01 August 2023
After meeting hundreds of Xero businesses, we learnt about the game of Bills ping-pong.
This is how the game of Bills ping-pong works.
Someone in the accounts team:
Load the bills into Xero
Receives approval for the bills; and
Bills are approved and marked as paid in Xero
Then:
The ABA is generated out of Xero; and
The ABA file is emailed to the approver; or
The ABA file is uploaded into internet banking for payment;
Bills paid! .... not quite....
3 days later, when it's time for bank reconciliation, the team discovers that the statement entry for the ABA payment is not there :(.
After several back and forth emails, it is discovered either:
The approver has forgotten or didn't get a chance to approve / pay the ABA file from internet banking; or
ABA file has expired, requiring a new ABA file to be generated; or
The approver paid some but not all the bills,
Which leads to re-work of that week's pay run (!).
Now the team have to:
Re-open the closed/paid bills in Xero;
Re-generate new ABA files from Xero;
Re-send / re-upload the ABA files;
Remind and ensure the approver pays the ABA files
A lot of time & effort spent on playing ABA files ping-pong. 🏓
A lot of effort to pay bills out of Xero.
Option available to you:
You now have the option of using the automated bills payments out of Xero.
This removes the back & forth with ABA files and reconciliation adjustments.
Importantly, every bill that is scheduled to be paid, will be paid.
No more ABA and reconciliation ping-pong.
Just 1-click bank statement reconciliation.
EFT and BPAY bills payment automation out of Xero:
With the latest BPAY & EFT automation enhancement to Xero, you can control & fully automate both your BPAY and/or EFT bill payments and reconciliation, straight out of Xero.
How will this new EFT / BPAY automation help?
The new automation:
Removes the need for ABA files
Once the approval is received (in Xero or Parakeet), the bills are paid automatically out of the designated bank account
Bills are closed and marked as paid in Xero automatically by Parakeet
Remittance advices are sent to suppliers automatically
Individual bills' reconciliation entries are passed automatically
Reconciliation entries are then automatically 'bulked' to match with the bank statement entry
At Bank Reconciliation time, it's a 1-click reconciliation:
Check the bank statement for the 1 bulk debit entry
Create a bank transfer to the Clearing account
Reconciliation Done!
Now, every approved bill is paid because it is automated.
No more missed payments or un-reconciled transactions.
What does this mean?
This means the accounts team don't need to send reminders or worry about whether the approver is available or contactable.
And for the approvers, it means they only need to approve the bills once (either in Xero or in Parakeet).
They don't need to log in to internet banking to upload or approve ABA files anymore.
It makes life a lot easier for everyone.
Users feedback:
This automation has been well received by Xero businesses with 5 star reviews in the Xero app store here.
Some feedback...
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Exactly what we have been looking for
“Really happy with the product and has made paying bills so much more easier. ” - Finance Manager
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Payments made easy - A must have for Xero customers
"I am new Xero customer. Parakeet is an essential part of my accounting solution. BPAY transactions account for 50% of my suppliers and hence it was essential they could be processed along with the standard EFT payments. Parakeet not only gave me BPAY automation but provided the ability for me to process multi bank account payments within the same database. Implementation was simple, backed up with prompt and experienced support. " - Owner
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Want to give up ping-pong, but not sure if this suits you?
See how it works and discuss with us first or learn more about it here.
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About Parakeet:
Parakeet is a certified financial services app in the Xero app store that automates bill payments (BPAY & EFT) out of Xero and removes the need for manual uploading of ABA files or BPAY batch files into internet banking.
See Parakeet's Xero App Store listing here.
Learn about Parakeet's automated Bills payment automation (AP) here
For more information, contact: media@helloparakeet.com