I have told you before there is more than one general ledger on the market and, for that matter, more than one in the cloud. Insightful Accountant wants to make certain you are aware of your options. That's why I am getting reacquainted with those other products floating about out there.
One of those alternative general ledgers is Xero, which is designed to support small businesses and their advisors, and help them grow and thrive. Xero is a platform upon which businesses can connect their banks, their accountant, payment services and third-party apps so everything is securely available on any device at any time, from anywhere.
Xero Browser and App (Source: Xero Marketing Content)
Xero provides ways for small businesses to become successful via increased efficiency through the software itself. A prime example of that would be Xero Bank Feeds.
Xero Bank Feeds
Xero’s Bank feeds connect directly to your bank so transactions flow automatically into Xero each business day. The vast majority of these transactions can be automatically coded to your accounting based upon artificial intelligence (AI) and established rules.
It only takes moments to confirm transactions needing special attention, like a first-time charge. This simplification means your money-in and money-out always matches your bank reconciliation. No more long nights of trying to figure out why you are not in balance with the bank.
Xero users love the ability to connect their bank accounts to Xero. Bank feeds are at the very core of Xero’s vision to automate routine tasks.
This functionality is designed to help your bank transactions flow securely into Xero, so you can save time on bank reconciliation and have better visibility of your cash-flow.
And Xero’s banking partnerships are an important part of the Xero vision to become the most insightful and trusted small business platform. That’s why Xero always is seeking new ways to expand and enhance this core functionality.
Setting-up Bank Accounts and Bank Feeds in Xero
If you have not set up a Bank Account or Bank Feed in Xero before, you will need to select the Accounting menu once you log into Xero.
(1) In the Accounting menu, select Bank accounts
(2) Click Add Bank Account
(3) Start typing your bank's name in the Search box:
- If you can select the bank name from the list, feeds are available for your bank.
- If you are connecting to a direct feed, check the name to use your specific bank.
- If the name of your bank does not appear there are no feeds available for your bank, you will need to manually import bank statements into the account (we will cover that in another Xero article).
(4) If you see a screen prompting you to log in and connect your bank accounts to Xero, follow the workflow on the screen. Otherwise, follow the steps below to complete the process.
(5) In Account Name, enter a name for the account to identify it in Xero. This name is used in reports and displays on the dashboard and must be unique. If you have different accounts with the same name, make each account name slightly different by adding a number or letter to it.
(6) If prompted, select the account type. If your account type is not shown, select Other. Bank feeds are not available for these account types.
(7) In Account Number, enter up to 20 digits.
(8) Select a currency for the account. If needed, you can choose to add a foreign currency for the account. But remember, you will not be able to change the account’s currency once set up.
(9) If your bank has direct feeds available and you have multiple accounts, click Add another [bank name] account to add each of your additional accounts.
Xero Bank Feeds & Reconcile (Source: Xero Promotional Content)
(10) When you have completed the process of setting up all your accounts for this bank, click Save or Continue.
Xero’s Newest Bank Partnership
At Xerocon New Orleans, Xero announced a new partnership with BMO Financial Group in Canada.
Now that partnership has been extended to customers in the United States. BMO bank feeds now are available for small businesses in both the US and Canada* and allow Xero users to:
- See their daily BMO transactions automatically flow into Xero once a day (no need to sign into online banking or manually export or upload files)
- Have a 1-year transaction history included during sign-up (for select accounts)
- Deactivate the connection at any time from their BMO account(s)
Xero users currently connected to BMO in Xero can choose to upgrade for the new direct connection with BMO rather than via Yodlee bank feeds. Once you log in to Xero, find your BMO account on your Dashboard, then click Update bank connection. You then will be directed to BMO to enter your banking login credentials and prompted to share your account(s) with Xero.
Footnotes and Disclosures
* - The new bank feed is not available to customers in Quebec or those who have selected French as their preferred language.
Xero is a registered trademark of Xero Ltd., a New Zealand-based, OTCMKTS (XROLF) traded, technology company with headquarters in Wellington, New Zealand.
BMO Financial Group is the trade name of Banque de Montréal, a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company with formal headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and operating headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At the time of this article they were the eighth largest bank in North America based on assets.
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