Xero and Google G Suite Integration

There are certain features all business owners seek in their accounting system, no matter whether they use a bookkeeper, BAS agent or accountant. And all of those functions are available with much cheaper accounting systems; some are even available with free software.

The Xero value proposition

Xero bills itself as the accounting system that makes businesses more productive, by allowing them to access their accounting software anywhere, anytime, through its app marketplace integrations with Google.

Of course, since all cloud accounting systems offer this functionality, it’s clear that Xero’s biggest selling point is its ability to handle complex tax requirements — BAS / GST reporting, superannuation, payroll tax — which other, more basic cloud accounting systems can’t.

Xero’s Google partnership

Something Xero does well is the way it integrates with Google. Xero users can connect their Gmail account so that every client email appears in Xero alongside their account information. In the Google Chrome extension, a client’s Xero account information pops up in a sidebar in emails to and from that client.

Most accounting systems offer some kind of Google / G Suite integration — Zoho, for instance, lets you import contacts from G Suite and attach / save documents from Google Drive — but no cloud accounting system — not MYOB or QuickBooks, even — offers the kind of integration with Google that Xero does.

Do business owners care?

While Xero’s Google integration is a nice flourish, you have to wonder whether many business owners would choose Xero based on this partnership alone. And the answer is, probably not.

In theory, the integration would let business owners who have a bookkeeper managing their day-to-day accounts mention overdue invoices, for example, when they send or receive an email about doing more work with a client.

But many business owners prefer to put up a Great Wall of China between their communications with clients and their bookkeeper’s communications with clients. And there are other, more comprehensive ways to manage this sort of thing — a weekly report outlining outstanding invoices, for example.

But bookkeepers care!

The thing about Xero’s best features is that they only indirectly affect the business owner. It’s helpful for a bookkeeper to the recent communications between a particular client and the business owner, particularly if there are issues around payment terms. And it’s helpful to be able to create lists of Xero contacts to send targeted emails chasing debts. It’s also helpful that Xero combines these features with other complex tax reporting features, such as GST and BAS, superannuation and payroll.