Can a Xero health check improve my bookkeeping?

14 Sept

You’ve been using Xero for your bookkeeping for a while now, long enough that the panic of switching systems seems a distant memory.

But something’s not quite right.

Maybe there are old items still showing on your bank reconciliation screen?

Maybe you’re using old reports that are no longer relevant for your business?

Maybe there’s the nagging feeling that you’re using only a fraction of what you’re paying for?

None of this means you’ve done anything wrong. After all, you’re running your business, not poring over software settings, and it’s easy to just ignore these things when you’re busy. But a few months later, the issues are still there, and you’ve stopped noticing them, even though they could be affecting how well Xero works.

A Xero health check can put that right. It’s a proper look at your Xero account, by someone who works inside the platform every single day, casting an expert eye over your set-up, fixing anything that’s wrong and showing you what’s possible with the features you rely on.

So, could a Xero health check improve your bookkeeping? Here’s what it involves and what it can fix.

Why you need a Xero health check

If your Xero has stopped working like it used to, or things seem to be taking a bit longer than they should, it’s probably time to book a Xero health check. Small problems tend to build up gradually and you only really notice when something forces you to look properly, like a VAT return that doesn’t look right, or your accountant asking questions you can’t answer.

Here are a few signs that your Xero might not be working as well as it could be:

Old unreconciled items on the bank reconciliation screen that have already been dealt with.
Old balances showing on Sales & Bills, where they’ve already been settled, or shouldn’t even be there anymore.
Tax rates & account codes that you aren’t expecting automatically showing up when you’re dealing with transactions.
You have several contacts set up in Xero for a supplier or customer, when there should only be one.
A chart of accounts that’s grown messy over time, with duplicated or miscoded transactions.
Reports that don’t match what you expect, old reports that are no longer relevant, or numbers showing in the wrong place.
Manual workarounds for things Xero could do automatically, like mileage, expenses or invoicing.
Bank rules or repeating invoices/bills that were never set up, or only half finished.
Apps you use elsewhere in the business that aren’t connected to Xero, or used to be but have quietly stopped working.

We see Xero accounts with issues like these all of the time. They’re usually run by capable business owners who haven’t had the time or reason to go back and tidy things up.

And a lot of the time, Xero won’t flag these things up either.

The whole system is flexible enough to let you muddle through, but it’s also so powerful that muddling through could mean missing out, month after month.

Can’t I just learn Xero myself?

Many business owners learn Xero on the job. A bit of trial and error. Some Googling. Maybe a quick video tutorial when something breaks.

That’s usually enough to get by day-to-day. However, it’s not enough to help you understand what you don’t know. And because Xero doesn’t flag many of these things up, it’s

If you try to get to grips with Xero by yourself, you might never discover how to make the most of the features readily available to you. You might be paying for an app elsewhere that could plug directly into Xero, without realising the connection’s sitting there, just waiting to be switched on. Or you might code the same type of expense three different ways, because nobody ever showed you the right way to set up bank rules.

You’re an expert in your business. You’re not expected to be an expert in Xero.

Someone who works inside Xero every day can spot these gaps in minutes. They know exactly where to look and understand what’s worth fixing first.

What happens during a Xero health check?

A Xero health check isn’t training, as such. It’s a session with Scott, our in-house Xero expert, built around your account and how your business works.

You can do it two ways. If you’ve got a specific issue or just need a quick, focused fix, we can jump on a Zoom call and spend an hour or so sorting through your most pressing questions.

If your Xero needs a more thorough overhaul, Scott can come to you and spend a few hours going through your account in person. Either way, we’ll cover what your business needs. That might include:

Checking and setting up your bank feeds and bank rules properly, so your transactions code themselves correctly.
Dealing with any issues showing on the bank reconciliation screen.
Looking at your sales invoices and purchase bills to see what’s showing as awaiting payment, and ensuring that these agree to what is factually the case, investigating & fixing anything that’s incorrect.
Looking at your sales and payment set-up, including whether your invoicing and online payment options are working as they should be.
Reviewing your bills, expenses and mileage for efficiency and automating wherever possible.
General housekeeping across your chart of accounts, tidying up duplicate or incorrect contacts & coding.
Reviewing Xero Payroll if you’re already using it, or exploring if it could save you time.
Reviewing your existing report templates, and replacing them with a suite of relevant ones for your business requirements.
Connecting your existing apps to your Xero account and recommending any others that could cut out manual data entry.

Plenty of business owners feel like they should be able to sort issues like these out themselves, given enough time. However, bringing in help is a shortcut to where you’re trying to get to anyway, without the months of trial and error along the way.

Scott’s a Xero Gold Partner who has worked exclusively in Xero since 2014, across hundreds of UK businesses, so he’ll usually spot things you didn’t know were possible. If something needs fixing, he can fix it there and then, and explain why, so you understand your own account rather than just watching someone else sort it out. By the end of your Xero health check, you’ll have a tidier Xero account and know how to keep it that way, and which bits are worth checking in on every so often.

What you get out of it

After a Xero health check, most clients notice the difference straight away. Here are a few of the outcomes and benefits:

Reports you can trust enough to use when making decisions.
Less time lost to manual admin and workarounds every week.
Cleaner records, which makes your year-end faster and often cheaper too, since there’s less to untangle.
Connected apps that pull data in automatically, instead of you typing the same information each time.
More confidence using the Xero features that matter most to your business, day to day.

None of this is about becoming a Xero expert overnight. It’s about getting Xero to do the job it was set up to do in the first place, giving you accurate numbers with far less effort on your part.

If you’d like ongoing support afterwards, that’s available, too. Some clients want us close by every month, checking in and keeping things ticking over. Others want their Xero fixed properly, once, so they can get on and run it themselves. Both work for us. We’ll never push you towards more than you need.

Is it time for your Xero health check?

Our Xero training is bespoke and built around your business. Every session focuses on what you need. We offer two main ways to work with us.

Our online Power Hour sessions suit businesses that need something specific sorted quickly. That might be a walkthrough of the basics for someone new to Xero, a fix for one or two nagging problems, or a quarterly review and tidy-up before your accountant takes over. It’s ideal if you know exactly what’s wrong and just need someone to sort it without it taking up a full day of your time.

For anything more thorough, our day visits give you focused, hands-on, on-site support. These suit businesses that have been using Xero for a while without proper guidance, have persistent errors that need fixing, or are converting to Xero from another system and want everything set up correctly from the start. We can also help you connect and configure add-ons from the Xero App Store, so the tools you’re using work together properly.

The benefits of Xero training

If a few of the signs we mentioned earlier in this blog sound familiar, getting a Xero health check is probably worth a closer look. You don’t need to wait until year-end forces the issue, or until a mistake costs you money.

Getting a Xero health check now means fewer surprises later, and considerably less time spent wrestling with a system that’s meant to be saving you time.

So, get in touch to book your health check now and find out what Xero could really be doing for your bookkeeping. Chances are, it’s more than you think.