Top 5 Online Payment Tools for Xero
Running a family business often involves juggling multiple tasks, and managing payments efficiently is crucial for maintaining cash flow. Thanks to the advancement of technology, online payment tools have become an integral part of streamlining financial processes.
For small businesses using Xero as their accounting software, integrating a reliable payment tool can enhance the collection process and simplify bookkeeping. In this blog, we’ll explore our top 3 online payment tools that seamlessly integrate with Xero.
1. GoCardless
Without doubt, this is our go-to payment solution for family businesses, especially for recurring payments.
GoCardless is a popular online payment tool that specializes in collecting recurring payments through online Direct Debits. With its integration with Xero, family businesses can easily manage recurring payments and automate the reconciliation process. GoCardless offers transparent pricing and supports international payments, making it suitable for businesses with subscription models or recurring billing.
Pricing for UK and Eurozone payments is 1% plus £/€ 0.20 per transaction, capped at £/€ 4 maximum. An additional 0.3% applies for direct debits over £/€ 2,000.
We’ve implemented GoCardless for a range of our clients and customers, in each case saving at least 50% time spent on credit control and massively reducing the average time to get money into their business bank account. Irrespective of transactions charges, the benefits by far outweigh the costs.
2. Stripe
Stripe is a leading online payment solution trusted by businesses worldwide. It provides a user-friendly platform that supports various payment methods, including credit cards, digital wallets, and bank transfers.
With its seamless integration with Xero, businesses can automatically sync transactions and streamline reconciliation. The real-time reporting and analytics capabilities empower small businesses to gain insights into their payment data. Stripe also offers robust security features, ensuring the safety of sensitive customer information.
Stripe offer a pay-as-you-go pricing model, with standard UK cards at 1.5% plus £0.20 and EU cards at 2.5% plus €0.20. Volume and multi-product discounts may also be available.
Within Xero, you can connect your Stripe account as a ‘payment service’ which allows your customer invoices to include a “Pay Now” option. Invoices will show a button allowing your customers to easily pay by entering card details. Stripe can also be used via a bank feed within Xero, and recurring payments / subscriptions are fed into Xero for reconciling as part of your financial processes.
3. Crezco
A relatively new kid on the block but a powerful payment tool for Xero users.
Crezco is a versatile online payment solution that seamlessly integrates with Xero, making it another excellent choice for family businesses. It offers a wide range of payment options, including credit and debit cards, e-wallets, and bank transfers. Crezco makes full use of OpenBanking API by connecting you and your customers to your accounting software and your bank account for offering payment solutions.
Payment terms for Crezco are very attractive for family business owners. You can send at receive single payments and operate recurring payments absolutely free of charge, limited to 2 users on the account. A branded version of a Crezco account will cost only £10 per month. The only current limitation on Crezco recurring collections are that these operate similar to standing orders, and are not as flexible as direct debits.
Crezco’s integration with Xero allows for easy synchronization of payment data, once again simplifying the bookkeeping process. The platform provides robust security features and customizable payment forms, enabling businesses to create a seamless payment experience for their customers. Crezco also offers multi-currency support, making it ideal for businesses operating globally.
Conclusion
There are so many payment options available right now for family business owners. Others include the likes of PayPal, Worldpay, Square and Braintree. The 3 payment solutions above are our own favourites for family businesses. We implement these with maximum impact on your time and energy, saving you valuable hours and giving you peace of mind that your collection processes are in safe hands and under control.