What should Xero be set up to do for my business?

Xero should have the correct business details, financial year, VAT settings, chart of accounts, bank feeds and opening balances. If those foundations are wrong, automation simply produces incorrect information more quickly.

Sales invoices, purchase invoices, expenses and bank transactions should have clear routes into Xero. Bank rules and automation can remove repetitive work, but they should be reviewed rather than allowed to post blindly.

User permissions, approval processes and supporting documents matter as the team grows. The person entering a transaction should not automatically have unrestricted control over everything simply because the software allows it.

The setup should ultimately support the reports you want to see. If you need profitability by department, project or service, that needs to be considered when the records are designed, not added as an afterthought.