The Free Dashboard works in conjunction with any clients that are on the free billing subscription.  You can access the Free dashboard from the dashboard navigation section and selecting Free from the dropdown.

Example Dashboard

If you do not have any clients on the ‘free’ billing plan you will be told this when entering the page with the following notification.  Click on the read more link to get more information about the ‘free’ plan or close to have a look around.  Be aware that not all functionality is live within the example dashboard and the data shown is purely dummy data.

If you do have clients on the free billing plan your dashboard will look something similar to the below.

Most panels show the highest/worst 5 clients.  If you wish to see the next 5 they will become available once corrective action has been taken against these ones.  I am only displaying 4 organisations in some sections and that is because I only have 4 organisations of the free billing plan.  If you wish to do a deep dive into all clients then you can go use the alerts section and filter down to the free alerts or use the MOT report to do a deep dive into a particular client.

Unreconciled Bank Transactions

The unreconciled bank transactions display all bank accounts that have unreconciled bank transactions in Xero.  Hindsight shows both the count of the unreconciled transactions and the value of those transactions.  The 5 bank accounts with the highest transaction values are displayed.  This is to provide you with an idea of the bookkeeping records that are out of date based on the values that need processing and not just the volume of transactions.  By reconciling these bank accounts I would then be able to see the next 5 bank accounts.

If I wish to drill into a specific client I can go to the alerts section and use the filters.

Total Alerts by type

The total alerts by type groups the alerts together by the type of alert that has generated.  This information shows if there is a pattern to the volume of alerts that are being generated.  Hovering over the bar will display the alert type and the volume of alerts generated.

Our biggest culprit is unreconciled bank transactions.  I have 5 different bank accounts that have unreconciled transactions.  Until the bank accounts are reconciled there is not much point looking at other items.  My focus, especially if we do the bookkeeping, would be firmly placed on understanding what has driven this and what corrective action needs to be taken.  Primarily how much bookkeeping are we responsible for and need to complete.

If it was sales invoices due that was the problem alert type then I may decide to spend some time analysing client sales ledgers and looking at what we might be able to do as a practice to improve this.  Internal training?  Better bookkeeping?  Provide credit control services?  Automated email reminders?  You can see how one simple data point starts to build up a picture of areas where you can help clients.

Last Fully Reconciled

The last fully reconciled displays all bank accounts that have unreconciled bank transactions in Xero.  Hindsight shows the accounts with the oldest unreconciled transaction date i.e. the last time that bank account was fully reconciled.  This is to provide you with an idea of the bookkeeping records that are out of date based on how old the unreconciled bank transactions are.  By reconciling these bank accounts I would then be able to see the next 5 bank accounts.

If I wish to drill into a specific client I can go to the alerts section and runs some filters.

Period Lock Date

The period lock date shows you the clients with the oldest lock dates.  It is important to lock dates in Xero to ensure that items are posted into the correct period especially if preparing management information.  No one likes to see the Year To Date column figures swinging around without an explanation as to why.  It takes far too much time in Xero to try and work that one out.

Year Lock Date

The year lock date shows you the clients with the oldest year lock dates.  I’m sure everyone locks the year end once the accounts have been completed and never finds discrepancies’ when completing the next years accounts?  This isn’t a failsafe but what it will do is direct your attention to those client records that could and should be locked.  It takes a disproportionate amount of the time to complete a set of year end accounts if the opening balances are incorrect.

Total Alerts by partner

You need to make sure you have assigned client user roles for this one to work.  Do you have a problem portfolio?  If you have multiple partners this metric will show up if you do have an issue with a particular portfolio.  Perhaps someone is dragging the practice down or maybe the split of clients needs a rework.  If the split is reasonably equal but at too high a level then a shake up across the board might be required.

Total Alerts by client

Which clients are causing you the biggest grief?  Where are you eating the most amount of time and fees.  Now is a chance to isolate and contain the threat.  Start putting in place a programme of interventions for those continual offenders.  Try to provide help and guidance where possible.  Clients don’t start out bad, we tend to make them that way.  Give them a chance to see the error of their ways and how they can improve the situation.  Perhaps send them the MOT report so they can see what areas need work.

Don’t forget anywhere you see the star icon after a client name indicates that we do the bookkeeping.  We would be responsible for the situation we are seeing above so it would be an internal conversation that would need to take place.

Invoices Over 60 Days

If your clients have sales invoices over 60 days old they will be displayed here.  As with the bank transactions we feel that it is the total value of these items that is important not just the number of transactions so we calculate the amount outstanding and the count of transactions.  This way you have the greatest ability to impact a clients business by concentrating your efforts on those clients with the biggest amounts of cash to collect.

Draft Invoices

🙋Tired of preparing management information or filing a VAT return to find that there are draft items that should have been posted. ✅  Just maybe this is why cash is taking a hit.  Has someone forgotten to send an invoice to a customer and is sat there eagerly awaiting the cash to drop into their bank account.  😳

It happens but at least now you can have a quick cursory glance to see where it might have occurred and action it easily.  Fortunately for me I run a tight ship so nothing to see here.  If that was not the case we would display the client, count of transactions and value of those transactions so you can focus on the biggest offenders.

Open Credit Notes

If we have open credits on a customer account it could indicate:

1. overpayment by a customer (what is company policy?)
2. refund due to customer in the form of a credit note
3. missing invoice that needs posting
4. item misposted to the wrong customer account

Ultimately each one of these things is systematic of something that requires follow up and further attention.  The books could be wrong or the client could owe money.  Either way what are you going to do about it?  Fortunately I don’t find myself in that position but should I you would see the client, count and value of transactions.

Bills Over 60 Days

If your clients have bills to settle that are over 60 days old they will be displayed here.  As with the bank transactions we feel that it is the total value of these items that is important not just the number of transactions so we calculate the amount outstanding and the count of transactions.  This way you have the greatest ability to impact a clients business by concentrating your efforts on those clients with the biggest amounts of cash to pay.

Draft Bills

🙋Tired of preparing management information or filing a VAT return to find that there are draft items that should have been posted. ✅  Just maybe this is why cash is building.  Has someone forgotten to approve a purchase from a supplier and is sat there eagerly waiting to spend that surplus cash and profit that doesn’t exist. 🥳

It happens but at least now you can have a quick cursory glance to see where it might have occurred and action it easily.  Fortunately for me I run a tight ship so nothing to see here.  If that was not the case we would display the client, count of transactions and value of those transactions so you can focus on the biggest offenders.

Open Credit Notes

If we have open credits on a supplier account it could indicate:

1. overpayment to a supplier
2. refund from supplier in the form of a credit note
3. missing invoice that needs posting
4. item misposted to the wrong supplier account

Ultimately each one of these things is systematic of something that requires follow up and further attention.  The books could be wrong or the client could be owed money.  Either way what are you going to do about it?