leatherjo Report post Posted February 10, 2014 Has anyone tried the Xero accounting program. After reading the discussion on accounting software in http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=53061&hl= I started doing some research on cloud-based programs (so I can access the data at shows, in the car etc). Xero looks promising for a variety of reasons. It was developed in New Zealand, but is being marketed worldwide. It's gotten very good reviews for its features and ease of use, and Forbes considers it a good alternative to Quickbooks online. I'm just wondering if anyone on this forum has used it? Do any of our New Zealand readers know people who have used it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dwight Report post Posted February 10, 2014 Personally, . . . I use MS Access and Excel, . . . works for me for everything I need, . . . and I don't have to second guess what some IT engineer wanted this button to do when he designed it and put in on page 743, paragraph 3 of volume 2 of the instruction manual. If I want info at a show, . . . on vacation, . . . at the bank, . . . it can be in my cloud as well, . . . and probably as easily accessed. I say probably because I am not familiar with Xero, . . . but I am with Access and Excel. If you can do simple math, . . . algebra especially, . . . take a course with the two programs, . . . build YOUR program, . . . you may be very wonderfully surprized how wonderful it is to have a program that YOU fully understand because YOU made it. May God bless, Dwight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leatherjo Report post Posted February 11, 2014 Yes I thought about using Access and Excel. I've used Excel for years, and my husband teaches both Excel and Access. He was a math major in college, but neither one of us knows much about accounting. Also I wanted a program that can send out invoices as well as purchase orders (I am hoping that written purchase orders will minimize the incorrect orders that I have read about on this site), let me customize both forms, enable customers to pay by pay pal or credit card, let me pay bills from my account, let me keep track of all my customer contacts as well as my inventory, keep a record of everything with minimal typing on my part--i.e., entries should be linked so I just enter the info once, and give me clear reports with charts etc. I also like that my data would be backed up a lot more frequently than I make backups, and the data is a lot more secure from hackers than data on my computer. Even if I could program all this myself -- or get my husband to do it since he is the programmer -- I think we would be better off working on my website or reading discussions on this website. I'm just getting started in this field and I have a lot to learn about leather, sewing, and suppliers! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dwight Report post Posted February 11, 2014 I full well understand and agree with what you said. It is a whole lot easier, etc, . . . to let someone else do it. For the last 15 or so years before I retired, I worked as a program administrator for a major paint company, . . . managing their 45 man maintenance department work order system. That included ordering parts, maintaining inventory, daily work orders and a host of other "items". What I did was simply not try to anticipate every need, . . . but address each need as it surfaced. When something came up that I needed to have an answer for, I would put it in the schedule, . . . then add it to the program, . . . which I found was for me, easier than trying to follow directions from someone else's program. Right now, . . . I'm using 2 computers and an external HD for backup etc, . . . but I'm looking for another desktop, . . . and when I get it, . . . I'm going to use it for a server, . . . with something like Dropbox as my cloud backup. One thing you may also look at if you have an Ipad, . . . Easy Books, . . . is an app you might want to look at. I think it could be useful, . . . May God bless, Dwight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leatherjo Report post Posted February 11, 2014 Thanks Dwight. I will certainly look at Easy Books. I don't have an ipad now, but I plan to get one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
