Xero has disrupted business accounting for SMEs globally

Colin's company uses Xero daily, and Digital.co.za/ Realm Digital has provided Xero integration services for multiple clients who would prefer to take their business accounting into their own hands.

How has Xero disrupted the culture of accounting for businesses?

Xero has allowed accountants and business owners to work on a common ledger in real time. Xero changes the accounting relationship and in some ways forces both the business owner and accountant to become more aware of what is actually going on financially in the business.

This could be performance management and/or internal processes that become clearly evident as a result of Xero's live, real time and accessible platform. Business owners now have no excuse for not knowing what's going on in their business as they have direct access to their accounts and can easily navigate them on any machine, on any device, from anywhere in the world.

Accounting is becoming less of a compliance function and more of a value function as Xero automates many processes so that more time is spent analysing and planning and less time doing work that computer software can do at twice the speed and at a quarter of the price.

What has Xero meant for local small to medium businesses?

Less reliance is being placed on the accountant to perform basic compliance work and SMEs are now able to perform many of the basic bookkeeping tasks themselves. Business owners have far greater control over the performance of their business as they are as involved as they want to be.

As Xero is cloud based, business owners can, at any time, issue invoices (even from their phones), check statements, log questions, or upload files. SMEs can now have a world class piece of accounting software with no contract, no license fees, and very little (if any) training required.

What, in your opinion, has made Xero so popular so quickly in SA?

South African business owners have been starved for choice; many alternatives to the existing incumbent either lack the high level of functionality and flexibility that SMEs require or have not been designed for the SA market and so have customisation limitations.

Xero's look and feel is at first sight so refreshing that business owners want to use the software and because it is so functional and easy to use there is no need for hours of training... or more importantly a need to pay the accountant to retrieve basic reports and information. Also, the fact that Xero integrates so well with over 400 add-ons is also a big selling point as business owners can easily link their Digital.co.za/services/ eCommerce store, POS or CRM to Xero.

No other cloud-based accounting software in South Africa can do this. Developers can also build into the Xero API with ease which allows SMEs to customise their financial system using the tools that suit their business, reduce duplication and ensure accuracy at a fraction of the cost of products with similar functionality. Xero is at least five years ahead of any other South African SME accounting solution.

Why have large, international companies such as PWC, KPMG and Grant Thornton chosen Xero?

The Accounting industry is changing rapidly but many are slow to adopt technology which can easily solve many problems. Practices are beginning to realise that aligning themselves with an innovative company is crucial to offer a unique solution to customers.

Xero has been voted as the "Most Innovative Growth Company in the World" by Forbes.Com for two years in a row. Choosing software like Xero means you are choosing to connect with a company that will innovate and will lead with their design and functionality while others try and change their existing businesses, not because they are innovators but because they know they need to be to survive.

With over 500,000 users worldwide Xero truly is a global business and yet the support and planned development they offer to South African users make it the best SME accounting choose for South African business owners.

How can companies currently using other systems like Sage Pastel move over to Xero?

They can use a tool like www.cloudconvert.co.za which converts Pastel data to Xero. Changing mid-year is no problem as you bring your data with you for comparative purposes.

Would you like to integrate with Xero?

Digital.co.za/ Realm Digital offers Xero integration services for all types of businesses, simply leave your details and we'll contact you!