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Ledger Path

Playbook

Xero, with the QuickBooks translation

Click-paths as of 2026. Xero US plans sit at Early / Growing / Established. JAX auto-rec is Growing and above. US payroll is Gusto. Multi-state sales tax usually means Avalara. Screens move; the journals do not.

  1. Raise and send an invoice

    Work is done (or you are billing a deposit you will defer).

    Xero

    1. 1.Sales
    2. 2.Invoices
    3. 3.New Invoice
    4. 4.Contact, dates, lines, tax rate
    5. 5.Approve
    6. 6.Send

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.+ New or Sales
    2. 2.Invoice
    3. 3.Customer, dates, lines, sales tax
    4. 4.Save and send
    On approve
    AccountDebitCredit
    Accounts receivable$1,060.00
    Revenue$1,000.00
    Sales tax payable$60.00
    Totals$1,060.00$1,060.00
    • Confirm the contact’s tax treatment and terms before the first invoice.
    • One line per account/tax/tracking mix — don’t bury materials inside “services.”
    • Quotes and drafts do not post. Approve is the journal.
    • Repeating invoices for retainers; they still need a real delivery story.

    If this is cash-in-advance for future months of work, credit deferred revenue — not this month’s income.

  2. Match a customer payment

    A deposit hits the bank and an invoice is already open.

    Xero

    1. 1.Accounting
    2. 2.Bank accounts
    3. 3.Reconcile
    4. 4.Find & Match
    5. 5.Tick invoice(s)
    6. 6.Confirm

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.Banking For Review
    2. 2.Match to invoice / Receive payment
    3. 3.or Sales → Receive payment then match
    On match
    AccountDebitCredit
    Checking$1,060.00
    Accounts receivable$1,060.00
    Totals$1,060.00$1,060.00
    • Part-payments: match the amount paid, leave the remainder open.
    • Batch deposits: match several invoices to one statement line, or use clearing/undeposited funds.
    • Overpayments: leave a credit on the contact; allocate to the next invoice — don’t income them.

    Never OK-create to “Landscape services” if INV-xxx is sitting unpaid. That double-counts revenue.

  3. Enter a supplier bill

    A bill arrives with terms. You will pay later.

    Xero

    1. 1.Purchases
    2. 2.Bills
    3. 3.New Bill (or Hubdoc draft)
    4. 4.Contact, dates, account, tax
    5. 5.Approve

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.Expenses
    2. 2.Bills
    3. 3.Vendor, dates, category
    4. 4.Save
    On approve
    AccountDebitCredit
    Expense or asset$340.00
    Accounts payable$340.00
    Totals$340.00$340.00
    • Photo/forward to Hubdoc or Dext the same day.
    • Code from the chart, not from last month’s guess, on mixed receipts.
    • Purchase orders in Xero do not post until billed.

    If you already swiped the card, this is spend-money/expense — not a bill. One document, one posting.

  4. Reconcile a bank or card

    Feed lines are waiting, or a PDF statement just landed.

    Xero

    1. 1.Accounting
    2. 2.Bank accounts
    3. 3.the account
    4. 4.Reconcile
    5. 5.OK / Find & Match / Create / Transfer

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.Banking For Review (match/categorize)
    2. 2.then Bookkeeping → Reconcile
    3. 3.ending balance $0.00 difference
    • Start with matches to invoices and bills.
    • Transfers between your own accounts use Transfer, both sides.
    • Fees and interest on the statement get created; they are not “below the line.”
    • Finish with the reconciliation report (Xero) or a $0.00 difference (QBO).

    An empty Xero rec screen means lines were marked off. Sample the OK’d coding before you call the week done.

  5. Write a bank rule

    The same payee, same coding, keeps appearing.

    Xero

    1. 1.Accounting
    2. 2.Bank accounts
    3. 3.Bank rules
    4. 4.Create from a statement line

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.Banking
    2. 2.Rules
    3. 3.New rule
    • Condition on a distinctive payee string, not just “INC.”
    • Set contact, account, tax, tracking.
    • Run on other lines once, then inspect.
    • Separate rules for a card that is sometimes fuel and sometimes materials.

    JAX / QBO auto-cat are not a replacement for a rule you could explain to a junior.

  6. Post a manual journal

    Depreciation, accrual, prepayment, opening, or a CPA AJE.

    Xero

    1. 1.Accounting
    2. 2.Manual journals
    3. 3.New Journal
    4. 4.Date, narration, lines, tax
    5. 5.Post

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.+ New
    2. 2.Journal entry
    3. 3.Date, lines, classes
    4. 4.Save
    • Narration should name the workpaper (“March prepaid insurance — sch. P1”).
    • Mark reversing if a bill will replace the accrual next month.
    • Repeating journals for the same depreciation each month.

    Do not journal through AR or AP. Do not journal a bank line that belongs on the rec screen.

  7. Lock a period

    The month-end checklist is done and the pack has gone out.

    Xero

    1. 1.Settings / Advanced
    2. 2.Financial settings
    3. 3.Lock dates
    4. 4.Stop all users (and advisor lock if ready)

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.Gear
    2. 2.Account and settings
    3. 3.Advanced
    4. 4.Close the books
    5. 5.optional password
    • Reconcile every cash-like account first.
    • Zero suspense and Hubdoc drafts for the period.
    • Tie AR/AP to aging.
    • Save the pack, then lock.

    Unlocking March to sneak one invoice in means you re-run the rec and the pack. Otherwise it wasn’t a close.

  8. Register a fixed asset

    A purchase is over the capitalization threshold and will last beyond a year.

    Xero

    1. 1.Accounting
    2. 2.Fixed assets
    3. 3.Register
    4. 4.Cost, accounts, method, life
    5. 5.Start depreciation

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.Chart: Fixed asset + Accum. dep. + expense
    2. 2.Journal monthly, or Fixed Asset Manager if available
    Purchase, then monthly depreciation
    AccountDebitCredit
    Equipment$4,800.00
    Checking or AP or card$4,800.00
    Totals$4,800.00$4,800.00
    • Agree the threshold with the CPA (often $1,000 / $2,500 / IRS de minimis).
    • Don’t expense the mower “because tax will 179 it.” Books and tax may differ.
    • Disposals: remove cost and accum. dep.; record proceeds and gain/loss.

    A deposit coded to income leaving the ghost asset on the balance sheet is the usual miss.

  9. Read a payroll posting

    Gusto or QBO Payroll has pushed a journal and the bank has moved.

    Xero

    1. 1.Payroll (Gusto)
    2. 2.then Accounting → Bank accounts to match the draws

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.Payroll overview
    2. 2.then Banking / Reconcile the tax and net-pay draws
    • Payday: wages expense, employer tax expense, liabilities, net pay or clearing.
    • Later IRS/state/Gusto draws: debit liabilities, credit bank.
    • Contractor bills stay out of wages. W-9 first, 1099 at year-end.

    Recoding payroll to “contract labor” to hit a margin target is a classification problem, not a mapping trick.

  10. Send the monthly pack

    After recs, adjustments, and the scan — before the lock.

    Xero

    1. 1.Reporting
    2. 2.P&L, Balance Sheet, Aged AR/AP, Bank summary
    3. 3.saved layouts
    4. 4.send or PDF

    QuickBooks

    1. 1.Reports / Management reports
    2. 2.same four plus commentary
    • Three sentences: cash, collection risk, one action.
    • Management layout, not a tax dump, unless the CPA asked for both.
    • Do not include draft invoices in a signed pack.

    Profit is not cash. Say it every month that AR grew faster than collections.