I know one Xero poster did not mean it as an insult, but merely saying Xero pays for itself is really an insult, as it vastly understates what Xero does (continued).
Xero far more than pay for itself when privacy is a big issue. This is often the case. Here is how I can add extra privacy to Xero, for clients who are very concerned about it. I start by making privacy especially easy. I send anyone, who agrees to try Xero, a free GoToMyPC invitation. Of course, they choose the time for this. The invitation says that they only need a few clicks to share my desktop in a secure session. It also also confirms prior conversation or emails, making it clear that they are only signing up for an anonymous two-month free trial, without a credit card, which they can end at any time without obligation. It also emphasizes that they never have to use Xero or give up QuickBooks to benefit from Xero.
When they accept the GoToMyPC invitation, I start by repeating the secure nature of the session, the terms of the free trial and that they never have to use Xero or give up QuickBooks. I then give them the login and questions for anonymous pre-configured Gmail, Yodlee and Xero accounts. These accounts do not use their name or company name. For added privacy, I block the receipt of most email in the Gmail account and tell them not to use this account for other purposes or forward its email. We then go to the Yodlee account. I explain wanting it for later exports (Yodlee soon goes back further than Xero, so we export earlier amounts and import them in Xero. This avoids having to deal with many separate bank formats and logins. Yodlee also gets balances automatically, so I can enter initial balances in Xero. I then click the link to add bank and financial institution accounts, but have them to enter login information. It is obvious that neither of us can see the passwords entered. We then repeat this for the Xero. I then tell them we can change the Yodlee password and questions, as long as we both have them.
Once we sign off, we add our final personal level of Xero privacy. We edit the bank and financial institution account names and numbers, so they only mean something to our clients and to us. This makes Xero more than pay for itself, especially for those who were most fearful.
