Heather Smith - Xero For Dummies

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It’s no secret the last couple of years have been incredibly challenging for small businesses around the world.

At the time of writing many of us haven’t travelled overseas in more than 2 years and many people have only had a handful of days in their offices over that time. We all know the stories of people who have had to do zoom meetings from their laundries holding the door closed while apologising for crying children in the background. Work and life have merged together at a pace no one could have predicted.

The role of small businesses and their advisors in the global economy has never been more important. The pandemic has forced a rethink and reinvention for many business owners, making the role of accountants and bookkeepers even more invaluable in providing essential knowledge and support to help businesses navigate an uncertain environment.

The pandemic has reinforced to me the importance of the work we started at Xero more than 15 years ago. Without access to cloud tools and opportunities for online collaboration, many businesses would have had an even greater struggle, or simply would have had to close down. I absolutely believe businesses who started the transition to the cloud have been in a much better position to adapt to the new ways of working that have been forced on them. Many businesses that had not yet embraced cloud computing, did so in order to survive.

With so much innovation and investment in cloud business software over the last decade I think small businesses have had access to the tools they have needed to manage change as best they can. The personal relationships that the cloud transition has created between accountants, bookkeepers and small businesses has created the vital relationships we’ve all leaned on in this extraordinary time where we have spent so much time in our bubbles. It’s going to be so good to see everyone again when we can start doing industry events.

This book is a great way for you to learn to work in the cloud, and we’re sure that as you go through it, or dip into it to take what you need, you’ll see that doing your accounts can be easy and rewarding. And hopefully your work will become just a bit more fun.

In 2021, we celebrated 15 years since Xero was founded at a kitchen table in a Wellington apartment — going from just a handful of subscribers to more than three million today. It’s truly humbling but it still feels like just the beginning.

I have no doubt Xero will continue to add that little bit of magic to small business accounting and bookkeeping. Thank you for supporting Xero, whether you’re recently onboard or an old hand — we’re looking forward to the next 15 years and beyond.

Rod Drury Founder, Xero

I understand you may have grabbed a copy of the 5th edition of Xero For Dummies thinking it was an ordinary accounting textbook. But let me share a little secret. What you have is the key to unlocking an enriching and flexible lifestyle for yourself. Working with Xero — and expert advisors — means a reliable internet connection is all you need to increase your knowledge and the insights required to support your own business, your boss or your clients. You could work from home, close to your family. Or you may be able to readjust your work–life balance to ignore the nine-to-five office requirements, avoid commuter congestion and take advantage of the cheap Tuesday deals. Or your digital nomad life could find you crunching numbers in exotic locations, taking Instagram selfies to make your friends jealous.

And the benefits aren’t just to your lifestyle. Businesses can use cloud technology to produce accurate management (internally focused) and financial (externally focused) records with minimal effort. Organisations can streamline their business operations, finding ways to identify and analyse their key financial and non-financial drivers. With flexible access to timely and accurate information from within, and the potential to use external comparative data, businesses can use these collective insights to make intelligent data-informed decisions fast.

Businesses are moving their processes and data to cloud-based platforms to stay competitive and benefit from technology-based opportunities — which is Xero’s sweet spot.

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