Coming from a background of not knowing ANYTHING about accounting, not knowing what a profit and loss statement is, and asking questions like “Why do we need to keep the receipts?” After being thoroughly taught and now being in control of all of RIM accounts, banking and invoices. I’ve been trained to use Xero only by the best – Michelle Manion who is a chartered accountant who has assisted hundreds of clients with their Tax and Reporting obligations as well as provide cash flow analysis and business advice on a variety of different matters. She is also a fully qualified Personal Trainer!

If you’re reading this right now and actually have no idea what it is, don’t worry neither did I when I first heard about it, ha ha. Xero is an online accounting software platform for small businesses. It’s accessible on any device (iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets) any time, anywhere. It’s major features are:

• Invoicing and quotes – You can create professional recurring invoices and receive updates when they’re opened.
• Bank reconciliation –  Your latest banking, credit card and PayPal transactions are imported and categorised
• Inventory – Inventory items speed up invoicing while tracking sales and purchases
• Pay your employees – Calculate the payroll, pay employees and manage payroll taxes
• 700+ third party apps – Inventory, invoicing, time tracking, expenses and more all integrate with Xero
• Purchase orders – Create and email custom purchase orders and copy bills for payment
• Claim Expenses – Manage your cash flow by scheduling payments. Easily handle personal expenses
• Enter bills – Manage your cashflow by scheduling payments and catch paying suppliers

This is a major skill that I can keep with me for a lifetime, and learning in the in and outs of book keeping manually through Excel has given me a lot of confidence to handle the admin side of my role at RIM. With this background knowledge I have been taught by Erin, it has made my understanding of using Xero a whole lot less confusing. Although the program is very advanced and is quite different to what I am used to working with – it has made updating/ inputting data and handling the accounts SO much easier and straightforward!