How could Xero improve the homepage?

@Andrew G - are those browser add-ons generally available? Would you have a link to them?

@Kelly Munro - "I’ll keep you updated on progress that’ll improve your use of the homepage here." It's been over two months, anything to update???

So I've played around with the new homepage quite a bit - firstly, it's not a "quick" transition - it records the widget positions for each screen size, so you need to set that up for every screen, every user, etc. This wasn't obvious (or it didn't work) at the beginning.

So a general feedback point here - the dashboard customisation is counter-intuitive compared to other SaaS products out there - this is compounded when there's so little help/information and/or user guide on how to migrate/adapt to the new homepage. Shame that our existing layouts on the old homepage didn't transfer over automatically without a lot of effort on our part.

Secondly there are a number of capabilities missing, which means we end up having different widget placement for each screen and we need to learn/remember which screen has which widgets where. This is not efficient, and potentially error prone (considering the invoices/bills widgets look identical on first glance, title aside).

The following outstanding issues still need to be resolved to aid usability:

1a. Being able to have columns of different lengths - i.e. place widgets in columns, and not in rows. When on wide 3- or 4-column layouts, I am restricted from placing more widgets in the first column and consequently end up with a layout with widgets in column 4 that make no sense.

and/or

1b. provide the ability for filler/spacing widgets to be added, if row-based position must be kept, allowing us to add filler widgets into the 3rd and 4th columns, ensuring that we have a consistent layout in column 1 even when that column naturally has more widgets than any other column combined.

General feedback point here - Xero seems to completely miss the point that as accountants we work in columns - assets, creditors, debtors, etc. - and that's how we'd like to view things on the dashboard. It's impossible to maintain this if you have a lot of bank account widgets.

There are also some usability/efficiency issues that exist, all of which need to be resolved:

2a. Being able to make the Chart of Accounts watchlist widget full height, so it displays ALL accounts being watched without the need to scroll the list within widget itself. This would need some "intelligence" so that it works alongside other widget sizes, and doesn't mess up our column-based positions. As it stands it's easy to miss accounts with balances (which should be zero) and are not immediately visible.

2b. Draft and Needing Approval Bills/Invoices are now indicated "below the fold" on all our screens due to the size of the widget; this is caused by these bits of critical information being moved below the graph, rather than staying above the graph as-in the previous version.

2c. Bank account balance graphs are missing and still need to be restored - we used this to better/easily/efficiently identity bank accounts needing attention, and that has now gone from the dashboard. It means it's yet another click (and less efficiency) compared to what we had before.

2d. A small usability improvement would be for us to set an outline or background shading for each widget according to our needs- specifically, given the stupid nature of the dashboard widget positioning, being able to have creditors in one colour, debtors in another, etc. would improve usability no end.

There's also some other niggles we've fixed ourselves by applying our own CSS: adding a border to the widgets to improve readability, and fixing the top (blue) menu bar so it's always visible on screen. But I'm less worried about these, now we have our own workaround using client-side browser add-ons.

Finally, we're getting increasingly concerned over the radio silence from Xero. No real migration strategy is communicated, a lot of spin/pr/marketing/sales guff on how wonderful this new homepage actually is (which generally shows a lack of understanding of their customer base), a migration window of a few months, and no published roadmap with real detail (yes there's the spin/pr/marketing/sales roadmap, but that doesn't give us dates and migration windows, etc.). Compared to other SaaS providers, it does give us reason to question whether Xero is a platform we want to remain using for the long term. (This is further compounded by comments, backed up by others I've spoken to, where I now know a lot of these issues have been highlighted in feedback sessions with Xero prior to general rollout.)

I do hope ALL of these remaining issues are addressed soon.

It doesn't matter how loud we are or if we are rude or polite, whether our feedback is concise and constructive or a broad its awful change it back. Even participating in feedback sessions for proposed changes does nothing (I told them we needed to be able to choose how many columns we wanted on the dashboard)

Xero has already proven, with the joke that is "new invoicing", they will plough on ahead with their agenda, customers be damned, they can always trap more with enticing sign up discounts.

It seems all of our comments are simply going to AI and it doesn't care. No human seems to be involved in this new homepage update. I still haven't got an answer back from a human when you ask for support

I'd suggest it's time for Xero to actually survey their paying customers and see if they actually want to keep this very poorly designed home page. This product ideas page does not give a clear impression of how the majority of people feel. I think it's fair to say from the comments below that most commenters hate the new home page. Is Xero listening?

Terrible new layout. Too busy and not user friendly at all. The previous version should be brought back.
No reason for it to have changed

I hate the new home page version - it is way too complicated and unnecessary!
While I'm at it I also HATE your screaming advertising on the radio - Do better please!

This is just horrible. Its difficult to look at when you expect a dashboard to give you snapshots of your business position. Its unnecessarily complex and it would be great if people can just vote with selecting the old layout as an alternative ongoing. Surely you can see the analytics of people opting for the old dashboard

JUST UGLY AND AWFUL is the only polite description I can offer. I only use a PC and I don't care about 're-sizing for all devices.'

PLEASE PUT IT BACK THE WAY IT WAS. PERMANENTLY.

The many minutes I have wasted this morning trying to 'fix' it has given me a migraine.

I think this new layout could work if there was a way to have empty card slots. That way the user could space things out and not have everything right next to each other. It's annoying how the cards reshuffle right next to each other when you remove a card

The new homepage is extremely difficult to view. There is too much white on the page, we can't see where one widget ends an another begins.
Can we please have sections with different colours - for example bank accounts are highlighted green, accounts payable/receivable are blue - just so they are in different sections and are able to be viewed easily.
Current homepage is far too busy and white.

Why don't you just change it back to how it was? Going by all the responses, it seems that no one likes the new layout or finds it helpful in any way. Maybe not try to fix something that isn't broken.

I do not like the new version at all. It's very busy, and the and not easily navigated. It looks like a hot mess. I think we should have a choice. Not easy on the eyes.

It appears a matter of time before they ruin the reconciliation screen layout, and that is going to be an absolute nightmare.

I've been working on Xero for 11 years now. When I used to 'sell' Xero to potential clients - it was inevitably the simplicity that made them convert. Most of my clients are very unhappy with the changes and some have considered unsubscribing due to not having the option to revert back to the old layout. This was very unnecessary. Really very disappointed. And I may now lose clients because of it too.

I am not happy with the new layout at all. I use Xero for 9 companies and each company has multiple bank accounts. It's not easy to move them where I want. We can not move things around the way we want like you claim based on the sizes available. Also I do not like the the bar graphs that have a pop up when you cross over them. They get in the way. The drafts being at the bottom of the box are smaller and are not as easy to find/notice. Several of the companies I use it for will no longer allow me to switch back to the old system. Please allow us to continue with the old system. The only thing I'd change with the old is the blue bar across the top staying stationary as you scroll down. This would allow us to click the home button again easily and see what company we are in when we use it for multiple companies.

@Kelly Munro This new homepage update is such a huge step backwards. It really is very inferior to the previous layout - from a usability point in particular. You have received loads of feedback (many many comments below) on how bad this update is - it really should be possible for your users to choose the old layout while you work on improvements.

@ Kelly Munro I have observed this week that several of my clients’ accounts have been moved to the beta version without their consent and with no option to revert to the previous interface. This is unacceptable. Clients pay for their subscriptions and should retain control over when—if ever—they transition to a beta environment. Forcing this change removes their choice and disrupts their workflows. I am requesting that this issue be addressed urgently and that an option to revert be reinstated.

Well appreciate this. Didn't ask for the pretty, Cluttered mess every time I look at it. Don't need it, don't want it and would appreciate the option not to have that sh..t forced upon me. You have done this just so you can justify the next price rise, What are we Children? that it has to be colourful. considering I'm paying for this experience every month.. I m not a happy camper