E-Invoicing

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There has been a lot of noise made by the government lately about E-Invoicing. There seems to be a lot of confusion and people think that if they are already sending their invoices by e-mail they are e-invoicing, so what is the big deal? Actually E-Invoicing is a little different. And it is not an advantage for everyone….

E-Invoicing explained.

E-Invoicing goes one step further than sending invoices by email. Xero, MYOB and a few other accounting packages now have the ability to send the invoices directly into your accounting software. So there’s no need to print or manually key incoming invoices into your software package. They simply show up in your “Draft” Bills to pay in Xero for example. From there you allocate them to the correct code “Cost of goods sold” for example and approve them if you agree. This follows on from our last post explaining that physical copies of many invoices will no longer be required by IRD from next year.

What is the advantage?

The main advantage for our clients, is that for your regular suppliers, you will no longer need to print off or key in creditor invoices from registered suppliers. You just approve them. No more losing invoices to junk mail, no more endless hours of keying bills, no more clogged up inboxes.

What do you need to do?

Here is the catch, and this depends on your own business and how many suppliers you have.

  1. Enter your own NZBN into your own software (For Xero – Settings/Organisation Settings). Do this once only
  2. Sign up to e-invoicing (for Xero we can do this for you or talk you through this, it takes about 5 minutes. Please note the Xero online instructions available are not yet applicable). Again, you only need to do this once.
  3. Find out if your bigger suppliers have signed up too. There is a handy little Excel spreadsheet of those already signed up on the link at the bottom of the page
  4. Enter your suppliers NZBN number in your contacts (it is on that spreadsheet mentioned above). This will take the longest, so I would recommend doing just one or two first, and see how you like it.
  5.  Send your supplier an email letting them know your NZBN number and that you would like to receive e-invoices. Job done!!!

Your invoicing

You can also send your invoices via the same route, but if your customers are mostly non business people, there is a lot of work for not much advantage.

If you invoice regularly to other businesses, you may get requests to sign up.

Regardless of what you decide to do, e-invoicing is here to stay, and it would be prudent (and time saving for the future) if you were to include a businesses NZBN number into every new contact you enter into your software. The link below also tells you which software companies have the capacity to e-invoice. They are using a global company PEPPOL. You can continue to use Hubdoc (provided free by Xero) if you are using this currently – this is also a good option, but to use this you forward on emailed invoices to Hubdoc and then insert them into Xero. The advantage of this is that if you go to look at a supplier invoice that was entered via Hubdoc, you can see the original invoice emailed to you in Xero.

We can explain more in detail if you are interested.

https://www.einvoicing.govt.nz

 

Xero and Multi-factor Authentication

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Xero is making Multi-factor authentication (MFA) mandatory for New Zealand customers in 2021

As more people around the world embrace digital technologies, the number of cyber-attacks continues to increase. One of the most common types of cybercrime is phishing, designed to access your online accounts and steal your personal and business information. Xero are custodians of your data and take that responsibility very seriously. To continue to keep your Xero account secure, Xero are making Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) mandatory for all Xero customers globally in the year ahead.

What is MFA?

MFA is a log in verification process that goes beyond typing in your username and password. It gives you access to your account using something you know (your username and password) and something you have (your mobile device or computer). Think of it like putting an additional bolt on the door. It’s a small but important thing that significantly reduces the risk of unauthorised access to your account, because it’s much harder to steal something you know and something you have. In fact, research shows that MFA can prevent up to 80% of data breaches. The beauty of using your phone as an authentication method is that it’s always with you, which means you can still access your Xero account anywhere, at any time.

How do I use MFA?

To give you fast, easy, and secure access to your Xero account using MFA, Xero have created their own authenticator app called Xero Verify. Xero Verify is now available free of charge in the Apple and Google app stores. It only takes a few minutes to set up and sends a push notification to your phone when you log in, so you can just tap and go.

Where can I find more information?

For more information about the Xero Verify app you check out the details here:

https://apps.apple.com/app/id1510862201

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xero.authenticator&hl=en_NZ&gl=US

For more information about MFA click here:

https://central.xero.com/s/article/Multi-factor-authentication-explained

Xero Starter Plan update

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Did you know Xero have recently made some big changes to their starter plan*?

No business is too small for this Xero Starter plan, whether you work alone or employ a whole team you can spend less time working in spreadsheets and more time working on projects.

What’s changed?

  • Unlimited bank reconciliations

Xero has removed the limit on bank reconciliations so you can keep a close eye on money coming in and going out

  • Send 20 invoices a month

Xero have increased the invoice limit to 20. That is roughly one invoice for each business day in a month

Xero’s Starter Plan has all the tools needed to keep track of your accounts no matter how small your business, including:

Online invoicing and quotes made easy

  • Send up to 20 personalised, professional invoices and quotes each month. Plus, set up automated invoice reminders and spend less time chasing payments.

Paying bills is painless

  • Enter five bills each month, see when upcoming payments are due, schedule payments and batch pay multiple suppliers in one go.

Simple bank reconciliation

  • Keep track of cash flow effortlessly with bank reconciliation in Xero. Save time on admin and get daily updates on your business.

Capture bills and receipts with Hubdoc

  • Automate manual bookkeeping tasks like entering bills and receipts. Hubdoc extracts key information from each bill or receipt so it’s ready to copy into Xero.

If you are thinking about making the move to Xero, give us a call or email and we will be happy to assist ?

Contact Ellie Harris for software support and training, she can tell you about all the options you have.

*Note that all other starter plan inclusions and limits remain the same.

Xero – Saving Files in Xero

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Did you know that Xero has an inbuilt online file management system? With Xero file library you can keep all your files (i.e. receipts, bills, images) organised in Xero.

The file library is located under your organisation name on the left-hand side of your blue taskbar.

Your Xero file library contains an Inbox and Contracts folder, and you can add any additional folders you need.

Using the Xero file library is easy, either:

  • upload files to the file library (left-hand option) or
  • email files directly to the Inbox folder (right-hand option, using your unique Xero inbox email address)

Whenever you see the attachment icon in Xero, you can then attach these files to individual transactions, items, and emails.

Follow this link for more information on how to use files in Xero: https://central.xero.com/s/topic/0TO1N0000017kqDWAQ/files-in-xero#business

Our In-House Software Training and Support Specialist

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Ellie Harris – B.Com
Software Support & Training – ellie@savage.co.nz

Ellie Harris has been working for us for a number of years and as a recent B.Com graduate, with experience managing our tax system and working with clients on various compliance matters, she has now become our in-house software specialist.

Ellie has a number of Xero certifications, has experience working with MYOB products and has been developing her knowledge on all payroll matters – from employer payroll obligations to implementing payroll systems most suitable for your business.

Ellie can help you migrate from one accounting system to another, set up your new accounting software systems for you, advise on a range of solutions that will help you run your business accounting needs easily and efficiently and will be running training sessions for our clients in small groups so you get lots of one-on-one assistance with using your accounting software. She is also available for individual training in our offices or can even visit you at your workplace. Some of this is free to clients so if you need help or advice contact Ellie to arrange a time to meet with her.

Watch this space for upcoming free training courses.

Xero updates

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Hubdoc

From 18th March Hubdoc will be included for free with Xero business plan subscriptions. Hubdoc is a document collection and management software that reads and extracts key information from your  receipts, invoices and emailed invoices and statements and converts it to files that links to your transactions in Xero.  Get in touch to find out more or visit Hubdoc .

Uber

Uber for Business now integrates with Xero where Uber statement data is extracted by Xero and a draft bill created. You need an Uber for Business account and the Uber for Business from the Xero App Marketplace. For more info and how to get started visist the Xero blog

Xero & MYOB updates

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Xero now integrates with BP fuel card. If you have a BP fuel card you can set up the connection from the BP Customer Portal and when you get your statement from BP it will automatically create a draft bill in Xero. Pretty handy if you are allocating fuel costs and it will automatically match to the  bank feed.

Have you heard about Hubdoc? It’s a Xero connected app that:

  • Captures data – upload bills and receipts from any device
  • Automates data entry – key data is extracted from the uploaded document and synced to Xero as accurately coded transactions with the source doc attached
  • One-click reconciliation – the transaction is matched to the bank feed for a one click reconciliation
  • Your source documents can be easily to access from anywhere

MYOB has a new integration with Bunnings, if you have an account with Bunnings you can now get your invoices from Bunnings directly to MYOB, no more entering every bill!

 

Zoom Consulting

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Business Systems Software Specialist and Consultant

Emily Thompson from Zoom Consulting

Emily Thompson is a business systems and software superstar. Using Xero accounting software and other add on software platforms, she can design a software solution for your business, implement the systems, then train you and your staff.

She supports businesses within the Nelson/Tasman region and throughout New Zealand with a vison of “to collaborate with my clients by finding them the best possible business system and software solutions for their needs.”

Emily supports her clients and their staff, enabling them to utilise the software and systems as much as possible.

“I provide my expertise and experience from day one and provide ongoing support wherever possible to help you implement systems that will streamline your business processes”.

Contact Emily at info@zoomconsulting.co.nz