Yes, it’s true! You can get Xero Certification for FREE directly from Xero. Xero offer two free Certifications:
We had a course inquiry from someone who had already done this certification and they raved about Xero and what it can do and how it works – BUT THEY HAD NEVER USED XERO!
Continue reading Is Xero Training Free?
We’re so used to paying subscription fees for everything today but not really owning anything. I was speaking with Brian from Spina Coffee Roaster in Morisset and he reminded me when small businesses could buy MYOB AccountRight and then only upgrade if they wanted too.
I recall the first subscriptions that MYOB introduced relating to Payroll tax tables. If the PAYG brackets or superannuation (covered in the MYOB Payroll Course) were changed by the Australian Government then you had to buy the upgrade from MYOB – even though it was a simple change of a couple of percentages in the software.
Now, most small businesses don’t even budge when they pay $1000pa for a Xero subscription!
Continue reading Coffee Grinders Give Subscription Fees a Roasting
Branding themes are just a fancy word for templates and you can create as many as you need in Xero. The biggest reasons to use different branding themes is if you use different payment methods or you have different brands within the business.
A major benefit when using branding themes is you can allocate a different theme for selected customers. For example if you have a set of customers that allow you to deduct payment for their invoices using a service uCollect you can allocate a branding theme in Xero that doesn’t give them the option to pay that invoice but instead shows a message for them NOT to pay and that the payment will be made automatically.
Continue reading What is a branding theme in Xero and why would you use it?
Financial reports reveal the financial state of a business and there are a bunch of standard reports for very specific parts of a business. The most common ones are the Profit and Loss Report and the Balance Sheet but they are more often referred to as Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet) and Statement of Profit or Loss .
If you’re a subscriber to this blog you’ll recall that I wrote about Xero’s 2023 financial report and how they announced a big loss yet their share price sky rocketed. There’s a lot involved in financial reporting and sometimes a business is more valuable if it is growing quickly than if it makes a loss, particularly if that loss is caused by one off items and helps contribute to future growth.
Continue reading Need to Learn How to Read Financial Reports?
A Cert IV in Bookkeeping and Accounting is the same as any other Cert IV in Bookkeeping and Accounting, right? Wrong.
One of the biggest issues that ex Mentor Education students face in trying to transfer their credits to another training organisation AND continuing their studies is that EVERY RTO can choose some of their own subjects.
So a Cert IV in Bookkeeping can be different from one RTO and TAFE to another even though they’re the same qualification – does that makes sense. Let me demonstrate.
Continue reading Compare Bookkeeping Course Providers – Mentor Education Credit Transfer Issues
When I operated training centres in Sydney most of the sales were made by phone. We’d advertise our course in the local paper, highlighting our phone number and encouraging students to call and enrol into a course. It was labour intensive and not that secure when you think that we were taking down students credit card details over the phone.
Then we introduced learning on demand where students could learn any topic they wanted during our opening hours and we introduced our first online form to take enrolments – the results were miraculous. We’ve subsequently made many changes to that form since then.
We didn’t have to be in the office to take enrolments, students could enrol whenever they were ready and we had a central database of all our students and the courses they enrolled into. Best still, this information was all emailed automatically into our Customer Service software system. You can now learn these skills in the Microsoft Forms Course.
Continue reading New! Microsoft Forms Course – Pre Launch Discount
Business owners can now get a discount on our MYOB & Xero and Microsoft Office COMPLETE courses if they don’t need a Certificate of Completion.
I recently wrote about the value of Certificates and who really needs one and we’ve discovered that most business owners prefer to focus on getting the knowledge to use their software better AND saving money – that’s why we introduced NoCert discounts.
Continue reading NoCert, saves money
The perfect job is working from home doing office admin one day a week, yes? Most bookkeeping course graduates would agree that this is the perfect client. It means you have up to 4 days available where you can get other ideal clients and it means you work online with no need to travel (or dress up!).
This job is also involved in the growing NDIS sector so you’ll learn some great skills if you haven’t worked in the sector before. You must have experience working as an admin support person and be setup to work effectively from home.
Continue reading I think I found the perfect job for you
With $41.9 Billion budgeted to be spend on the NDIS there is little wonder everyone is exploring disability care as either a job opportunity or a business opportunity. It’s not just individuals who are exploring this industry but accounting software and technology firms too.
I wrote about HNRY, the full service accounting software, accountant and bank account for small business owners that only charges a small percentage to cover ALL of these costs but other firms are also appearing to help everyone in the NDIS ecosystem, including Splose.
Continue reading Is NDIS Bookkeeping & Care the Next Major Employment Opportunity?
Ever since I have been in business I have been told about the power of “personalised” marketing messages. Back then it was about sending a personalised letter to customers about something they’re interested in or have purchased in the past. I was running a water filter and cooler business and we had retail customers as well as business customers. That’s when I realised the power of a database.
If you are new to any industry people don’t know you and it’s your job to get to know people and build up a database. The most common way to do this is to advertise, get leads and speak to people – but only 3% of people are ready to buy right now so it’s important to stay in touch with them and most people do that with an email marketing system like MailChimp.
If you an existing business with lots of customers but times are quiet you can also use the customer data from your MYOB and Xero accounting file to connect with people.
Continue reading Mail Merging for Water Filter Replacement Reminders using Microsoft Word Advanced Course
Hairdressing salons are all about people, scheduling and gossip. They are located all over the world and are a fascinating place to watch. I had my hair cut the other day by a recently graduated hair dresser and she did a fantastic job with the cut and the conversation.
Hair dressing salons are a simple business insofar as renting a shop, putting in comfy chairs and mirrors and washing bays and then matching a customer with a hair dresser. The biggest issue is scheduling the right number of hair dressers to match the demand from customers, particularly if there are lots of drop ins.
Trim and Styles Hairdressing was using an Excel spreadsheet to manage their staff but now they’re using Xero and here’s why.
Continue reading Hairdressing Salon Case Study for Payroll Course using Xero and MYOB
This is a tough time for accounting software firms because they’re competing head-to head for new clients at the end of the financial year. Some are offering $1/month for 6 months (like BillCue), 50% discounts, 12 month low monthly rates etc.
The competition is so fierce between accounting software companies that most of them promote what they see as the biggest difference and reason to change.
I was surprised to discover the Xero even compared themselves to Hnry (the full service accounting software, accountant and payment service) at their own website. The more research I do the more comparisons I find at most software company websites.
Some of these software companies are startups with nowhere near the cash of market leaders like Xero & QuickBooks and one of the US based accounting software companies wasn’t able to process $40M in payroll payments in March 2023.
Continue reading US Xero Competitor Missed $40M in Pay ChequesIf you are looking for computerised, online accounting software now is a great time. Just doing a Google search for comparisons between MYOB and Xero will reveal a flurry of ads to capture your attention.
Many micro businesses with one main worker/contractor etc just want to keep track of quotes, invoices, purchases and payments and there are some pretty cheap options available – cue… BillCue.
Continue reading 1$ per month alternative to Xero just for invoices and daily transactions
It’s the end the of the financial year and for small businesses that means getting your affairs in order and buying things if you need them so you can claim the business expense this financial year.
Public companies that are listed on the ASX and other stock exchanges around the world report quarterly or half yearly and if you are a business owner or a share investor it’s important to understand how to read financial reports.
An interesting and relevant example is how Xero recently announced a big loss in their recent financial report but their share price sky-rocketed.
Continue reading Xero’s financial report reveals BIG loss but share price pop.
Would you sign up to a Xero controlled back account? Would you let Xero become your accountant or tax agent to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)?
Does that sound strange? Imagine if Xero managed your bank account for you and made sure that all your taxes were paid for automatically BEFORE allowing you to receive your pay.
Doesn’t that “sort of” happen already with Single Touch Payroll?
If Xero had their own accountants would you go with a Xero accountant for your own business?
Continue reading Xero vs HNRY + Thriday + Rounded + Parpera
We’re approaching the end of the financial year and everyone will be reading and trying to understand their annual financial reports, particularly if they have outstanding Superannuation to pay (and claim) or they need funding.
I’ve written in the past about how to create a cashflow forecast using Xero and Excel and this post is a summary of good practices and recommendations when it comes to cashflow reporting
Continue reading Tips for Cash Flow Forecasting using Xero
