Cloud accounting software is designed to help you streamline your processes, and to save time, when it comes to things like invoicing, running reports, bank reconciliation and paying bills.
As we have alluded to, many times, truly exploiting the benefits of any cloud accounting software relies upon the user being informed of its various functions and knowing how to move around and use the software properly.
One way that Xero supports its users to navigate around the platform quickly and easily is with handy hints and shortcuts.
Keyboard shortcuts
There are a number of keyboard shortcuts that you can use to move around Xero with ease. Regardless of what screen you are in, you can navigate elsewhere with just a few taps and a click.
Press the forward slash (/) key on your keyboard, followed by the letter corresponding to the screen you want to go to. There are a number of different options, but our top picks are:
| Shortcut key | Screen |
| a | All bank accounts |
| c | All contacts |
| i | All invoices |
| r | All reports |
| d | Dashboard |
Xero’s calculator
When creating transactions, Xero’s inbuilt calculator means you can simply enter a calculation into an appropriate field, then press ‘Enter’ or ‘Tab’ to return the result.
The calculator tool can be used in the Quantity, Unit Price, and Disc %, fields in transactions, as well as in the Debit and Credit fields in manual journals.
Keyboard shortcuts for arithmetic are as follows:
- + (add)
- – (subtract)
- * (multiply)
- / (divide)
- () (group)
4 top tips to help you use Xero efficiently
Whenever you adopt a new software, or tool to aid your business, taking time to learn how you can get the most out of it is really important.
Our four top tips to help you begin to use Xero more efficiently, if you’re not doing so already are:
- Save time logging in to Xero by saving bookmarking the web address – https://login.xero.com/
- Customise reports in Xero and apply customisation to any or all of the organisations you have in Xero. You can even set a layout as the default for everybody using the platform.
- When viewing a contact in Xero, by clicking on the ‘Activity’ tab you can view a record of all transactions to or from that contact.
- Utilise Xero’s ‘repeat invoices or bills’ function to pay regular bills or send regular invoices to your customers, with a saved template. Depending on the status and frequency you select, Xero will create the transaction accordingly and apply the model.
Online accounting and bookkeeping support
Our cloud accounting experts in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire are here to help you explore what works for your business, and to ensure you’re getting the most out of your chosen software.
If you’d like to find out more about how Xero could help you to improve the quality of your data, and so the discussions we are able to have with you about your business, please contact us.
