Xero Global Software Release Update April 2018
Here we provide you with a summary of the latest product updates and enhancements for small businesses and partners and see what you can expect to drop soon.
Recently released
- Updates to the User Permissions page
- Manage the level of access to Xero Projects
- Xero Practice Manager and Xero Tax
- Purchases tab on iOS and Android
- Improvements to Bills on iOS and Android
- Manage contacts from an invoice or quote on Android
- Copy invoice details on iOS and Android
- Copy quotes details on iOS
- Share invoices from your preferred app on iOS and Android
- Default tax type for invoices or quotes on iOS
- Preview or download your invoice as a PDF
- Print invoices with AirPrint (iOS)
- Attach files with Xero HQ Ask
Coming soon
- Create a contact from an invoice on mobile
- Mark bill as paid on mobile
- Xero Expenses full release
- Manage the level of access to new Expenses
- Add logo to invoice reminder emails and control the View Invoice button
- Copy a project in Xero Projects
- Stop-start timer on Xero Projects for Android & iOS
- Time Detail reporting in Xero Projects
Released
Updates to the User Permissions page
We’ve recently redesigned the User Permissions page to make it more intuitive and simple to use. Don’t worry, we, haven’t removed any of the abilities you used to have, but there are some changes in wording;
- Invoices are now Sales and purchases for Standard and Advisor users
- Bank reconciliation is now Bank accounts and balances
- Contact Bank Account Admin is simply called Bank account admin
- What is Cash Coding? This is now better explained for ‘non-cash-coding’ and ‘cash-coding’ permissions.
Manage the level of access your staff have to Xero Projects
Now there’s no need to worry about Project users seeing sensitive information or completing tasks outside of their job scope. Small business owners and managers are now able to set one of three levels of access to the information, and actions staff can perform within Xero Projects. User role permissions;
- Admin: Has access to everything within Xero Projects.
- Standard: Everything an Admin can do, but they can’t see staff cost rates.
- Limited: Has read-only access to everything except for cost and profitability information.
Admin and Standard users will still need to have the appropriate Xero user role to create invoices from Projects, and limited users won’t be able to create invoices from Projects, regardless of their Xero role.
Mobile update
Purchases tab on iOS and Android
You’ll notice the Receipts tab has been renamed to Purchases. This is to recognize the addition of Bills to pay, Recent spending, and a view of Expenses to the tab; helping you keep all of your purchasing-related activity in one place.
Improvements to Bills on iOS and Android
Stay on top of your bills on the go with updates to iOS and Android that allow you to manage your bills from anywhere. We’ve made the bills workflow more complete by adding the ability to view unpaid bills on mobile. See what bills you no longer need to worry about, which need paying, and when they’re due; so you can easily be in control of your bills.
Manage contacts from an invoice or quote on Android
You can now view and manage contact details without leaving an invoice or quote by tapping on a contact name. It’s easier and faster to edit contacts on the fly as you’re in the middle of invoicing or sending out a quote.
Copy invoice details on iOS and Android
With this latest mobile release, you can copy invoices (excluding drafts), so it’s easy to copy details over to a new invoice without having to replicate any entries; the date defaults to today’s date. Save yourself some time and effort.
Copy quotes details on iOS
The same as the above is now available for quotes on iOS. You can copy over a quote and therefore minimize duplicate efforts. You can expect this release to drop for Android shortly.
Share invoices from your preferred app on iOS and Android
This one’s for you and your customers. With this release, you can send invoices from iOS and Android via the app that works for both of you. Many small businesses find themselves communicating with customers through a variety of apps, some of you might prefer Facebook and other social platforms to keep in touch on things. So the ability to send invoices this way gives you more choice of communication and helps you get paid faster by meeting your customer’s communication needs too; which may be moving away from email.
Default Tax type for invoices or quotes (iOS)
With this latest release, it’s even more seamless to get an invoice out the door on mobile. Your default tax setting within financial settings (on Xero’s web version) will apply on mobile as well unless you have selected contact with its tax setting.
Print invoices with AirPrint (iOS)
Some people might argue that printers are soon to be extinct. However, if you’re amongst those working from home or simply want a paper copy of your invoice for whatever reason, printing things still has a place in your workflow. As you realize you need to print something while doing work in Xero on your mobile, you can now print wirelessly from your iOS device to your printer with AirPrint. From the share sheet, print an invoice using Airprint by selecting the “Print” option.
Preview or download your invoice as a PDF (iOS)
To cater to the way you do things even more closely, from the share sheet, it is now possible to preview and download a PDF copy of the invoice by selecting the “Create PDF” option. From this view, you can save the PDF into any cloud storage provider that’s been set up on your mobile.
Xero Practice Manager and Xero Tax
You no longer need to keep two separate logins for XPM and Xero. With this latest update, you can now use your Xero login credentials to log in to your XPM or Xero Tax accounts and make use of 2-step-authentication at the same time; keeping your data even more secure.
Attach files with Xero HQ Ask
Practice Staff will now be able to attach files to any type of question they create. Look for the paperclip icon in the “Ask a question” box to add an attachment. Adding a file helps with creating context and makes things more straightforward for advisors and their clients.
Coming soon
Create a contact from an invoice on mobile
Coming soon on iOS and Android, you can easily add a contact while you’re doing your invoicing. You no longer need to jump into Contacts to add a contact; instead, add them on the fly as you’re invoicing your customers. Saving yourself precious time in a day.
Mark bill as paid on mobile
Soon, you can mark your bills as paid on Android and iOS. This view helps maintain a more reliable picture of your business’s expenditure and cash flow as a whole. A complete picture of your upcoming costs should make decisions relating to cash flow easier.
Custom QR codes on Xero invoice templates
You’ll be able to benefit from using a payment gateway even if you prefer to send a printed invoice. By adding QR codes to invoice templates, your customers will be able to scan the code with their mobile devices and pay directly online.
View of payment options attached to invoices
With this upcoming release, you’ll be able to easily view which Payment Services are active on online invoices you send to your customers. You’ll be able to add or change these without leaving the invoice screen. It’s a way for you to easily ensure that credit card, debit card, and PayPal payment options are available to your customers; offering flexibility and helping you speed up invoice payments.
Xero Expenses full release
Small Businesses and partners will soon be able to manage reimbursable expenses seamlessly from anywhere with the new Xero Expenses on the web and mobile.
Manage the level of access to new Expenses
Small business owners and managers will soon be able to set the level of access to information, and actions their staff can perform with three levels of users permissions in the new Xero Expenses feature (also coming soon).
Copy similar projects to save time
Xero Projects users can save time creating new project entries from scratch by copying similar projects, including their tasks. Expenses, invoices, and time entries from the original project will not be transferred
Stop-start timer on Xero Projects for Android & iOS
Soon you’ll be able to accurately record every minute you spend on chargeable work, from anywhere with the stop-start timer on Xero Projects for iOS and Android.
See how your team’s time is spent on all projects
Coming soon, the Xero Projects Time Details report will small business owners and managers exactly how their team’s time is being spent on each project and what proportion is chargeable.If you would like to know more about Xero or would like to take up our discounted implementation offer, submit your contact details here and one of our consultants will be in touch.
DISCLAIMER
This article is an extract from the Xero website and is written in general terms and therefore cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; application of the principles set out will depend upon the particular circumstances involved and we recommend that you obtain professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on any of its contents.
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