Pay Run
reports, if they have the Payroll Admin role. They wont have access to any other reports though, nor will
they have access to Budget Manager or Manual Journals.
The Journal Report is used to view posted journals or all journals, including system journals. The only exception
to this is the unrealized foreign currency gains or losses that are automatically calculated when a report is run.
In this case, any gain or loss is not journaled; rather, once the calculation is made, the amount is displayed in
the Unrealized Gains or Losses account.
The Journal Report is a full Audit Trail of all journals created by the system for a defined period.
Tick check box to view the posted manual journals.
Click Add New Journal if you want to enter a manual journal.
Note that the ability to enter a manual journal can only be
done by those with the Advisor or Standard user role.
NOTE: When creating a manual journal, you can use Xeros inbuilt calculator in the Debit and Credit columns.
Enter formulas directly into these columns. For example, 123*1.5 and (100 + 26)*2. Press the Tab key to have
Xero calculate the answer.
The Budget Manager worksheet allows budgeted income and expenditure amounts to be compared against
actuals throughout the year. Create an overall budget or, if you use tracking, set up budgets for each of your
tracking categories. Budgets can be edited, copied, renamed and deleted. They can also be imported or
exported. Keeping track of any budgets you have created can be done using the Budget Summary, Budget
Variance, Income Statement and Account Summary reports.
Xeros Sales Tax Report summarizes the transactions for the selected period. Where Xero gets the
sales tax figures from is explained in the Help Center. Xeros Sales Tax Report is accompanied by
the Sales Tax Audit Report. The reports are displayed as tabs.
NOTE: Amounts posted directly to the tax account using a manual journal are not pulled through to the Sales
Tax Report. Always use the normal channels so that all tax amounts are pulled through.
Click Publish to close the tax period.
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Reconciliation Reports
Advisor > Reconciliation Reports
Click on the down arrow to view Xeros reconciliation reports.
Xeros reconciliation reports are a quick way of checking
balances and picking up incorrect balances. You can use these reports as workpapers as they are a quick way of
attaching Balance Sheet items and other relevant items to accounts that need reconciling.
Xero will export each reconciliation reports to Excel, PDF or Google Docs.
Xero saves all formulas when exporting to Excel.
You can make changes to any reconciliation report. For example, you could add
another report to the set of reconciliation reports. Always click Save as Draft before
leaving the Reconciliation Reports screen. You will lose
your changes otherwise.
Management Report
Advisor > Management Report
Management style reporting packages are available from the Advisor menu in Xero. These packages group
Xeros standard reports and specific text-based information into one larger report. They are typically suitable
for month-end or year-end reporting.
Click on the down arrow to view the reports available.
Each report initially displays the current period. You can select a different period, if you need to.
The Income Statement report has several tabs. These tabs extend the number of reporting possibilities. For
instance, to display only two annual periods, click on the Compare Periods tab. Enter 12 months in the Period
field and then enter Previous 1 period in the Compare with field. Click Update to view.
You can add transaction schedules, footnotes, and account summaries to the Management Report. You can also
add aged receivables or aged payables charts, define a default report layout and customize a report layout if you
need to.
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Export
Advisor > Export
When using Xero, you can export an organizations general ledger data. Xero puts it in a format suitable for
importing into other accounting products. You can view the itemized accounting product export files and
formats in the Help Center.
Only users with the Advisor role can export general ledger data.
In Xero, transactions posted to the General Ledger (GL) are:
Bank account transactions (spend and receive money, transfers, expense claims, receipts, payments,
credit note cash refunds).
Approved sales invoices, bills and credit notes on the Awaiting Payment screen.
Authorized expense claims on the Awaiting Payment screen.
Posted and reversed manual journals.
Fixed asset depreciation and disposal or sale journals.
When exporting GL transactions, Xero exports the transaction details making up each journal line in the
General Ledger. For example: journal number, journal date, account name, account code, account type, net
amount, tax amount, gross amount, tax code and any descriptions or comments.
If applicable, Xero will also export tracking information.
Used to define the transaction date you want to see history and notes for;
for example, last month. You can also define a custom date range.
Used to define the transaction type you want to see history and notes for;
for example, bank transactions.
Used to see history and notes by user. Leave blank to query all users.
Click Update after making your selection and then click Update again each time you make a change.
Browse through the report to find what you need. Click on an item description to view the transaction. You can
also click each column heading to sort the data by that category.
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Because the History & Notes Activity report only displays the most recent 1000 items that match your search
criteria, a quick way of narrowing your search is to use the Filter Results field.
You can filter by date, item, action, user or notes. To use this field, enter key letters, numbers or words.
The filter will not search the contents of the actual transaction, but it will search any details that
appear in the notes. For example, assuming Xero records the text shown below about a bill payment
you could search for the bill for $1,181.25 by entering 1,181.25 in the filter box. You will need to enter the
amount exactly as recorded; that is, include the comma, but not the dollar sign. Entering 1,181 would find this
transaction too, but it would also return transactions for amounts like $1,181.60 or $21,181.42.
Publishing Reports
Publishing a report means that Xero will create a snapshot for a particular period and then save that snapshot
as a report. Published reports are available from: Reports > All Reports > Published (tab)
User permissions control whether you can publish and view published reports or not.
To publish a report click Publish. You can find this button at the bottom of the report.
Xero publishes reports to Excel, PDF and Google Doc formats.
Options available when publishing a report include customizing the title, editing the authors name, entering
disclaimers and, when publishing the management report, removing any reports not needed.
NOTE: When using Xeros Partner Edition, click on Settings to choose the publishing settings for your organization.
Only people with the Practice Administrator role will have access to edit these settings.
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This opens the Become Xero certified page. Read the instructions and then, in the Sit the
test section (shown to the right), click on the Xero certification test link to begin the test.
The test has 25 randomly selected questions at varying degrees of difficulty, mostly multiple choice.
There is no time limit. However, as a guide, 35 minutes is a reasonable time for completion.
You must finish the test in one sitting. You cannot save and finish later.
You can go back and check your answers before finishing.
You must answer at least 20 of the 25 questions correctly to become Xero certified. If you score less than 20,
you can resit the test but you can only attempt the test three times. After the third attempt there is a two
week lock-out period. You can sit the test again after the two week lock-out period.
You can view your score at the end of the test. If you would like to receive an electronic
copy of your test results, click Email Results before logging out.
If you pass, congratulations! We will send an electronic certificate to your email address immediately after you
pass the test.
Once certified, take a look at our awesome new Xero TV. There are loads of different training videos that weve
created, and viewing them is a great way of keeping your knowledge up-to-date.
You can also check out Xero U, the perfect place to learn Xero inside and out. Here you can choose a path for
content thats tailored just for you.
And if youre a practice staff member, you can also access Xeros Learning Center to view self-paced courses
from the Training tab in My Xero. Keep you knowledge up-to-date anywhere, anytime, from any device. You
can also review which training courses youve completed from here, and see if your Xero certification is about
to expire. Refer to Xeros Help Center for more about online learning help.
And then theres the Help Center. From the home page, click on the View Changes link to see whats recently
changed in Xero. Also on the home page, view a list of New or Recently Updated features.
Changes to the Help search function in Xero now enables searches across the User Guide, FAQs, Tutorial Videos
and the Xero Community, increasing your chances of getting answers quickly.
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