Homepage - Simplify layout
The beta version of the new Xero layout. updated interface feels overly busy and cluttered, which makes navigation more difficult—particularly for clients who manage multiple bank accounts.
I believe users should have the choice to switch to the new layout when they’re ready, rather than being automatically transitioned.
Additionally, clients pay for Xero to streamline their financial management, not to have advertising pushed at them.
The current design detracts from the user experience and makes it harder to find and complete tasks efficiently.
Hi team, we have some updates to share. Before we dive into the details, we want to be clear that while we’re committed to monitoring, learning, and refining the Homepage, we don’t intend to return to the previous Dashboard style or its column-based widget layout.
A few months back, we rolled out several enhancements to the "Edit homepage" capability to give you better control over your layout, including:
- Widgets that remain stationary until they are dropped into a new placement
- A "shadow" preview showing exactly where a widget will be placed during drag-and-drop
- Refined animations for a much smoother visual experience
- Improved on-page guidance regarding how to save multiple layouts across different screen sizes
In addition to the existing size options for Chart of Accounts and Cash In and Out, our team is currently building smaller widget sizes for Invoices Owed to You, Bills to Pay, Chart of Account, Cash in and Out and Recent Invoice payments widgets. This includes customisation of the data within these widgets to best suit your needs, such as removing the charts. We’ll provide a confirmation once these updates are live.
There are also other enhancements that our teams are beginning to explore to further solve needs shared in feedback here, so we’ll continue to keep you updated.
If you need help setting up or editing your homepage, please reach out to the Xero Support team. They can help you design a view that best supports your specific workflows. Thanks
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Ryan O'Daly
commented
Xero, we really are paying you too much if you insist on wasting money on this "user experience" that nobody asked for or wants, and then ignore the unanimous response telling you to abandon it.
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Cath H
commented
I agree with the comments that the new front page layout is too bulky
The old version was easy to navigate and not everything screaming for attentionThe end users are telling you that this is a bad idea.
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Ting Ting Shen
commented
The old version homepage is much easier to use, especially when we have multiple bank accounts to reconcile. Can I choose to stay with the old version, not just for a while, but permanently?
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Tim Stockman
commented
Still ******* that drum? Read the room! Haven't seen a single positive comment - its a train crash - SCRAP IT! Now today I get an email about he app being updated as well - can only imaging what total mess that's going to end up. MYOB is looking better and better everyday!
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Michael Walstab
commented
I agree its really a waste of effort. Why not do multi warehouse or something usesful. Very frustrating when you have multiple bank accounts as the screen goes everywhere and cant lock in what you actually want.
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Ian Hall
commented
Yes too complicate new Xero layout
Why change something that is working fine ?
Plus for the record the unsubscribe Xero buttons do not work either!
I placed one comment about three weeks ago about Xero new layout and now I am plagued with the feed from global commenters coming into my email in box ...... Madness !
If Xero cannot even get a unsubscribe button to work on their interface then we all have no hope !
But looks like they fixed their Xero double importing transactions issues from my business bank feed that was an eyeopener in 2022 when UK Gov forced me to use a software package to complete my VAT returns .
Personally I thought we had another UK
Post Office Fujitsu Horizon Software Issue starting !Look it up on Wiki " British Post Office Scandal " ref software issues !
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Kimberley Ram
commented
The fact that Xero is ignoring everyone on this matter only shows that they do not care about what the customer wants/needs are.
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Tristan Schmidt
commented
This reminds me of that lousy version of Quickbooks like 2003/2004 when they went off the simple layout to a really complex one which people hated and then started changing to MYOB. I reckon MYOB did the same thing actually too and lost a lot of users.... Keep it simple by default... Don't daunt people, keep it clean and then let them customise it.
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Gina Miletic
commented
The homepage is too cluttered, too big and messy. The old one was much better. Why change this? It does not improve the functionality`
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Sasha Yanshin
commented
Hey Xero - you can solve 99% of the complaints here in 1 day without going back to square 1. Do this:
1. When editing a dashboard, create a checkbox for "Narrow layout" - limit layout to 2 columns if selected (like you already do in your current 1000px breakpoint look.
This will make it look a lot more like the old dashboard and easier to use.
2. If the narrow column at the top is ticked, make the dashboard-template-beta-grid--wrapper max width 1020px like it was before - 900px you have at the moment is too narrow to display simple 4-column tables in one of the 2 visual columns (e.g. Chart of Accounts overflows horizontally)
3. Go through your card designs and compare old to new looks - be honest with yourself. The new bank account and Chart of Accounts cards look significantly worse and are less user-friendly than the old ones. Just change the layout to remove clutter and make them fit into the columns like they used to.
That's it. Save the "Narrow layout" flag and Bob's your Uncle. You can keep your new fancy layout if you want and users can go make it look exactly like the previous layout relatively easily.
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Tim Sheehan
commented
Another point about recent changes:
Wouldn't it be really great if invoicing had the same simple, efficient and responsive feel and layout as Billing. -
Dilip Khanal
commented
I would recommend this main command like Purchases, Sales, Payroll, Tax Account, Banking should be on the top dashboard; however, its look is very clear, simple, and convenient similar to the old Xero.
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Jim Morris
commented
Spot on Pierce! This should be the default position that they take for any platform upgrades and should have been the way they approached invoicing before and now the homepage too.
While the homepage is fine for me (and, yes, I did help with some initial testing), it is obviously not for a lot of folks...which makes me think they are not gathering feedback from a wide enough section of their customer base.
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Peirce Baehr
commented
The current system is working really well for our small org. If the dev's need to transition us for some coding related reason, than please create a matching skin in the new format that looks like the old format.
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Benjamin Taylor
commented
Agree with the other comments. If Xero is going to "allow" customization, then they should allow a feature to lock the widgets in place. If there was a lock feature I would lock each widget in place making it look EXACTLY like the original version. This isn't just a change the user needs to get used to and familiar with, it's a massive downgrade and a pain to use making navigation more cumbersome and harder to use.
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Sasha Yanshin
commented
The new homepage is a crime against user experience.
It is less helpful. It is less useful. It is more frustrating to use.The layout is garbage - even the same Dashboard (e.g. Account Watchlist) looks much better in the Classic Dashboard without lines going off screen and custom sorting and ordering.
Every single person is telling Xero that the old dashboard is better. Are they still going to force switch everyone in April just because they don't want to make the developers feel bad?
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Ann-Marie Creech
commented
I too am not liking the new layout...it's just too busy looking, and I find it hard to navigate. I'm all for change if it helps the user experience but this has missed the mark.
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Rebecca Hardy
commented
Remove the "View Account Transactions" from each widget - this is not needed as you can already access all transactions by clicking on the account name. It would make the dashboard feel less cluttered.
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Deborah Ingley
commented
I'm chiming in with everyone else here. The new homepage is NOT an improvement on the old one. It is way too busy, feels cluttered and makes is harder to navigate!
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rich nosworthy
commented
agreed. New look homepage feels wayy too cluttered. I had no issues with the old one and would rather stick with something like that