The way businesses file tax returns is changing and you will need accounting software. While there is a lot of software to choose from, we believe Xero offers the best solution.

Making Tax Digital – HMRC’s initiative to make all businesses file tax online – means it’s time to ditch spreadsheets.

We’ve looked at the why you need accounting software before and outlined that we recommend Xero. In this blog, we’ll look more deeply at why we prefer it.

Xero and automated service

So many features in Xero are automatic, which saves time for busy businesses, which is why we love it.

One reason is the the time-saving e-mail to bills feature. This reduces manual data entry by automatically extracting key information from e-mails and PDF bills. By auto-populating these addresses, it saves users an average of around two hours a month, according to research.

For expenses, employees only need to photograph their receipt with a smartphone and Xero automatically scans the details and fills out claims.

Other options include multi-currency and mobile notifications. This again cuts time spent with the dreaded calculator working out figures.

Also, Hubdoc, a relative newcomer to the Xero family, automates admin tasks such as financial document collection and data entry, helping small businesses save more time.

Another key feature we love is automated bank rules. The software automatically learns and approves transaction matches based on rules the user has applied.

This eliminates the hassle of manually approving transactions. This is a huge feature for many businesses and saves lots of administration and data input time.

Payroll benefits

Improvements have been made to the payroll system in Xero. The bulk feature enables users to upload data from a spreadsheet which contains information of all employees at once. This saves up to ten minutes per employee.

For pensions, Xero offers a direct connection to NEST, the largest pension provider in the UK. This enables businesses to file their pension contributions directly into NEST from within Xero.

Contemporary and smooth

Xero is the easiest to use software out there, we believe. Everything is simple and you don’t need to be an accounting genius to work it out. Simple training can get you up to speed with the shortcuts and the interface quite quickly. You really don’t need to be an IT geek to use it.

The Making Tax Digital function means you can liaise with HMRC and Companies House directly. Combine this with the pension and payroll benefits mentioned above and it will make your life simple.

These are the main points that have convinced us to recommend Xero, but if you have a specific question about other functions, contact us today for details.

If you are interested in using Xero or would like to chat to us about training, call today on 0191 603 1760.