Try Xero Touch – our new mobile app
We’re in the final process of submitting Xero Touch, our new mobile app, to the App Store.
Since the app is built in HTML5 we can make it available, on a wide range of devices, before it’s available in the App Store.
Just go to m.xero.com and you’ll be able to run the new features. Recent devices from Apple and Android will run Xero Touch.
Key features you can now try from your phone include:
- Check all your bank & credit card balances from the dashboard
- Create, approve and send invoices from your phone
- Add expenses (the iPhone native version will let you take a photo of receipts to upload to Xero)
- View contacts, map their location and add notes
If your phone is a lower level device (including Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry) m.xero.com will still work as it always has, but it won’t have any of the Xero Touch features enabled, such as creating and sending invoices and expenses.
Try it out right now and let us know what you think. You’ll need an existing Xero account, if you need an account get one for free by signing up now.
Read more about Technology
54 comments
very cool – much more user friendly. I’ll never get lost going to a client again!
@Nigel The bank accounts thing is a bug – it will go somewhere eventually (future release). BTW – that has been raised – QA team bet me someone would notice it – I’ve lost that bet 
*That* my friends, is fantastic work. Love the rate of innovation coming out of Xero. Keep it coming. With the planned developments for Xero Personal, I see a great ‘cashflow coaching’ service can be provided (at last) in a cost-effective way. A great opportunity for the accounting and financial advisory professions (and society!). Keep up the great work guys.
This isn’t working on my Android, I just get a blank greyish screen. I have a Nexus One running the latest Gingerbread update (2.3.1) and I’ve tried both the stock browser as well as my regular browser, Dolphin HD. The m.xero.com site redirects to https://touch.xero.com if that helps?
The app looks great! I’ve been waiting for the picture feature for as long as I can remember. No more filing cabinets full of faded and unreadable receipts! Is there a way yet to upload receipts for expenses from pictures not taken with you phone?
Kristof
Also not working on android 2.2. seeing a blank screen. There seems to be a redirect to login which is then again redirected to touch.xero.com without presenting the login form.
Angela Sibly
There may be a few orientation issues on the 3G? Resizing and remapping does not appear to be happening following a change of orientation from landscape to portrait or reverse. Great to see the invoice and expenses features coming in to play. Would like to see the invoice payment functionaility in the future as well. Awesome work!
TMRE
Looks great and hopefully will have a remember login feature on iPhone as retyping a 14 digit secure password every time you navigate away is such a pain on the web app version… More importantly though when are u going to support Barclays in the UK and commercial Barclaycards… First it was Q4 last year, then Q1 this now Q2, Q3, never???!
Brad
Great work! +1 for Nigel’s concern about it highlighting the bank account. It worked great for me on my iPhone 3Gs.
Do you plan on bringing similar functionality to Xero Personal? This would be extremely beneficial to see where I am at with monthly goals.
In addition, is there a way to view these uploaded expense photos through the desktop web app?
Chris
I have the same as Stuart. Android 2.3.1, on an HTC Desire. Just light grey blank screen.:-(
I have the Galaxy S – looks good apart from a text box? running through the middle of the screen that blocks out part of it…
Looking good! Just put through an expense claim, very easy!
Am I right in thinking getting this through the app store is what determines it being an “iPhone native version”, hence being able to capture photos of receitps? If so any timing on this? This would be the icing on the cake!
Keep is coming guys, cheers, Rhys
Ben Wood
I have the same as Stuart on my Galaxy S running Android 2.2. Redirects to https://touch.xero.com in the stock browser
As a follow up to my previous remark, if I change my user agent to iPhone (in Dolphin HD) all is okay.
Anton Gerner
Awesome!
Will a future release include ability to invoice items from your item list ?
Hey I’m a happy camper, now I can raise invoices to my clients onsite. A selling point for getting clients on to Xero as well.
Gary Aubin
Good stuff….
Feedback: On and off states of buttons inconsistent. White/blue.
Reconcile? : /
Now 500 error, I guess your still tweaking : )
G
I’m getting a 500 error everytime I try and load any page now. I can login but it won’t even load my xero.
@Craig – that worked. Though it’s worth pointing out that I logged in and out without refreshing and that still did not help.
Jason M Blumer
This app is beautiful on my iPhone 4 (Verizon, not AT&T). Love the way the square turns sideways immediately after logging in. It’s the little touches that impress us geeks!
Can’t wait to add pics of receipts with the native app. Where do you store the receipts? Can we go back and see the receipts anytime we want? Can we post expenses directly to the “money spent” API by uploading a receipt?
Good stuff!
@Craig, Contacts / Next (page 1) “No contact matching that search. Please try again” Page 1, clicking on Next button. Just tried again and works ok.
Also, Clicking on the “page 1 of 12″ button in the middle brings up the jump to page pop-up, but once scrolled down cannot scroll back up.
More to come
Michael
So, will this be a wrapper for a webspace? Or will it actually be an app with a different look than what HTML5 renders? I like native apps, all the way. Just asking, thought it would be a good question.
Mark S
Craig, Great work. Logged on to my xero, but don’t see a search feature to choose the file I want to access – list of 25 comes up, but can’t work out the order – not alphabetical like xero.com version??
Thx Craig. Useful to have a sort even if just alphabetical.
[...] Xero released their new mobile version, Xero Touch I was pleased – sort of[1] – to see what Craig and co have done there. It [...]
Hi guys, great start, I’ll be interested to see how this progresses. Awesome to be able to generate invoices on the road easily. Works well on my iPhone 4.
Nice looking app – great work xero-ites!. I had some comments here which expand on my thoughts:
http://www.fastchicken.co.nz/2011/04/20/the-uncanny-valley-of-web-vrs-native-apps-xero-touch/
I tried it on an Android phone (Desire, I think), and got the same bank grey screen 
worked great on my iphone tho!
Nigel
I thought this might be a bit of a red herring, but the facility to upload pictures of expenses receipts it is going to be brilliant for micro-business owners like me. Good work!
A question: I have a dozen occasional staff (without Xero logins) who incur lots of out of pocket expenses when they work as they are off site and travelling. Could there be a cut down version of this app which these employees could use that would allow them to manage their own expenses claims (including uploads) but do nothing else?
Does this mean the Xero API now includes the ability to submit receipts?
Thrilled to bits. We have been waiting in anticipation since CW demonstrated at the XeroCon in Taupo looks like the Easter Bunny has arrived. I know one Xero User who will be elated including myself. Thank you Xero
Bill
I’ve tried using it on my iPhone 4 in one of the slowest internet environments on earth (Timor Leste) and it’s naturally slow, but still responsive and perfectly usable.
@Bill Wow – great feedback – thanks for that.
For all those waiting for Android to work I’m still looking at it. By the way, we did test it using Android emulators so we did expect it to work. It’s still working great on my emulator – so I’m resorting to debugging on a phone (which isn’t fun).
Note: always test on a phone 
Craig
Neil
Great looking. Just look forward to the bank account links working to look at transaction history. Wondering why you can’t look at customers transaction history?
This is great!! Works perfectly on my HTC Desire Android v2.2 and iPad.
LizB
A good start! Don’t forget to add all the same validation as the main app. First thing I did was add a line to am issued invoice. Not right.
Looking forward to it being more functional, with more hot links. Account balance link on contacts screen would be useful.
Great – it’s working for me on Android now. Thanks.
Geoff
Question time ?
Hi Team – I have about 6 clients now on Xero and naturally they all want to see this on their Smart Phones – However none can see their Bank Balances (they are Managed Cashbook clients ?) – They can only see their expense claims – I am the Financial Adviser and on my own practice site I can see all my bank and credit card balances – Why is this so ………..??
Naturally in this day and age they all want to look at their business on their smart phones – especially their Bank Balance at any given time.
Looking forward to your help……Cheers
Merrin Pearse
I have the same problems that @Geoff mentions and I am a Managed Cashbook client too. Whether I log in from an iPhone4 or Android 2.2, I can only work with the expense claim option. No bank account balances.
@Geoff, @Merrin – Our focus for the managed client role on Xero Touch was to provide access to expense claims, given they don’t use invoicing and have limited access to Bank Rec. But acknowledge your point about wanting to see bank balances. Will look to add this as soon as possible.
Its nice, MUCH better than the previous incarnation! Would be good if you could reconcile the accounts from the touch app though… Possibility of that feature coming soon?
Mark Berry
I like it as far as it goes, though I think on the iPad it could do a lot more; it just looks like a phone interface, but larger, which is a missed opportunity.
Personally I’ll probably just continue to use the full web site (I never used the mobile site anyway; if I had done I’d probably agree this is a huge improvement) from my iPad. I don’t get to see the graphs etc because they use Flash, but I don’t get those in the mobile app either. At least I can access all of Xero’s functionality using the web site, and it looks good.
I think for a mobile app to be worthwhile it needs to offer something that’s not available through the web, given that all of the devices that will be able to run Xero Touch have very good browsers anyway. Uploading receipt photo’s could be one such thing, but we won’t use it because not everyone who’s putting claims in has an iPhone, and we can’t have some uploading pictures and others not. If that function is to exist, it needs to be available to everyone whether they have a smartphone or not, through the full site.
In other words if Xero can’t answer the question “why should I use the app instead of the web site”, there’s not a lot of point in spending time on the app IMHO.
I guess arguably my comments relate to tablets not phones, but I’ve used the full web site on my iPhone too, and it’s fine. Not perfect, but better than Touch because I can do everything I want to.
Andrew
m.xero.com doesn’t actually seem to work on my WP7. Redirects to login.xero.com/?applicationToken= etc. with a blank screen
Sara
Would be great to get bank balances showing in the XERO cashbook version. All it shows at the moment is expense claims. Business XERO versions are great on iPhone. When do you plan to work on cashbook mobile version??
Great work XERO!
Francisco
Any news on the app? the online version is great. Any news on the Iphone native version?
phil ahern
this dosnt work at all (cant log in) on a blackberry 9780
Saj
Can this application work with privileges? I want my technicians to feed their job sheets to the system on location, but I don’t want them to see my account balance and all. Will it be possible?
Add your comment
Search all articles
Browse articles
Subscribe
- View all favorites
- michaelhoney: Super support from @Xero: report bug, get response in under three minutes. Chapeau!
- sallyfalkow: A1 I started to use @Xero for books. Saves sooo much time. I love it #solopr
- orourkeandco: Client asked me for copy of old invoice they want to pay asap:Good I was on the road with only my phone:Bad Used @xero app to send it:Good
Recently commented
- 1 XPAC - UK update Hi, sounds great. Do you have a Bookkeeper as part of XPAC? You are all Accountants and as much as I respect and ...
- 5 Schools Hi Any news or updates about this software for schools? Thank you Pavel
- 114 Xero now supports over 5000 bank feeds Hi @Mike - there are a few factors that can affect the speed of feeds: if its a busy time for the Barclays, if there's ...
- 5 Hi-Tech Company of the Year Well done Xero!
- 7 Full Accountants Demo (1:18:17) Sorry @Kathy didn't notice your question. Thanks for the reminder @Ben. We keep all data, even after you cease to be a customer. That allows us ...
- 3 It's cool to hang out with accountants I too had my first experience with google hangouts this week! Interesting potential and might be the point of difference for google+ though I am ...
- 27 Industry consolidation What concerns me is that while Xero is doing development on accountant side, in NZ you seem to be sitting on your laurels a bit. ...
- 10 Receipt Bank and Xero @ Philip - so sorry about this delay - it's definitely not typical. We aim to reply to all enquiries within 12 hours. I can see ...
Nice work, as always. Works well on my iPhone 3G.
Clicking on bank accounts highlights them, but doesn’t take you anywhere, making me feel like it should have. Maybe you don’t want to, or can’t, send bank transaction info to the phone?