Xero Tips & Tricks
Here are some handy tips and tricks to make coding your Xero transactions easier and more accurate! By following these, you'll save time, reduce errors, and ensure your data is clean and reliable, helping us process your end-of-year financials smoothly.
Transfers in Xero
Only use Transfers when moving funds between two accounts both in the Xero account.
If a Transfer transaction is created from both the sending and the receiving bank accounts a duplicate will be created. Best practice is to start in one account and create the Transfers, then on the other account use find and match to find the correct transfer on the correct date. It is vital that you cross check the dates match otherwise it throws the bank reconciliation out and creates more work come end of financial year.
Built In Calculators
Xero has an inbuilt calculator that allows you to calculate amounts as you create transactions.
When you enter a calculation in a field, then press Enter or Tab on your keyboard, Xero calculates the result.
Transfers in Xero
Only use Transfers when moving funds between two accounts both in the Xero account.
If a Transfer transaction is created from both the sending and the receiving bank accounts a duplicate will be created. Best practice is to start in one account and create the Transfers, then on the other account use find and match to find the correct transfer on the correct date. It is vital that you cross check the dates match otherwise it throws the bank reconciliation out and creates more work come end of financial year.
Built In Calculators
Xero has an inbuilt calculator that allows you to calculate amounts as you create transactions.
When you enter a calculation in a field, then press Enter or Tab on your keyboard, Xero calculates the result.
The calculator is available in the Quantity, Unit Price and Disc % fields in transactions, and the Debit and Credit fields in manual journals. In new invoicing, discount percentages are calculated automatically, so the calculator isn’t available.
The basic arithmetic functions you can use are:
The basic arithmetic functions you can use are:
Made an Error?
The best way to fix a coding error is to use the Remove & Redo function. By doing this it removes both sides of the transaction as everything in Xero has a double entry in the background. If you unreconcile it, this only removes one side and can cause headaches when trying to reconcile your bank account correctly.
Bank Rules
This is one of the quickest ways to save yourself time for those recurring transactions. The key to making bank rules work is usually to change it from equals to contains and keep key words such as “Spark” or “Mercury”. This will then pick up those regular transactions and all you have to do is click “Ok”.
If you have multiple accounts in Xero we recommend you set the bank rule across all accounts then if any payments come out of different account it will still use the rule to reconcile.
When reconciling your bank account you can create the bank rule from the "Options" on each transactions. Click that and select "Create Bank Rule" which brings up a second screen when you specify how the software treats the transaction.
The best way to fix a coding error is to use the Remove & Redo function. By doing this it removes both sides of the transaction as everything in Xero has a double entry in the background. If you unreconcile it, this only removes one side and can cause headaches when trying to reconcile your bank account correctly.
Bank Rules
This is one of the quickest ways to save yourself time for those recurring transactions. The key to making bank rules work is usually to change it from equals to contains and keep key words such as “Spark” or “Mercury”. This will then pick up those regular transactions and all you have to do is click “Ok”.
If you have multiple accounts in Xero we recommend you set the bank rule across all accounts then if any payments come out of different account it will still use the rule to reconcile.
When reconciling your bank account you can create the bank rule from the "Options" on each transactions. Click that and select "Create Bank Rule" which brings up a second screen when you specify how the software treats the transaction.
Reconciling money received against Invoices
If you receive a payment for an invoice and it doesn’t match the invoice total, the best way to record the payment is as a “part payment” this can be done by finding the invoice via the “Find & Match” function. Find the relevant invoice and select the checkbox, you will see in the middle of the Reference and Received columns is a blue “Split” click this and it will split the payment received against the invoice, leaving the balance due.
If you receive a payment for an invoice and it doesn’t match the invoice total, the best way to record the payment is as a “part payment” this can be done by finding the invoice via the “Find & Match” function. Find the relevant invoice and select the checkbox, you will see in the middle of the Reference and Received columns is a blue “Split” click this and it will split the payment received against the invoice, leaving the balance due.
The same works for bills if you are using the bills function to track spending. Don’t manually record the payment against the invoice and code to sales, otherwise you are recording the funds twice and paying double the GST.
How to attach documents to transactions in Xero
Did you know that you can attach documents to your transactions in Xero? This is a great way to ensure we as your Accountants have access to documents we might require come end of financial year. In particular, for any assets purchased or sold during the year.
There are a couple of ways to do this, the easiest way to it is during the reconciliation of the transaction. Click the “Add Details” button, then in the drop down section you will see a little paper icon on the top right hand corner, if you click this you can then upload a file and it will save this against your transaction.
How to attach documents to transactions in Xero
Did you know that you can attach documents to your transactions in Xero? This is a great way to ensure we as your Accountants have access to documents we might require come end of financial year. In particular, for any assets purchased or sold during the year.
There are a couple of ways to do this, the easiest way to it is during the reconciliation of the transaction. Click the “Add Details” button, then in the drop down section you will see a little paper icon on the top right hand corner, if you click this you can then upload a file and it will save this against your transaction.
General Tips & Tricks
Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate Xero
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