How could Xero improve the homepage?

We continue to be surprised by Xero’s lack of awareness of how ineffective this Homepage update is and how negatively it impacts users. The product deficiencies are obvious - as are the process failures that led here - again - remember “new invoicing”!.

It’s staggering that a company with a NZ$25MILLION-a-year CEO, 4,500 employees, and ever-increasing subscription fees delivers changes with no functional benefit - then relies on what amounts to a free focus group provided by paying customers, to identify the most basic flaws.

Xero appears to value customers primarily as recurring revenue, taking advantage of the fact that many feel locked in. On principle, we’re working on moving away from Xero.

There are solid alternatives. For businesses needing more than accounting software, Odoo is worth considering. If you’re concerned about data lock-in, Control-C is a great tool which can fully back up your Xero data, including attachments, notes and history.

Given the lack of response to concerns raised here, beyond gaslighting and vague intentions, leaving a Trustpilot review may be more effective to get Xero’s attention.

Can I suggest LEAVE THE OPTION TO KEEP the original homepage as an ongoing option - so users can choose what works best for them!!

Forcing everyone to move over to a new design that DOES NOT WORK is not best business practice!

As per you response on resizing widgets - "(The resizing will work in the same way as what has been provided with the Cash in and out, and Chart of accounts watch list widget.)" PLEASE DONT! That is not resizing - you have large or xx large.
You need to have it that the widget box can just be dragged to whatever size we require. Similar to eg. attachment in bills - you can drag the box bigger and zoom in/out. Since we can already do this, I am sure you would be able to use the same function for the widgets. And make the widgets the same - say all squares.
I spent a while with a Xero case rep trying to help me out with the homepage, as now a lot of confidential info was on display. Trying to work out squares vs rectangles was a drama. Trying to work out where to move everything, some boxes square some rectangle. I didnt realise I was OCD until now!
I ended up having to add to the homepage, unused bank accounts or make new blank bank accounts to fill up the top section and have my widgets that I use down the bottom. So now I have to scroll down to see the widgets I need. Pretty silly, but it is the only way to have a homepage and be able to hide info.

Just love the in-development update. To summarise, "We've recieved an incredible amount of pushback so we're going to bring it up to a minimum standard of userbility, but not before we force everyone to see bad our first attempt was. Of all Xero's issues (and there are many), not knowing their customer is the biggest by far. They are just totally clueless.

Please keep the existing homepage layout.

I too am looking for another option. In case you didn't realize how bad this is Xero, it takes a lot to move 33 clients to a new platform but we have started the process unless something changes pretty quick we will find a solution and move them all.

It would be a big improvement if you could enable more white space on the page. ie. allow. have column presents. ie. sort widgets into 2x column or 3x column. this will enable people who prefer the original simple layout to keep a more linear less cluttered 2 column layout. while anyone who likes more options can increase the columns.

Can I suggest the original homepage remain as an ongoing option - so users can choose what works best for them.

Cosmetic changes are unnecessary when we already have the option to move things around. This "simplified" home page is horrible.

I'm going to say this. Should this "new" home page become permanent, we will most likely be moving away from Xero. Have already looked into alternatives that will suit our needs. This will essentially be the equivalent of losing 20 accounts. That's how bad it is. I am willing to move 20 clients to a different software, rather than deal with this new home page.

The ongoing negative feedback you are receiving clearly shows that everything about this new home page is wrong. There are multiple issues here not just one. Landing on the new home page is like working at a cluttered, messy desk. It feels like sensitive information is plastered across a billboard for everyone to see. You would not want to step away from your desk with your homepage open…..Xero you can’t be serious.. This is nowhere near an improvement. Leave the old home page as it was…It worked just fine.

Thanks for the extra info @Chris - sounds interesting!

Very comparable Peter AND they have a conversion process.

They have phone support so you can talk to a REAL person based in Christchurch. They are NZ Company that has grown over the last years.

From what i have seen and used the programs are comparable with FX etc.

No, I do not work for them!!!

@Chris Curlett - how do the products compare? For a lot of us, a move away from Xero would be complicated.

Hi everyone - XERO has lost the plot totaly.

Have a look at Infusion - https://www.infusionaccountingsoftware.com/ - I am!

The new home page is too cluttered. It's very hard to see what accounts are where. I would like the ability to resize widgets and adjust how many columns I see. At the moment I can't find where anything is.

Also I am unsure why we have advertising for apps and other things? We pay a premium for Xero and advertising should not be included anywhere in the system.

100% Agree with above comment.

We are a Media Production & Design Agency that has used Xero since 2013.

This new dashboard is several steps in the wrong direction.. Whatever you think it is supposed to be doing.. it's not.

It feels like a mistake that is "in-the-way" of me doing what I need to do. It's lacking in the beauty of simplistic, intuitive design that would make it easier to navigate... instead it's cluttered and distracting.

And then when you click through to any of the windows beyond the landing dashboard, the design reverts to the pre-existing style - so now you have created inconsistent designs within the App.

What The???

I totally prefer the current version of the homepage.

The new version is far too cluttered and NOT user-friendly. To drop the summary Invoice and Bill areas is silly as these are two areas that are most used by staff.
As for displaying commercially sensitive information to staff and competitors, I cannot follow what you are thinking of by doing this XERO – it is crazy and will damage our competitive advantages. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING OF TO DO THIS XERO!!!

I strongly prefer the current version of the homepage and would appreciate the option to remain on it.

The existing layout works well for our workflow — it’s clear, efficient, and allows us to access key information quickly. Changes to navigation and layout can have a significant impact on day-to-day efficiency, so having the flexibility to stay with the current version would be highly valuable for our team.

I have been automatically transitioned to the new home page and it is absolutely awful, its too cluttered, even with designing your new home page it has 4 columns and looks terrible on the page and you can't make the widgets smaller.
This is going to seriously impact my work flow as I will need to delete all the widgets on my company and all my clients company and have a blank home page. Then I will need to spend extra time navigating to the items I need. Not at all helpful Xero

I agree this also creates a confidentiality issue as these widgets are so large you can see them from across the street and everyone can view the financial information.

Please at least give us the option to keep the old version if we so desire. Xero please start listening to your customers instead of trying to justify yet another price increase with senseless "upgrades" These are not upgrades you are simply rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic and we all know how that turned out.

Have the option to keep your existing home page, I hate the new one and it is reducing my efficiency, I spend more time reverting to the old where available and removing all the widgets on the others.