What you need to do in Xero

What do I need to do in Xero?

In order to help us with the accounts and bookkeeping you will need to log into Xero here and select the reconcile button as shown below.

Reconciliation is the process by which we account for transactions in Xero. We do this by matching transactions on your bank account to receipts in Receipt Bank, or by coding transactions directly if there is no receipt (e.g. for things like bank interest, salaries, dividends etc.). Reconciliation is a very important process as it ensures that the data in Xero is accurate and the reports are up-to-date.

This will take you through to a screen that shows all the items that are current unreconciled in Xero which will look like this: 

Note, on the left side of your screen, that there are two columns – spent and received. On the right hand side you will mainly be using the discuss box, the other tabs are for our use. The discuss box enables us to communicate short messages where we might need some clarification on individual transactions. 

In the example below we have requested an invoice for a payment of £4,500. The client has replied to confirm that the item has been sent to Receipt Bank. Once this is done no further action is needed from you, as we will be able to reconcile the receipt in Receipt Bank to the bank transaction shown below.

In the example below there is an item of expenditure for £12 for which we require a receipt. In this instance you may not have the receipt, so you should make a note in the discuss box stating what the expenditure was for (this helps us allocate the spend correctly in the accounts). Based on the information you provide we can then reconcile this item without a receipt.  

As there are a few of us working on your account in Xero, we leave our initials beside each comment. It will be helpful if you do the same, so that we can track who is saying what.  

How often should I log into Xero?

It is important to log into the Xero reconciliation screen regularly in order to review and help us clear any outstanding items. As a rule of thumb if you have around 50 transactions per month in your account you should log in every two weeks. Around 100 transactions you should log in every week. See below guide for an idea of how often you should log into Xero. 

Do I need to create sales invoices in Xero?

Yes, Xero has an in-built invoicing system that you can use. Their help guides are best placed to take you through creating a sales invoice, see here.

Remember that we do not undertake operational work for your business (as we are external consultants), so we will not create and send sales invoices to your customers or chase up unpaid debts, as they are operational activities.

Awesome! Let's summarise:

So, you will need to log into Xero regularly, check items that are outstanding and look out for any comments and submit items to Receipt Bank. With a bit of practice this should not take up much of your time at all. 

Remember that it is important to send all of your receipts and invoices to receipt bank, but, if for any reason are not able to supply these for a transaction just leave us a comment in the discuss box and let us know as soon as you can.

Your overall aim should be to set up a regular rhythm of inputting data which provides us with the information we need to do our job. Eventually you may want to delegate this task to another member of your team which will then free up your time to concentrate on other aspects of running your business.   

Thanks for taking a moment to check out our guide! If you would like to brush up your knowledge of receipt bank why don't you check our series of guides here.