New Invoicing - Reduce number of steps and clicks
New invoicing has introduced more clicks, taps, steps at almost every level.
Please remove the added friction as it increases processing time.
The "new invoicing" messages are full of comments regarding where these pressure points have been added.
We are paid subscribers, and beta testing/seeking feedback is wonderful, but being forced onto an inferior model is.. suboptimal.
Hi everyone, some time on since my last update I wanted to give you more of an idea of the work we have going on to help reduce the number of steps and actions in new invoicing. Along with the changes mentioned in my last update, we've since released a change to the view of an invoice to shift details back into their own columns (similar to classic), while a small change we know it's improved visibility for some of our customers.
We also have other work in development atm that’ll further help here like a new line item grid when editing your invoice - wrapped up in this we’ll be introducing changes you’ve been asking for like the ability to create a new tracking option or account code without having to navigate away from the invoice, we’re increasing the number of items that you can view from the drop down, and we’ll be bringing back the ability to view the number of stock on hand.
As mentioned in my last post, our team is developing shortcuts for the drop down actions like Approve and Save so you have more ease of selecting the option that's best for you.
We also have some updates coming to;
- The Contact card, so you’ll be able to add more details without having to go to the contact record, like more address lines, ability to look up addresses, and entering an Attention to all items we’ve heard lots of feedback on
- Issue and Due date picking where we’ll make it quicker to simply select a calendar date and we’ll be adding more keyboard shortcuts such as the ability to enter +0 for today’s date
- Ability to drag & drop files that we’re enhancing so you’ll be able to do this anywhere on the invoice rather than a specific area
Again, thank you all for sharing and continuing to let us know the improvements that make a difference for you when working with new invoicing. We'll update you as items I've mentioned above are released.
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Kathy Skinner commented
@Claire - cause they don't want to admit they have mucked this up and it shouldn't go ahead till it's all sorted so they use the excuse that they are continuing to take in our feed back and make changes but to me it seems they are just being selective on those as well as to what they do first.
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Kathy Skinner commented
Yep and I tried to do one draft invoice for a group of customers like in the classic version and I can't do them. It requires a contact name to be entered not the Group name I want to generate the invoices for which then generates all the draft invoices for them. To me it seems I will have to copy to 30+ Individual customers in a tier taking up even more time when I have over 100 membership invoices in different ranges to generate already.
Unfortunately it seems Xero really doesn't care about all this negative feed back otherwise they would be sorting all these issues out before forcing the new versions on us and hold off increasing the price for the subscriptions.
The same with the GST report which we will be forced to use from end of June - it's totally horrible to look and read and again they don't care otherwise they would hold that as well till it was more user friendly. Bad enough they aren't even including the ability to publish the report but also aren't addressing the layout issue, I found it actually increased the number of pages to print should you need a hard copy by almost double because of the new layout.
Their answer seems to be either close the thread, or as Kelly wrote above asking us to sign up to supply feedback but will they even really consider everything considering there's been so much negative feedback on both new invoicing and GST returns among other things. Plus they ignore things that have been requested for years and instead do what they think is best for their users when that isn't always the case.
Seems all they're interested in is profit now and have such a monopoly now so to speak that their subscribers no longer truly matter as it is difficult when you multiple clients to move them to another.
They've lost their core value from when they started out as being a competitor to other packages out there and who they wanted to represent.
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Claire Parker commented
Hello Xero team - are there any updates on this, please? Xero responses seem to be missing in action since May 17th, meanwhile more and more users are getting more and more frustrated and providing feedback to you about your lousy system upgrade. As the cut-off deadline looms ever closer, surely the progress towards having a useable module increases? I just wonder why you cannot communicate effectively with all these engaged people here who have given their time and effort to test a system that your team obviously have not.
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Anouchka Nagy commented
New invoicing is so much more work!!!
INVOICE ADDRESS - says no address or takes a while to display the address
ADD PAYMENT - I do no quite understand why it's at the top. This means i have to scroll to the very bottom to figure out what other partial payment were made. Also unable to copy and paste an amount into the amount section when adding payments.
EXTRA CLICKS to send an invoice - not convenient
The invoice format is so overwhelming, i personally prefer a more compact view.
Annoyingly slow.
When sending an invoice i need to click "send me a copy" every time whereas the older version i only have to tick the box once and this would apply to all future invoices.
When emailing an invoice unable to modify the recipient email, you will need to remove it and retype it.
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Jacomina Wakeford commented
Bianca, this is an Adobe setting with nothing to do with Xero; open Adobe, and there's a box in settings to untick. I had to google when it first happened to me.
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Bianca Davitt commented
No idea what has changed, but the last couple of days, every time I download an invoice, it saves a copy into my download folder as usual (perfect!) HOWEVER it then also opens the acrobat PDF program and loads an open file on my screen.
This is SO BLIMMING ANNOYING! How can I stop them for auto-opening!?!? I now have to use extra clicks to close the PDF viewer EVERY TIME. Please fix this urgently!
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Jenny Draper commented
Paul Kampe, you're 100% correct!
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Jenny Draper commented
"TAB( arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh) to select a highlighted contact
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Paul Kampe commented
Our business team has some serious concerns related to the "New" invoicing format:
1) More clicks - the number of steps and clicks has increased dramatically, leading to processing an invoice taking longer than the classic view. The Classic format has a shortcut link to "Email" invoice to the customer. The new format has the email option buried in a dropdown box hidden behind a 3-dot ellipsis. This is our MOST used feature in the invoicing. Why did you bury this function?
2) Way too much white space - far more than half the screen is white space, resulting in invoice information that is very hard to follow on-screen.
3) Gridlines missing - the new format eliminates the gridlines which was incredibly helpful in the Classic format because it is easier to find the different fields on an invoice with delineation.
4) Item / description combined? - the new format combines these separate fields which is entirely unhelpful. We need these displayed separately as they are in the current Classic format.
5) Customer address missing - in the new format all of our customer invoices say "no address" in the upper left corner. However, all of these address are correctly displayed on-screen in the Classic format. We need the address displayed on-screen so that we can verify that it's correct before emailing it to our customers.
We have been a loyal Xero customer since 2016 and made countless referrals for your platform. Please do NOT change the current Classic Invoice format. The Classic format has seamlessly supported our Accounting functions without issues and has allowed us to grow our business to support thousands of customers annually. To force an unwanted change of this scale upon us would be a blow to our relationship.
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Kylie Cowell commented
New invoicing is not better. Its a step backwards. It may be doing what Xero needs to in the background, but is not user friendly. A separate payment screen is crazy. Its badly laid out. New invoice takes forever to enter and process when you have a customer standing there waiting. Too many clicks. Seems to have alot of lag. Please leave classic invoice page as an option. Nothing in this new format makes any sense. :(
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Karen Mayer commented
The new invoices are not working for me. It's not intuitive at all. Feels like it was designed by an IT person, not someone that actually uses the software. The copy invoice to Purchase Orders is still not present like in the classic. If it doesn't get included in the new invoice I am looking for other software. Not happy with this at all. From a user perspective the classic was working well. I still don't see the value in the new invoice version. Why aren't you listening to your customers?
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Chantel Moerman commented
I just hate the new invoices, tracking catergories no longer come up by themselves,
its just cluncky and clumpsy. You can tell it was designed by someone who has no idea how to enter over a 1000 invoices in a timely manner. Xero seems to going like QB make it as difficult as possible entre easily. Very sad. Keep it simple people. -
David Reeves-James commented
Classic invoicing is so much better and avoids so many extra clicks / tabs / returns etc. As a user of Xero for nearly 8 years, I have found Xero to ignore ALL requests / suggestions / ideas. I have been asking for nearly 8 years for a 'stop' function. Xero's response - there is a credit limit feature in new invoicing, which is of no use. i.e. Credit limit £1,000.00, customer is invoiced £500.00 in January. Debt becomes due in February. This still leaves £500.00 credit on Xero and they could be invoiced another £500.00! FRANKLY WORDS FAIL ME - XERO!!!! GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AND LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS AS QUICKLY AS YOU TAKE OUR MONEY!!!!!!!
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Laine Ratsep commented
Hear hear, @Andrew Chadwick! This is a well-expressed summary of the issues surrounding putting the invoice details directly into the email. That is one of many 'enhancements' to the invoicing system that are aggrieving not only your customers but also our customers!
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Andrew Chadwick commented
Feedback on the Updated Email Invoice Template: Prioritising Client Experience Over Financial Details
As a business owner wholly committed to providing exceptional customer service, I've encountered significant issues with the new email invoice template that I believe warrant urgent attention from the Product Team.
1. Focus on Experience, Not Payments: Our aim is to immerse our clients in a seamless service experience. By prominently featuring payment details in the email, it inadvertently shifts the client's focus from the quality of service to financial transactions. Clients should have the option to review detailed financials at their discretion by accessing the invoice themselves.
2. Redundant Summary Details: Entities responsible for payments meticulously review each invoice item to process payments accordingly. Therefore, summarising these details in the email adds no functional value and complicates the payment process, as they cannot merely pay a lump sum based on the email summary.
3. Simplicity is Key: Our clients prefer straightforward communication. The additional elements introduced in the new template clutter the email, deviating from the clean and direct format that our clients appreciate.
4. Privacy Concerns: The new template increases the risk of financial information being exposed inadvertently or through security breaches. The visibility of invoice details within emails could potentially reveal sensitive client data to unauthorised viewers, thereby compromising privacy.
5. Request for Consistency: The Classic Invoicing system's email template was well-received and effective. Is there a specific reason why the Product Team cannot maintain this format? Keeping it would avoid these issues and support our goal of delivering an undistracted, high-quality client experience.
I believe reverting to or allowing an option to maintain the Classic Invoicing email template could significantly enhance the service experience we strive to provide. I would appreciate the Product Team's consideration of these points and look forward to a resolution that aligns with the needs of businesses focused on providing an exceptional client experience.
Regards,
Andrew Chadwick
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Meredith Hammond commented
New Invoicing is a nightmare. We use tracking categories and once a category was assigned to a company or client it would auto populate in the invoice. Now even though the tracking category is assigned to the contact, it no longer auto populates, I have to select it from the drop down menu. If someone else is doing the invoicing and is not familiar with the client category it means going into the contact in Xero to find that information and then back to the invoice to select the category. its very clunky and not productive. I dont like the new invoicing at all.
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Sebastien Lahtinen commented
As Chris Kabacznik said:
"it also seems to take one click on the attach file button then it waits for 5 seconds or another click until the library button appears, after it has loaded click to view the document in side view"Why can't I drag a file to the invoice as before .. clicking attach is extra steps... simple fix.
seb
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Belinda Johnson commented
100% agree with everything Chris Kabacznik
These are all of my exact same issues.
Invoice from Xero Files, auto drafts, tab creates new customer, the layout.... all of it.Beyond exasperating!
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Chris Kabacznik commented
Agree. The number of steps and clicks has increased dramatically, leading to processing an invoice taking 4 times longer than the classic view. Pop-ups are extensive and unnecessary.
I use Xero to enter transactions from another system, I, therefore, need to look at the attached file in side by side view to transpose the information into the invoice. We are basically using Xero as accounting software only not POS. At present, you can not start a new invoice from the file library it simply will not attach. If you then create a new invoice you must first enter a customer before being able to attach a document, it also seems to take one click on the attach file button then it waits for 5 seconds or another click until the library button appears, after it has loaded click to view the document in side view, and finally at the end click the dropdown button of approve and email to simply get approve as I don't need to email the invoice. Plus this button is at the top which is illogical and not consistent with another areas of xero.
In the previous classic view you could start a new invoice from the file library, it would automatically display side by side, I could then transpose the data straight into Xero as I can see the original document and I could just simply tab the entire way through the process (approx 10 second per invoice). Now it takes approx 30-40 seconds to enter an invoice, having to remove my hands to/from the mouse/keyboard approx 6 times instead of once.
Another bug is that if you type in part of the customer details and hit the tab slightly before it finds the customer it will automatically create a new customer, so far I have made around 5 new customers (in around 10 invoices) which I then have to go and merge, archive. The old classic view would only save an incorrect customer once you hit approve.
Finally, can we turn off automatic draft save... it's bloody annoying. Theres a save draft button there for a reason.
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Chris Curlett commented
Damon is so correct - the way XERO has handled the whole new invoice process is appalling!
Then they want to foist the mess on users.
XERO implement the user suggestions which will help you regain some level of user respect.
Come on XERO how about admitting you have made a mess of the project and stopping it. Put the time and effort into what users want and there sugestions.