Xero is a cloud-based accounting software designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It provides tools for managing invoices, payroll, bank transactions, bills, and financial reporting. Xero’s intuitive platform and API integration capabilities make it a powerful tool for streamlining financial operations, ensuring compliance, and automating repetitive accounting processes. Businesses can easily connect Xero with their existing systems, enabling efficient workflows for bookkeeping, tax management, and financial analysis.

Business use cases

Automating Invoice Creation

Frends can integrate Xero with CRM or ERP systems to automate invoice generation workflows. For example, when a customer places an order in a CRM system like Salesforce, Frends can automatically create a corresponding invoice in Xero, attach the necessary details from the CRM, and send it directly to the customer. This reduces manual errors and ensures timely invoicing.

Synchronizing Customer Data

Frends can connect Xero with other platforms like e-commerce systems, CRMs, or payment gateways to synchronize customer information. For instance, when a new customer is added in a Shopify store, Frends can automatically create the same customer in Xero, ensuring consistent records across platforms.

Streamlining Payment Reconciliation

Frends can integrate Xero with banking APIs or payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, or Square for seamless bank transaction reconciliation. For example, when payments are received via Stripe, Frends can match these payments with corresponding Xero invoices automatically, marking them as paid and ensuring up-to-date financial records.

Facilitating Payroll Automation

Businesses can use Frends to connect Xero with HR systems like Workday or BambooHR to automate payroll workflows. For example, employee salary data, time-off balances, and tax information generated in the HR system can be synchronized with Xero for accurate payroll calculations and timely payouts.

Managing Vendor and Bill Payments

Frends can integrate Xero with procurement or vendor management systems to streamline bill payments. For instance, when a purchase order is approved in a procurement system, Frends can automatically create a bill in Xero that gets tracked until payment is made, ensuring seamless expense management and reducing administrative overhead.

Enhancing Financial Reporting

Frends can export financial data from Xero and integrate it with business intelligence (BI) tools like Tableau or Power BI for advanced reporting and analytics. For example, real-time data on cash flow, expense categories, or income trends in Xero can be visualized in dashboards, enabling decision-makers to gain actionable insights quickly.

Automating Tax Compliance

By integrating Xero with tax compliance platforms like TaxJar or Avalara, Frends can automate tax calculation and reporting workflows. For instance, Xero sales data can be sent to the tax compliance tool to calculate applicable regional taxes, ensuring businesses remain compliant with local regulations while simplifying filing requirements.

Managing Multichannel Sales Data

Frends can connect Xero with e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce, Shopify, or Magento to streamline financial workflows. For example, sales transactions from multiple platforms can be automatically pulled into Xero to create invoices, record sales tax, and report precise revenue figures, ensuring all sales channels remain synchronized.

Automating Expense Tracking

Frends can integrate Xero with expense management tools like Expensify or Concur to automate employee reimbursement processes. For example, submitted expenses approved in Expensify can be pushed into Xero as bills, ready for payment, reducing manual entry and improving visibility into expense tracking.

Handling Multi-Currency Transactions

Frends can extend Xero’s multi-currency capabilities by integrating it with forex platforms or banking systems. For instance, Frends can automatically fetch exchange rates and update Xero for accurate currency conversions when processing international sales, bills, or transactions, simplifying cross-border operations.

Automating Project Billing

Frends can integrate Xero with project management tools like Asana, Jira, or Wrike for project-based billing. For example, when project milestones are completed and hours are logged in a project management tool, Frends can trigger invoice creation in Xero for those deliverables, ensuring efficient and accurate billing.

Simplifying Subscription Management

By integrating Xero with subscription platforms like Chargebee or Stripe Subscriptions through Frends, businesses can automate recurring billing and payment reconciliation. For instance, recurring invoices for monthly subscription fees can be automatically created in Xero, and payments can be reconciled once transactions are confirmed.

Streamlining Charity or Donation Tracking

Frends can integrate Xero with donation platforms to help non-profit organizations simplify donor management. For example, donation data from platforms like Donorbox can be synced with Xero to update revenue records and issue tax-compliant donation receipts automatically.

Enabling Scheduled Data Backups

Frends can help businesses automate regular backups of financial data in Xero. For instance, financial reports or transaction records can be extracted from Xero and stored securely in cloud storage platforms like AWS S3, Google Drive, or Azure Blob Storage. This provides an added layer of security and audit readiness.

Monitoring Payment Alerts

Frends can connect Xero with communication platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams to enable real-time payment status updates. For example, when invoices become overdue or payments are completed, Frends can trigger alerts in Slack or Teams, ensuring that finance teams and stakeholders remain informed.