1 - Customise your Dashboard
When you 1st log into Xero you want to see what's important to you. The good news is you can actually customise your dashboard in Xero.
If knowing how much you are owed is the #1 thing you should be concentrating on, move it to the top.
If tracking sales for the month is the #1 thing you should be concentrating on add your sales account to the Account Watchlist.
We wrote a long form post on how to do this earlier in the year.
2 - Update your Invoice Template
Your Invoice Template is an opportunity to sell your business. It's the opportunity to showcase what you do and ensure your customers want to purchase from you again.
Aside from being on brand your Invoice Template should make it easy to get paid, it should have your terms of trade clearly outlined as well as the detail behind the work completed.
3 - Update your Email Template
Email Templates are one of the most underutilised features in Xero. It's a perfect opportunity to let your clients know of events coming up, blog posts you have just written, your social feeds, as well as answering FAQ etc.
The opportunities are endless. Take some time to review these and update to showcase your business.
4 - Review how you are getting paid
Cashflow is the lifeblood of every business. The faster you are paid the better your cashflow.
You have a tonne of options when it comes to getting paid - ie setup Pay Now in Xero, have your Bank Account details prominently displayed on your invoices and statements or collect payment on the spot with something like PayRightAway.
Now is also a great time to look at whether you have recurring transactions and could have these clients on monthly Direct Debit.
5 - Review your contact details
Contacts in Xero had a major facelift a few months back so it's important you check that all customers and suppliers details are correct. This means your emails will be going to the correct spots, you can use batch payments, you can turn on Gmail or Office365 integration and you will be able to generate a tonne of details about both your customers and suppliers with Smart Lists
6 - Review your bank rules
Bank Rules save so much processing time in Xero, as well as ensuring your reports make sense when comparing month on month, year on year.
It's important to review these rules each year to ensure all are working, that you have all of those recurring transactions covered, as well as looking at whether you want to change something. The new year is the perfect time to look at what you want to track in your business and making sure these bank rules help in this process.
7 - Review Item prices + description
Inventory Items certainly help speed up the invoicing process as well as giving you more detail when drilling down into your sales data. The new year is a great time to review your pricing. If you have updated this make sure you also update the Inventory Items. While you are at it, make sure your descriptions are also spot on for the work you are doing.
It's a great time to take a look at the setup and settings in your Xero file and make sure you are utilising 100% of the system!
