Academy Chartered Accountants Limited
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Accounting Services

Xero

The totally online option

Many may have heard of Xero, and wondered what all the fuss is about. We have been impressed enough to become certified in Xero to offer support in it. It's not perfect - but it does have a lot going for it, and it's continually getting better.

Xero is very different from traditional accounting packages - with some great benefits and some disadvantages. But when it's good, it's very good. This includes for example, FX accounting. So what's it all about?

Well, the first thing is it's web-based. So for example if you use Windows or Macs or Linux or any other system, you should be able to use this. Of course I can't guarantee it will work perfectly in every situation - but I can guarantee that you don't need to use Internet Explorer - we use Firefox.

Also helpful is the fact that one of the key people behind it is a Chartered Accountant. Of course I'm biased aren't I - but this system has clearly been written with a few things in mind - like the Companies Act, IRD etc. I'm not sure it it's as good in other countries - but we have the advantage of the developers being in NZ.

Being web-based allows them to offer many advantages - such as daily access to bank accounts, and immediate access to exchange rates. The way this system handles exchange rates has allowed one of my clients to do away with much complex and error prone accounting - it just does it all invisibly but accurately.

Of course that's not the only advantage of a web-based accounting system. It can be accessed anywhere by anyone (with appropriate authorisation). Backups and maintenance are no longer issues - unless of course the Xero company had not faced these problems - but from what they tell us, the systems are global with heavy duty backup and duplication.

So what are the disadvantges? Well, many firms require stock / inventory. This system does not handle directly stock, although it does interface with systems like Unleashed - a web-based stock system.

There are other questions in people's minds - some don't like being dependent on the Internet. While at times (e.g. school holidays) performance can be affected by heavy loads on the Internet, and there are limits of the current IP4 addressing system, the Internet is part of our world today. In fact some of us have built out whole business model around it. I suspect that if it is knocked out by a nuclear war, we might have a few other things to worry about. But that's the beauty of the freedom we have. The choice is ours. If we opt for a more traditional system, that will work for us too.

For further information on Xero, check out Xero's web site, or talk with us.