Archive for May, 2013

Set amount thresholds in Xero bank rules so fixed assets aren’t expensed

One of my favorite things about Xero, an online accounting software, is its ability to automatically categorize transactions based on a customized set of rules.  While other accounting software have some built-in automation features (such as pre-filling information from the last entered transaction for a payee), Xero is unique in that it categorizes transactions when they match certain conditions for payees, amounts, references, etc. While this automation can save a lot of time classifying transactions, it could also result in misclassifications if bank rules are applied carelessly.  For example, if both office supplies and fixed assets are purchased from a payee, additional conditions may be required in the bank rules so that transactions are classified correctly.  In the screenshot below, I created a bank rule so that amounts less than $500 spent at Best Buy are classified as office supplies expense (I’m using this amount as an example – consult your tax advisor to determine if a transaction should be expensed or capitalized). Xero rule with threshold amount On the reconcile screen, Xero prompts me to apply the rule for the amounts less than $500, but not for the $1,053.62 which may need to be categorized as a fixed asset.  That transaction is left open, forcing me to investigate it further and properly classify it. Xero reconcile with bank rules  

My Feelings about Feedly

In my last post, I shared the news of Google Reader’s retirement on July 1 and suggested Flipboard as a possible replacement.  Feedly is next up at bat and it certainly doesn’t strike out. Feelings about Feedly Here are a few things I like about Feedly:
  • It was easy to sync with my Google Reader account.  I just entered my Google password and allowed Feedly access to it.
  • In addition to the mobile apps, Feedly has a Chrome extension for reading from a desktop or laptop.  The Chrome extension has a great interface for organizing feeds and has several viewing options.
  • It looks and feels similar to Google Reader, so there is not much of a learning curve.
  • The mobile app has day and night themes.
  • The mobile app opens web pages within Feedly and there is a tool to “remove clutter” that cleans up much of the web page content except for the blog post text.
A couple of drawbacks of Feedly are:
  • The Android “back” button often closes the app, whereas it would return to the list of feeds in Google Reader.  It’s just something I’ll have to get used to.
  • The shortened URLs start with feedly.com, making them slightly longer than bit.ly and Flipboard’s flip.it.
I am a big fan of Feedly’s Chrome extension.  On mobile devices, I prefer Flipboard’s navigation, but Feedly’s app has some great features and settings as well. Tim Gavin commented on my last post that he uses Flipboard for reading news and Feedly for reading blogs.  I agree with his assessment that Flipboard feels like reading a newspaper while Feedly is a more natural fit for reading blogs.  Tim’s suggestion is a home run.  Instead of choosing one or the other, I’ve decided to use a combination of the two products. Maybe I won’t miss Google Reader as much as I thought I would.