This is the first in a set of courses where we will cover the fundamentals of Xero 2023—the things you need to know to get up and running.

We will first talk about how to get access to Xero, possibly with the 30-day free trial often offered by Xero, the 30-day free trial being a perfect tool for a course like this.

Using the test drive company file provided by Xero, we will practice navigating the software: locating the settings, the general ledger and other core lists, the reports, and the primary forms used to enter financial transactions.

We will break the accounting process down into accounting cycles, including the revenue or accounts receivable cycle, the purchases or expense or accounts payable cycle, and the payroll or employee cycle. Thinking about the accounting process by cycle is much easier to visualize—the data input forms fall into place, and the order and linking of many data input forms become much clearer.

This course will demonstrate the core financial statement reports: the balance sheet, and the income statement or profit and loss. We will then look at many other reports, considering how most will expand on and provide more information on line items on the primary financial statement reports—the balance sheet, and income statement or profit and loss.