Paying for a Xero subscription. Great. Now use it properly.
Still guessing your way through Xero like it’s Minesweeper? Let’s fix that.
So… you’ve got a Xero subscription.
Congratulations! You're officially modern.
But if you're still squinting at bank recs and wondering what they are. Randomly clicking tabs, and treating the dashboard like it’s a cursed artefact from an Indiana Jones movie…
We need to talk.
Because paying for Xero but not using it properly is like booking a holiday just to sit in the airport lounge and go home.
Lets set expectations:
Xero is not magic. It won’t reconcile your accounts telepathically. And no, adding a “Tracking Category” doesn’t mean your numbers are now suddenly strategic.
Using Xero properly is how you move from “Where did the money go?” to “Here’s exactly where we stand and what to do next.”
Are you Xero-ing incorrectly?
You’ve been manually entering invoices for six months (hello, carpal tunnel)
Your bank feed hasn’t updated since the last ice age
You’ve got 104 unreconciled transactions, and the number keeps going up
Your chart of accounts includes “Stuff,” “Other Stuff,” and “Misc?” It includes a mesh of three accountants’ worth of nominal codes and feels more like a like a Jackson Pollock painting.
You coded a supplier refund as income because… it felt right?
Your VAT return gives off strong “I hope this is legal” energy
If any of this sounds familiar, you don’t need to panic. You need a plan.
Let’s fix that: The Xero upgrade you deserve
Here’s how to use Xero like a boss (and not your dad trying to access the Wi-Fi:)
1. Automate Everything You Can
Bank feeds. Bank rules. Recurring invoices. Invoice reminders. Fixed asset register. Repeating journals.
Set them up once. Let them work while you sip something overpriced with foam on top. (If you’re still typing things multiple times, there’s probably a better way)
2. Use Bank Rules Like the Weapon They Are
You can tame the chaos. Create smart bank rules for regular transactions (only for items that don’t have an invoice)
Insurance DD → Insurance
Bank fees → Bank fees
Stop wasting time choosing categories every time a payment hits. You’ve got better things to do — like literally anything else.
3. Use Tracking Categories… But With Purpose
They’re not decorations.
Use tracking to compare projects, departments, a locations.
If you’ve got a category called “Interesting Client Energy”… seek help. (From us. We're here the help.)
4. Clean Your Chart of Accounts
Organise it. Tailor it. Delete the nonsense.
Seriously. Delete “General Expenses.” Burn “Miscellaneous.” Replace “Things I Forgot to Categorise” with something useful.
Every transaction should tell a story, not scream “IDK???”
Systemise it so revenue, direct costs, overheads, current assets, etc, are in order. X
5. Reconcile Weekly (if not daily)
You don’t need to live in Xero, but you do need to visit regularly. Unreconciled transactions pile up faster than Amazon parcels during Christmas.
Click the green buttons. Know what’s coming in. Know what’s going out.
Breathe easier.
You’re paying for a system. Let it do the heavy lifting.
6. Integrate Smart Add-ons
Use Dext or Hubdoc to automate receipts
Use ApprovalMax for multistage approvals
MayDay for group and intercompany transactions
Quotient to turn accepted quotes into invoices
BrightPay (or other provider) to post your payroll automatically once approved.
Use GoCardless or AccessPay to get paid on time
Plug in a dashboard tool like Fathom or Spotlight.
You’re paying for a system. Let it do the heavy lifting.
7. Build Reports That Help
Don’t just click “Profit & Loss” and hope for the best.
Customise. Compare. Filter. Schedule. If your P&L looks like a long list rather than a clean, clear report, split with headings and subheadings, it needs a bit of TLC.
Is the report comparing against the budget?
Create multiple versions (e.g. summary and detailed versions).
And for the love of clean data — learn how to read your balance sheet. It’s not just financial filler. It’s where the real cash story lives.
What’s the benefit of getting this right?
You save time
You avoid nasty surprises
You make smarter, faster business decisions
Quicker year end results.
Your accountant might even smile when your name pops up (Imagine!)
Paying for a Xero subscription is a great start.
We get it. Xero is powerful - but only if you know how to use it.
And if you’ve been DIY-ing your books with the enthusiasm of someone reading IKEA instructions upside-down? We’re here to fix it.
At Enubilous, we:
Set up your Xero the right way
Clean up years of chaos
Train your team (without the finance jargon)
Turn your reports into useful insights.
Still guessing your way through Xero like it’s Minesweeper?
Let’s fix that. Before something explodes.
