A Detailed Guide: Creating Financial Dashboards Using QuickBooks/Xero And Their Benefits

Small businesses often face the problem of not having the means to monitor their finances in one place. That is why many business owners opt to create financial dashboards using Quickbooks/Xero API Integration. Quickbooks and Xero are top-tier accounting software commonly used by small businesses.

The financial dashboards display key financial metrics and provide insights, making it easy for small business owners to monitor their financial performance. Let's get to know the benefits of Quickbooks/Xero API Integration dashboards and how to create a dashboard for small businesses.

The Basics: What are Quickbooks Dashboard and Xero?

A Quickbooks Dashboard gives you a complete overview of the financial performance of your business. It has a user-friendly interface that displays plenty of key metrics and financial insights, such as expenses, revenue, sales by product, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and many more.

Quickbooks Online Dashboard features 9 primary tabs: sales, expenses, accounting, taxes, analytics, banking, reports, workers, and projects. Quickbooks Dashboard is ideal for small businesses requiring cloud-based financial information access.

Xero is another cloud-based accounting software that offers plenty of features that are ideal for small businesses. It offers 1,000+ third-party integrations with point-of-sale systems, time-tracking tools, debtor tracking, etc. It has a simple, user-friendly interface, making it easy for beginners as well.

With Xero, small business owners can create transactions, manage accounting and financial reporting, monitor sales invoices, and many more. With Xero API integration, your financial data will be synced automatically between the software systems.

Benefits of Quickbooks and Xero Financial Dashboards

Quickbooks and Xero API integrations are known for providing a wide range of benefits, especially to small businesses. Let's explore the primary advantages here.

Easy to use

The accounting software platforms have a simple, user-friendly interface. You can customize the dashboards; they are visually appealing, making them easy to understand. You can choose the filters; only the relevant data will be shown on your screen.

Plenty of Integrations and Plug-ins

Xero API offers a wide range of feature-rich integrations and plug-ins. So, you can create custom integrations for your company with ease and ensure smooth communication. With the help of these integrations and plug-ins, the dashboard functionality can be increased.

Better Efficiency

By integrating with online accounting software, the data will be automatically streamlined, and there will be no need for manual entry or paperwork. The financial data will be synced with QuickBooks or Xero software, eliminating time-consuming manual data entry, and increasing overall efficiency. In addition, the accounting software can send instant notifications automatically.

Cloud-based and Accessibility

As Xero is cloud-based, it can be accessed anywhere at any time. The financial data will always be saved on the cloud and can be accessed instantly. In addition to that, multiple users can access the data at the same time.

Increased Security

Xerox is very safe to use as it uses industry-standard safety regulations. It encrypts your data and the servers as well. In addition to that, Xero is known for having various security layers in order to keep your financial data safe and secure.

Affordable

QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations are relatively affordable for small businesses that often struggle with insufficient budgets. QuickBooks Online has a wide variety of plans with a price range between USD 30 to USD 200 per month. Xero has three plans, which are: Early, Growing, and Established, that range from USD 1.50 to USD 78 per month.

Fewer Errors

Instead of manually doing everything, using online accounting software reduces the risk of errors to a great extent. Also, as they provide various security measures, it will be easy to detect fraudulent activities.

Tax and Global Regulatory Compliance

Online accounting software can also assist small businesses with automating tax preparation, tax compliance, and reporting, which saves them a ton of time and money. In addition to that, businesses can prevent IRS penalties that frequently arise due to inaccuracy or non-compliance with the taxation rules.

How To Create A Financial Dashboard

To easily monitor financial performance and track progress toward your financial goals, creating a financial dashboard is relatively beneficial for small businesses. Let's explore how you can develop a financial dashboard for your company.

Step 1: Understand Your Financial Goals and Organize Data

The first thing every business should do is figure out their goals. Consider if you want to focus on one aspect, like tracking sales and revenue, or monitor your entire finances. Another important step is to gather and organize the relevant data. This includes all your goals, target audience, current financial condition, intended targets, etc.

Step 2: Select The Accounting Platform

Consider whether you want to build a dashboard in QuickBooks Online or integrate with Xero API. Both are relatively popular online accounting software platforms with plenty of features and a subscription plan. Compare QuickBooks Online and Xero and choose the one that better meets your requirements.

For instance, though both QuickBooks Online and Xero have an easy-to-use interface, Xero is more affordable than QuickBooks Online. Xero is a 100% cloud-based platform, while QuickBooks has both Online and Desktop options. Compared to Xero, QuickBooks is better for scalability and it is also ideal for businesses of different sizes.

Step 3: Finalize The Metrics

Think about what metrics you want to add to the financial dashboard. Revenue, burn rate, net profit, debt, ROI, total assets, and profit margin are some of the vital metrics for any business. Plenty of other key metrics include earnings per share, sales, EBIT, leverage ratios, expenses, savings, and many more. Depending on your business goals and gathered data, you can finalize the metrics.

Step 4: Build Your Dashboard

Create your dashboard and make sure not to stuff in too much information. Ensure the dashboard is simple, easy to understand, and visually appealing. It is best to use graphs, tables, and charts to display the data. This way, it will be very easy to identify and track the progress over time.

Step 5: Track And Report Performance

Another vital aspect is to track the goals in the dashboard. Analyze if your business is meeting the preset goals in every metric. Identify the patterns and note all the metrics that are doing well. Think of how to improve the goals that are not doing well. After tracking and analyzing the data, report the performance to the concerned individuals.

Step 6: Decide On The Frequency

Consider how often you want to update and add new data to your dashboard. For short-term goals, daily updates might be useful. However, it is best to stick to monthly or quarterly updates for long-term financial goals.

By creating financial dashboards in Quickbooks Online or integrating with Xero API, bookkeeping will become a breeze for small business owners. When creating financial dashboards, make sure to include all the vital KPIs related to financial performance and associated with your customers and business operations. Quickbooks API and Xero API integrations can greatly impact the financial and accounting analysis of a business, ensuring better decision-making in the long run for small business owners.

While you have significant control over your developer team and the project, it's also important to maintain a collaborative and communicative relationship with the team to ensure successful outcomes. OpenMalo Technologies is committed to working closely with you to meet your project's goals and deliver results that align with your vision and objectives.

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