XOCashflow: Email Reminders For Xero

Rated Cloud has previously reviewed both Xero and FreeAgent. The two SaaS products are close competitors in the cloud accountancy market, although there are some key differences between them. One is email reminders.

FreeAgent includes a reminder feature which automatically fires out emails based on pre-defined rules and templates. Xero, on the other hand, doesn’t offer email templates in any form, nor does it offer reminder emails in any form.

XOCashflow is a Xero add-on which provides the reminders Xero lacks. It’s priced at $10 per month, which is payable on top of a Xero subscription. There is no free trial.

Syncing and Sending

Once XOCashflow and Xero are integrated, users need to head to the blue Sync/Send menu item each time they log in to XOCashflow. This triggers a one-way sync from Xero to XOCashflow, pulling through invoice details and any updated contacts. In this example, I have one new invoice to deal with.

In the Send Messages tab, I’m then presented with a list of overdue invoices in date order (shown in the screenshot below). The heading text (e.g. 7 Day Reminders) tells me which email template will be used to send the reminder email. These are all customisable in Settings.

The first invoice in this example is actually 13 days overdue. I have the option of waiting and sending a 14-day reminder instead. I can do this by clicking Exempt and choosing Today Only. (Permanent marks the invoice as ineligible for any reminders, ever).

Clicking the green Send Reminders button sends out any messages that aren’t marked Exempt.

Before I send, though, I can click one of the blue Preview Invoice buttons to see the email the customer will receive. Unfortunately there’s no way to edit emails on a case-by-case basis.

Note that the call to action buttons here are actually images. Anyone who has images turned off by default in their email client doesn’t see them. For example, Gmail displays two placeholder squares (without alt text) unless the recipient goes to the trouble of clicking the Gmail link to allow images to be displayed.

Templates and Rules

As mentioned in the last section, email templates can be customised, as can the company logo and the footer of the email. Email templates can also include variables, such as [InvoiceAmount] and [DueDate].

Email notifications can only be sent at fixed, hard-coded intervals; 7, 14, 30 and 45 days overdue, then every 14 days after that. It’s not possible to send a reminder before an invoice goes overdue, something FreeAgent does allow you to do. I did ask @xocashflow if they would consider adding this option, but their team didn’t reply.

In Conclusion

For $10 a month, XOCashflow is worth a try, although it does feel like a new product. The layout is a little clumsy but the system is basically well thought out, and the default email templates are excellent. It’s also quite difficult to send any reminders by accident which is a good thing. It’s just a bit of a shame that it’s not as customisable and polished as it could be.

If you’re ready to pay for XOCashflow, bear in mind that one instance can only be linked with one Xero account. Additionally, only one email run per day is allowed. If you accidentally Exempt someone, you can’t correct your mistake until the following day.

Crucially, there’s no free trial of XOCashflow. You’ll have to pay to see if it works for you.

Tags: FreeAgent, xero, Xero addons, Xero email reminders, Xero integrations, XOCashflow

Category: Accounts & invoices, CRM, Initial Reviews