Xero accounting software: features, pricing, integration, and setup guide

As technology continues to transform the way businesses operate, many companies digitalise their administrative processes to boost efficiency and reduce manual errors. In financial management, accounting software serves as a crucial tool for businesses of all sizes. They help to simplify complex financial tasks, allowing teams to focus on growth.

As a global leader in cloud-based accounting, Xero has over 4.2 million subscribers worldwide. The software’s localised features and flexibility have made it a popular choice among growing businesses in Hong Kong – home to more than 300,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Introducing Xero: a one-stop cloud accounting solution

Xero is an all-in-one cloud accounting platform designed for SMEs, startups, and accounting professionals. It offers a comprehensive suite of features to support daily business operations:

• Customisable invoicing: Businesses can easily create and send invoices using templates tailored to their brand. They can also add Airwallex Payment Links to allow customers to pay instantly via credit card, bank transfer, etc.

• Payroll management: Businesses can automate their salary calculations, tax deductions, and generate digital payslips for staff to access anytime.

• Expense tracking and reimbursement: Employees can upload receipts and submit expense claims via the Xero mobile app. Managers can approve claims on the go, with expenses automatically synced to your accounting records for faster processing.

• Financial reporting: Xero provides a range of customisable reports, including profit and loss, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, allowing businesses to gain real-time insights and make better business decisions.

The benefits of Xero accounting software

All-in-one service: Xero provides invoicing, expense tracking, payroll, and reporting in a single platform. This meets the accounting needs of businesses at every stage.

Faster bank reconciliation: Traditional reconciliation requires time-consuming, line-by-line checks between your accounts and bank statements. With Xero, businesses can connect their bank accounts for automatic transaction matching. This speeds up the reconciliation process and reduces the risk of errors.

Manage your finances anytime, anywhere: Businesses can create and send invoices, track payments, and monitor overdue accounts anytime with the Xero mobile app, giving businesses full visibility over their finances.

Automated payroll: Xero automates payroll calculations, tax deductions, leave tracking, and salary payments. Employees can access payslips, submit leave requests, and log timesheets via the Xero Me app. Once timesheets are submitted, managers can approve them instantly, and payroll records are updated automatically.

How to get started with Xero?

1. Register: Sign up on the Xero website and choose a suitable pricing plan or start with a free trial.

2. Set up your company: Enter your company name, address, currency, and business details.

3. Connect your bank account: Link your bank accounts to Xero for automatic import of bank statement data to streamline reconciliation.

4. Migrate existing transactions: Input opening balances and outstanding invoices/bills to ensure data completeness.

5. Customise invoice templates: Design invoices to match your brand, including your logo and payment terms.

6. Add users: Invite team members and assign roles and access levels based on their responsibilities.

7. Integrate apps: Browse the Xero App Store to connect with Airwallex and other third-party platforms for expanded functionality that fits your business needs.

8. Start using Xero: Once set up, you can monitor cash flow, generate reports, and track expenses in real-time.

Xero's invoicing workflow

1. Create a new invoice: Navigate to the invoicing section and select “New Invoice”

2. Add payment options: Include Airwallex Payment Links to offer multiple payment methods, such as credit card and bank transfer, enabling faster customer payments.

3. Set up automatic reminders: Enable automated invoice reminder features and the system will automatically send follow-up emails to customers when payments are overdue, helping to reduce the risk of bad debts.

4. Enter details: Fill in customer information, invoice items, quantities, and amounts. Xero will auto-generate invoice numbers and dates.

5. Preview: Review the invoice before sending to ensure accuracy.

6. Send invoice: Approve the email message and send the invoice directly to your customer. Xero will update the status to “Awaiting Payment” automatically.

Connect your Airwallex Business Account with Xero

Integrating Airwallex with Xero can streamline your business’s financial management by automating processes and elevating your accounting efficiency. Here's how:

Automatic bank data synchronisation

Traditional reconciliation often requires tedious manual checks, which become even more time-consuming with multi-currency transactions. By connecting your Airwallex multi-currency account to Xero, all transactions across different currencies are automatically synced to Xero. This enables real-time reconciliation and significantly reduces manual data entry errors.

Expense and bill management

With Airwallex Expense Management tools, employee reimbursements and business expenses are automatically categorised and synced to Xero. This allows management to approve and track all expenses in one place, enhancing operational efficiency.

Accelerate payment collection

By embedding Airwallex Payment Links directly into Xero invoices, customers can choose from a wide range of local and international payment methods. Once payment is made, transactions are automatically reconciled in Xero, significantly enhancing payment efficiency.