If you are new to using Xero for your bookkeeping, what do you need to make you feel confident that you are doing everything in the best possible way?
Is working it out for yourself with the help of some online Xero tutorials or do you prefer more structured and professional training?
The reason I pose these questions is because we often meet business owners who have done their bookkeeping on Xero themselves without any training in an attempt to save money. The challenge is that if this has not been done properly that initial saving from no training, is then eroded and it ends up costing much more to fix the problems created further down the line.
Here are just 5 ways in which you can benefit from having Xero training either before you start using it yourself or in your very early stages of using Xero.
1. IT WILL HELP YOU TO AVOID MAKING COSTLY MISTAKES
What you don’t want to happen is that you think you are doing your bookkeeping correctly and are relying on the reports coming out of Xero only to later on find out you have had an incorrect picture of how your business was doing or how much VAT you actually owe. If you have been making decisions in your business based on your data then you need to know that it is correct or it could be considerably detrimental to your business. Good quality Xero training will help you avoid these very costly mistakes.
Another costly scenario we see is where the Accountant has to spend lots of time following the year-end making corrections and the business then ends up with a large bill they didn’t anticipate.
2. YOU WILL SAVE TIME THAT YOU CAN INVEST ELSEWHERE IN YOUR BUSINESS
Everything you do in your business has a time cost to it. If you are using Xero in a way which works but isn’t the most efficient way to use it, then it is costing you time and money every day you are using it. If you invest in Xero training, you can expect to be taught how to process in the most time efficient way right from the start.
3. YOU WILL BE GIVEN CONFIDENCE THAT YOU ARE DOING THINGS CORRECTLY
There are so many people that we have trained and supported with Xero that just want to know that they are doing things correctly. If they have worked it out themselves or had to work through the online tutorials, they are never completely sure as they don’t know if they have missed something and can’t always ask follow up questions to verify their understanding. Good quality Xero training will enable you to walk away with confidence to use Xero and know that you are doing things properly.
4. YOU WILL GET THE MOST FROM YOUR SOFTWARE
If you are investing in new systems for your business then you want to know that you are getting the most out of them that you can. With Xero, as well as the bookkeeping side of things, you can also get great benefits from using it like credit control, for sending quotes to customers, for payroll, linking to other softwares that integrate with Xero etc
Without training, you will probably just focus on getting the main bookkeeping processes working as these are most urgent and then move onto something else in your business which is demanding your attention. However, with great Xero training at the start it will give you an awareness of what Xero can do for your business – even if you aren’t ready to implement and use everything yet.
5. PRACTICAL TRAINING HELPS YOU EMBED WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
Xero provide a huge range of very good tutorials and training which you can draw upon and nobody does this better. However, some of us don’t learn very well through online training and prefer to be in a room with a trainer getting specific instructions on how to do things in our business, working through exercises using the system in a practical way and being able to ask questions.
If you are ‘learning by doing’ then it can often mean that the learning stays with you for longer.
WHAT NEXT?
If by reading this blog, I have shown you that it is worthwhile investigating what Xero training is out there for business owners then I would encourage you to speak to your accountant, bookkeeper or contact us for some help.
At The Bookkeeping Department we provide Xero training for business owners through 1 to 1 training and small group workshops and are very happy to have a chat with you about what we do with no obligation at all. We are using Xero day in and day out with our clients and can share our learning and really practical tips. We have options to suit all scenarios.
Take a look at https://thebookkeepingdepartment.co.uk/hitchin-cambridge-bedford-xero-workshops/ or https://thebookkeepingdepartment.co.uk/bespoke-individual-xero-training/ for some of our training options, email lynne@thebookkeepingdepartment.co.uk or call 01462 455455.