So you’re using Xero – what happens now?

Since HMRC’s Making Tax Digital was implemented in April 2019, you will be well aware of having to go online to submit your VAT.

You may think it’s a pain because it means completely changing your brilliant Excel and invoice procedure. You have also had to make time to learn a new skill or pay a bookkeeper more money to submit this for you. It may seem like you’re spending more time in the office, and less time out on the farm. So do you wonder, why can’t it all have stayed as it was?

Change can be unwelcome at times, but let me assure you, there is light at the end of the tunnel. As with all new things, it takes getting used to and we are at the stage of implementation where everything seems different and a bit difficult. So, let’s walk through how things are going to get easier from here on in.

Let’s start with where you are now: you, or your bookkeeper, enter invoices on Xero and submit them for VAT. That’s it, same as before but online.

But what if you take Xero to the next stage? What if I told you that Xero and the whole Cloud accounting landscape is about putting business owners back in control? The bookkeeping function of the future will become much more than just data entry, it will be about interpreting data in real time so that you can make more informed decisions about your business. If I told you Xero could offer you the following, what would you say?

• You can track your different farming enterprises to see your current status at a glance

• How about putting a forecast budget into Xero and seeing how you are performing against it each month?

• See what you have paid to a feed company over the past year, including type of feed and amounts

• What about a breakdown of last month’s outgoings to check you paid your contractor correctly?

• You can easily check your bookkeeper has the allocated all the expenses to their correct coding

• The bank manager is coming tomorrow, but don’t worry, Xero will show you your current bank position

• Then there’s the farm consultant who would like to drill down into aspects of your business; Xero can help

• What about an instant report of who you owe and who owes you? That’s right. Xero can do this too

Xero is so much more that just a bookkeeping service. It’s a gateway to understanding your business better. We have seen the success of Xero and the benefits it can bring to many of our clients who are already using it.

If you would like to know more about the reporting functions of Xero, please get in touch.

“Xero and the whole

Cloud-accounting landscape is about putting business owners back in control.”