XERO is too good for small businesses, but not so good for growing ones

It’s no surprise many businesses rely on Xero to keep their books. It helps manage quotes and proposals, invoicing, accounts payable, accounts receivable and more, all from an intuitive interface. But if you need advanced functionality like inventory, fixed asset, budgeting, etc., as your business expands,  then you have to use  add-ons which add to the monthly cost. Hence, beyond a certain point you have to look at other options.

Pros:

It is cloud-based web software. It offers It’s also very clean and aesthetically dashboard. And indeed very easy to set up, with just a few clicks, you are ready to go. All in all a great product for small businesses.

Cons:

But it’s lacking inventory and budgeting, These are best handled with apps. That’s another add-on cost. Also, you have to keep your payroll separate. So it’s great for small businesses, but not so good for growing business.

What to do?

Try before you buy it, just take the advantage of free trial. And understand the features of Xero as per your requirements.  You might also want to check with your CPA or tax professional and test some of your more unusual company issues.

At certain point of time, if required outsource your accounting and bookkeeping requirements. Because, it would be cheaper option as compared to buying the add-on apps. Also, it allows you to get the customized service as per your company’s needs. Do send us an email atinfo@corientbs.com to know more about outsourcing benefits you can get.

Author: Sachin Lohade is a Chartered Accountant and works with Accounting Firms to improve practice and reduce costs. He can be reached out at sachin@corientbs.com or you can visithttp://www.corientbs.co.uk

12 Ways to Grow Your Business Without Spending Money

Today we’re sharing what we call “ideas to steal”. They are all real-life ideas from successful businesses — action steps you can pick up and run with right away, without having to research, test or otherwise delay implementing. And, you don’t need to spend money to do them.

1.     Bill faster. Your receivables can count for 40 – 50% of your actual assets. Don’t batch invoice: bill as soon as you can. Simplify your business. Weed out the unprofitable and the hard-to-sell.

2.     Get your business and your web site listed in relevant directories. To find directories, Google the name of your town plus directories url” (e.g. “cobourg directories url”).

3.     Learn to delegate. Figure out what you do that turns dollars. Then delegate the rest.

4.     Encourage employees to explore more efficient approaches to their tasks instead of relying on their standard way of doing things.

5.     Don’t forget suppliers. They might not be on your payroll, but they are more apt to do a few things for you at no charge because you really take care of them.

6.     Work faster. If you can condense three four-month jobs into three three-month jobs, you can do one more job in the year.

7.     Reward your team for meeting budgets and time lines. A 5% bonus is cheaper than a 20% increase in costs.

8.     Cut overhead by automating most of the non-producing items like accounting, customer care, voice mail, sales reporting, ordering and record keeping, better outsource it..a

9.     Offer to be a spokesperson on your specialty when your local media need an expert opinion. Send them a relevant press release every month.

10.    Highlight offers, features, promotions and news in your email footers, invoices and letter signatures.

11. Start social accounts with Twitter.com, Facebook.com and LinkedIn.com and post articles.

12.   Get your clients to refer you. Check out “Make A Referral Week” to learn more about how referrals can build business.