XERO HANDS-ON! Essentials Training

At Electra Frost Advisory, we are such enthusiasts for this cloud-based accounting software system, that we run our own business on it  and recommend it to all our clients. 

For ease of use, ease of integration, reporting, value for money and overall satisfaction you cannot beat Xero. If you want to move your business across to Xero we can help you set up your accounting system the right way. Why spend hours on your own banging your head against the computer? 

Two hours spent with us navigating and answering your questions is a huge investment in doing things better. Learning from qualified accountants will save you time and money in the long run.

These vital Xero skills let busy business owners know exactly how their business is tracking. You can also ensure a business remains compliant and that the necessary documents are lodged with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). 

No prior knowledge of Xero or other accounting programs is required. The only prerequisite is having your own laptop and the ability to navigate a web browser. Those with some experience can evaluate and improve their skills and address knowledge gaps in certain areas.

If you don't already have a Xero file we can help you set up a free trial before your first workshop, so you can learn hands-on.

Are you ready to take control of your business finances?

Book into the workshops!

Note: Workshops are limited to 9 attendees so no more than 3 people per instructor. 

Topics may include:

Depending on attendees' requests

Setup Training

• terminology
• navigation
• setup information
• financial settings
• manage bank accounts

Learn to navigate the Xero software, find out where information is stored, and establish initial set up information like terms, bank accounts, financial and organisational settings.

Understanding opening balances, accounting periods, charts of accounts, bookkeeping terminology and form templates.

We walk you through the process of setting up a business from scratch while you replicate these steps for your own business. 

The Xero Setup Course is the perfect foundation for your learning, as it provides terms, navigation and set up information.

Daily Transactions - Sales Focus

• sales invoices & payments
• purchase orders
• generating quotes
• debtor management
• producing reports
• other transactions

This workshop will show you how to perform all sales administration and bookkeeping tasks that are done on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. You'll be taken through the Sales Dashboard to perform all these functions hands-on in your file.

We show how to generate and read the balance sheets, profit and loss statements, cashflow and other reports to help you manage your sales activity and debtors. Correctly recording GST on your sales and seeing the correct allocations on these reports will clarify how GST works, too.

You'll also learn about Xero's other transaction options including Receive Money, Prepayments, Spend Money, Transfer Money and Process Contra Deal.

These vital Xero skills let busy business owners know exactly how their business is tracking. You can also ensure a business remains compliant and that the necessary documents are lodged with the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

Daily Transactions - Purchases Focus

• supplier invoices & payments
• purchase orders
• remittances
• Hubdoc and paperless filing
• automations / bank rules
• producing reports
• inventory (optional)
• expense claims

This workshop is intensive. We will show you how to perform all purchases administration and bookkeeping tasks that are done on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. You'll be taken through the Sales Dashboard to perform all these functions hands-on in your file.

We also show how to generate and read the balance sheets, profit and loss statements, cashflow and other reports to help you manage your purchasing activity and creditors. Seeing where operating expenses and equipment purchases appear on these reports will help you to correctly classify them.

Learn to set up the free HubDoc paperless document tool incorporated in Xero to store evidence of all your invoices and receipts and perform bank reconciliation. Xero Files can also be organised to keep other financial and business documents in one place for easy access.

An overview of Xero Inventory will acquaint users with the key functions and usefulness of this feature.

These vital Xero skills let busy business owners know exactly how their business is tracking. You can also ensure a business remains compliant and that the necessary documents are lodged with the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

Xero Bank Reconciliation

• weekly or month-end processes
• fixing errors and omissions
• loans and interest
• capital purchases
• direct debits
• reconciliation report

A bank reconciliation is performed once all of the day-to-day transactions have been entered into your software. The purpose of this bank reconciliation is to ensure that your software data matches the information in the real world (ie. your bank account).

It is at this stage that you will enter:

• Direct debits that come out of your account automatically
• Interest charges and loan payments
• Capital purchases and payments
• Merchant and bank charges

Omissions and errors will need to fixed before closing out the month. You'll get to see what this looks like, and then edit and enter correct transactions before completing your monthly reconciliation report. (a great feeling!)

Evidence of your purchases in the form of a receipt or tax invoice will be linked to most bank transactions through Hubdoc, to satisfy ATO requirements.

GST, Reporting & BAS

• weekly or month-end processes
• fixing errors and omissions
• loans and interest
• capital purchases
• direct debits
• reconciliation report
• PAYG instalment

Our Xero GST, Reporting & BAS Training Workshop builds on our Xero Bank Reconciliation Course. It explores a full quarter worth of transactions using your transactions or a case study. 

Typical transactions that make GST and BAS reporting tricky; include:

• purchases which are GST-free,
• those which have partial GST, or are
• international payments.
• payments to suppliers with no valid ABN/GST registration

After correctly coding all of these transactions, we show you how to check the Financial Settings of a Business in Xero with regard to the GST registration (Cash vs Accrual and quarterly vs monthly). 

At this stage, it will help you to see your BAS on MyGov or bring the paper statement with you. We will run through a basic worksheet for PAYG instalment calculation. We also run a BAS report from Xero and show you how a BAS can be lodged to the ATO from Xero.

Note: This workshop only deals with the GST and PAYG instalment items on the BAS. PAYG withholding from wages is not covered (that's next week).

Payroll Setup & Admin

• set up linked accounts
• setup payslips and pay items
• setup calendars
• setup employee data
• setup super
• manage employee details
  
• navigate payroll dashboard

Payroll Processing & STP

• use payroll dashboard 
• perform pay runs
• pay items
• deductions
• allowances
• PAYG withholding
• superannuation
• STP connection to ATO, lodge

Budgets & Cashflow

• Use Budget Manager
• Variance analysis report
• Xero business snapshot
• Cashflow statement
• Manage debtors
• Control spending
• Tax provisions

In this workshop we explore the typical overspending that some new business owners go through and understand how these transactions affect the cashflow of a business.

We start with the Budget Manager and performance a Budget Variance Analysis to shine light in areas needing improvement.

You’ll learn about the financing, operational and investment aspects of a Cashflow Statement and about alternative strategies that a business can take regarding its spending and credit risk management. 

You’ll go through other Credit Management reports like Aged Receivables and understand the best practices and tools and available to small businesses for:

1. reigning in their accounts receivable
2. getting money into their bank accounts quicker
3. using their accounting software to help perform better marketing and operational management by budgeting and understanding their Return On Investment.