General tips

Here are some general tips to help you get around Xero quickly and easily.

Quick Xero login Speed up logging into Xero. Save the login web address below as a
browser or desktop bookmark so you can quickly access the Xero login
page.
https://login.xero.com/

View multiple pages View multiple pages in your Xero organisation at the same time using
tabs:

• To open a link in a new tab on a PC, right-click on a link and

select Open a new Tab.

• To open a link in a new tab on a Mac, hold down the Command

key and click on the link.

Don't use tabs to view multiple Xero organisations.

View multiple organisations If you need to view multiple Xero organisations at the same time, open
each organisation in a different browser. For example, open one in
Chrome and the other in Safari.

If you don't use separate browsers, your changes might save to the
wrong organisation. Using different browsers ensures each
organisation has its own separate data session.

Multiple concurrent users Multiple users can work in Xero at the same time, and on the same
items. If more than one user is working on an item at the same time,
whoever saves last has their changes retained.

Favourite reports, advanced Favourite a report or add features and settings to the Accounting
settings or features menu.

Xero desktop shortcut Add a shortcut to the Xero login page to your desktop. Go to the Xero
login page, drag the Xero icon in the URL or web address onto your
desktop.

Now you can click the desktop icon to go directly to the Xero login
page.
Search for contacts when Use Xero's advanced contact search when you're entering transactions.
entering transactions Enter at least 3 key letters of your contact's name.

You can also search for the primary contact person for your contact's
organisation.

Use payment references Enter the cheque or transaction number in the

payment Reference field when you're recording the invoice or bill
payment.

Reconciliation adjustment When you're reconciling your bank account, if an amount is slightly
under or overpaid, make a minor adjustment so the amounts match.

Unreconcile & fix items Unreconcile or delete an account transaction.

reconciled incorrectly

Reconcile multiple items During bank reconciliation, reconcile a statement line to multiple
transactions.

Pay to an account that's not Enable payments to an account.

a bank account

Add account codes from Add chart of account codes when you enter an invoice or bill. Click the
transactions account field in the transaction, then select Add a new account.

For manual journals or spend and receive money, click Add next to the
account field.

Copy and edit an invoice Copy an invoice or bill from one you've already created. All fields
automatically populate with the original information you entered. You
can edit the invoice or bill as necessary.

Find deleted or voided 1. In the Business menu, select Invoices.

invoices
2. Click Search and select the Include Deleted &
Voided checkbox.

3. Add other search criteria to find a specific invoice, then

click Search.

Find deleted or voided bills 1. In the Business menu, select Bills to pay.
 2. Click Search.

3. For Type, select All including deleted & voided.

4. Add other search criteria to find a specific bill, then

click Search.

Repeating invoice Use repeating invoices or bills to pay regular bills or send regular
invoices to customers.

Set up a template, then Xero automatically creates the transaction

according to the frequency and status you choose.

Tax rate for customer or To always use a specific tax rate on invoices or bills for a specific
supplier customer or supplier, edit their contact details and set the rate to use.
This overrides the default tax rate set for the account, but you can
change this when creating the transaction.

Expense claim codes Limit the account codes that show when entering expense claims. From
the Accounting menu, select Chart of accounts. Edit each account and
either select or clear the Show in expense claims checkbox.

Report against budget In some of Xero's reports you can compare actual income and
expenditure against budgeted figures. Enter a budget, then show the
budget on reports such as the Profit and Loss report and Budget
Variance report.

Invoice/bill/payment View a list of invoices, bills and payments for a particular contact on
summary for a contact their contact record. Under Activity tab, you can see a record of all
transactions to or from that contact.

Customise report layout Use a custom layout to change the default layout of some reports.

Apply the layout to other organisations you have in Xero or set it as the
default for all users in your organisation.

Google Sheets If you use Gmail, set up your account to access Google Sheets. You can
then export any Xero report to Google Sheets and edit, save or share it.
Publish reports Publish any of Xero's reports to keep a copy of it in Xero. You can run
reports for any date but if you publish a report, it's kept as a static copy
in PDF or spreadsheet format on the Published tab.

You can also save PDF or Excel reports to your computer and email
from there if required.

Tracking categories Use Xero's tracking categories to enter transactions and report on
different divisions of your business.

Log directly into My Xero Log directly into My Xero, rather than defaulting to the last
organisation you were in.

Click your initials or profile image, click Account, then under Settings,
select My Xero.