How to Convert Transactional Data to Xero

Welcome to Zero to Xero where I show you how to make the most of Xero featuring tips and tricks, best practices, ecosystem apps, and more.

Today’s Email

• Converting to Xero

  • Subsidized conversion cost through JetConvert (by Xero)

  • Converting from other platforms

  • Adding monthly comparatives through the Budget Manager

• Xero News and Happenings

Conversion Methods Available for Xero

Hey all! I wanted to take a different approach with these newsletters. Hopefully, it’s something you’ll enjoy.

I’ll focus on creating more “raw” videos to provide as much value as possible on the fly without spending much time on production.

Converting Clients to Xero

To convert clients to Xero, I highly recommend the Fresh Start method for several reasons.

Typically, when you inherit a set of books, you’ll encounter one of two scenarios:

1. The client set it up themselves… and we all know how that goes.

2. The prior accountant or bookkeeper didn’t maintain a clean set of books.

For this reason, I recommend starting fresh in Xero or only bringing over the balances. If there’s no trust in the data, there’s no real point in bringing it over when converting to a new system. I’ve also seen some incredibly botched conversions in the past simply because data is mapped differently in different systems.

Sometimes, you might need to bring historical data into Xero. If you're using QuickBooks, Jet Convert can help with that. For other systems, you'll need to manually export and import your data. Feel free to reach out to your account manager—they're there to help and can guide you through converting to Xero.

Xero's budgeting tools can also help manage monthly comparatives without needing extensive historical data. I’ll show you how to do this in the video!

Here’s the breakdown of the video! Click on the sections you’re most interested in to navigate to it in the video.

1. Jet Convert Service: Use Jet Convert for converting QuickBooks data to Xero, a service that Xero subsidizes.

2. Manual Conversion for Other Software: Covers the manual process for converting data from software like MYOB and FreshBooks, involving spreadsheet exports.

3. Budget Manager for Monthly Comparatives: Explains how to use Xero's Budget Manager to create and import historical monthly comparatives.

4. Pre-conversion Checklist: Stresses the importance of a thorough pre-conversion checklist to ensure data quality.

5. Conversion Timeline: Mentions that QuickBooks conversions typically take 1-2 days.

6. Data Quality Importance: Reiterates the "garbage in, garbage out" principle, highlighting the need for clean data.

7. Client Needs Assessment: Advises assessing whether clients actually need historical data before proceeding with conversions.

8. Support from Xero: Encourages reaching out to Xero account managers for assistance with the conversion process.

9. Conclusion and Recommendations: Concludes with recommendations on the Fresh Start method and using the Budget Manager for historical data.

If you want to see something specific for the next newsletter please let me know. I’d love to hear from you below ⬇️

Xero is taking nominations for the US Xero awards until the end of the month! Make sure to nominate yourself or someone you know!

I’m happy to see that Xero is collecting feedback from its users around the new invoicing capabilities. If you have thoughts around how you’d like Xero to build the product make sure to partner with them and ask your account manager about the beta program!

Cheers,

Tam